Zines, ATC's, Comics and More....

I feel that incorporating zines, comics, blogs, and atc’s into an art curriculum to increase literacy skills would not be a difficult task. I say this because all of these projects require some sort of research on the students’ part because they are usually done surrounding a topic.

I would have to say the journals of many forms would be my top choice to incorporate into my future classroom along with blogging. There are so many types of journals and so many ways to create journals that there are endless possibilities for them. Journals are also blank slates that are ready to be filled with anything one can think of as well.

Blogging is great because there is already a set standard for etiquette when writing a blog. Students have to think about what they want to say and then write about it properly.

It is hard for me to see a challenge when using these projects because all of them can incorporate literacy very easily and should include it. So I look forward to including these typed of projects into my future classroom.

If we assume that someone else will advocate for use the battle will be lost

Having seen art programs be cut is enough to make one think why? Why did something so great get cut? It makes you think about what was and wasn’t done to support the arts.
I believe there are multiple ways you can advocate for the arts. I feel that it is important to support many areas in the arts but especially art education. I feel this way because I can see the importance of the arts in schools.

I feel there is a new standard for advocating in a sense. I feel that there is a bigger issue at hand in proving that art should exist in schools, because many people don't see how art is teaching skills needed for students futures. We are challenged to prove our views, where traditional reading, writing, math, and science classes have less of a challenge to prove their need. While I know art is just as important as those previous classes some people do not see the same way. As a future art educator we have a need to prove ourselves. I feel that this is good and bad. While it is empowering that you can reveal a truth to someone who did not see it as truth before, it is sad that we need to do that.

Currently we need to show that we as art educators are making a difference in students’ lives that we are teaching them 21^st century skills, interdisciplinary skills, and the history, beauty, expressive, creative side of art.

LGTBQ Conference

After attending the conference I can say that I learn a plethora of new information. I was hoping to gain new information about LGTBQ students in general including how they are treated and what is being done to ensure they are as safe as their fellow students in the public school system.

I went in a little reserved and shy as I tend to do in new situations. While there we participated in some group activities which were not my "cup of tea." I personally felt a little bit uncomfortable during those times mostly due to the fact that I do know so little about the LGTBQ community so I didn't really know what to say. But things that push one out of their comfort zone are good.

I know how I would like my classroom to be as well as the school I work for. I want every single one of my students to feel safe and feel they can express who they are without being ridiculed, mocked, made fun of or harassed in any way. By going to this conference I now know more about the LGTBQ community in general and what is going on in the school systems as well as how to help make the LGTBQ community feel safe.

Service Learning Project

I have decided to work with seniors/elderly. I feel that much can be gained by the student from working with those who have come before them. I sometimes feel that the younger generation does not see or appreciate the elders that are around them. Sometimes seniors can seem “different” to students and they tend to not interact with them. For these reasons I have chosen to collaborate with Western Home Communities on this project. I am hoping to go on Tuesday and talk with the volunteer coordinator. On this visit I hope to share some of my ideas along with gaining insight on some opportunities they see are needed at the community.

As of right now I am wanting to create a project that would help students see that elders have a rich and interesting history and that at one time they were just like the students. I would like students to collect the stories of the senior(s) they would be working with along with pictures of the senior and memories that they hear from the senior(s). Then collaborating with their senior(s) they would collectively make a book of this. Or they could each make their own book. Full of mixed media including writing, sketches, photographs, and multiple forms of color. I feel in doing this the student would gain by learning about their elders and seeing the rich history they have. The student would get experience in taking interesting portraits. They could/ would study portrait photographers and maybe share their new knowledge about photography with their senior. The student would be practicing layout design and composition along with color theory/scheme. The senior/elder would benefit by having someone to talk to who is interested in hearing what they have to say. They would also be creating themselves and using art to tell their story in book/journal form with mixed media.

I am overall very excited about the possibilities this project holds. I seem to have a growing desire to just go in myself and create with the elders in and around the community. I hope and pray I will be able to use this project in my future classroom.

http://www.westernhomecommunities.org/about-us/volunteer-opportunities.aspx

Artist Trading Card

This week we created Artist Trading Cards or ATC’s. I created a few about things that were on my mind from when I was in middle school/high school.

I grew up in a larger town. We had 5 high schools and several middle schools. Our schools were fairly large and one could easily feel hidden or lost in a school. I was the one who was classified as the "teachers pet" or "nerd"... ahhh the good ol' days. I loved them I really did, other students just could not see why I liked school. I learned being myself was the best thing there could be; of course there were bad days as well, we all have them.

My ATC on the top left is about fitting in and finding where you fit in. Not only that but it is about knowing that where you rank in school does not matter as long as you are true to yourself. My ATC on the top right is about the future and what it may hold. It is about all the questions that go through one’s mind when change is coming. I wanted to get across the idea that life should be taken one day at a time. My ATC on the bottom left is just about creativity and expression. I created with one just by letting the pen move. What ever came to mind is what I did. It is mainly about taking time to express yourself and find time for doing the things you love. My ATC on the bottom right is about just “bee-ing” yourself. It was fun just to incorporate the letter B and also a bee flying around. Being myself is what I learned was most important through school and not trying to be like anyone else.

Learning to become a teacher with transformative qualities is currently what we are focusing on. This is where four categories all intermingle with each other. These qualities as well all know are; 1. Global Citizenship, 2. Leadership, Collaboration, and Advocacy, 3. Multiple Ways of Learning and Teaching, and 4. Rapidly Changing Content.

From our readings I have chosen three lesson examples to write about. These examples were chosen because I could see parts of the transformative qualities intermingled in them.

Example One: Eco Wall of Hope

In this lesson students are learning to become global citizens because they are learning about the environment and our impact on it. In this lesson the students also went about multiple ways of learning because they worked with high schooler’s and then also read to elementary school students. Also some students showed signs of leadership and the students worked together to set up the mural.

Example Two: Fallen Heroes

In this lessons students became very self reflective and this is part of the Leadership, Collaboration and Advocacy category. This was an interesting lesson because the teacher didn’t just teach about portrait drawing and have the students draw themselves like one may typically see. The teacher decided to bring in a social justice issue and have the student draw fallen heroes. In doing this the students became extra critical and wanted to do well, many were afraid to do poorly. To me this was a different way of teaching and a different way for the students to learn. The students also took off with the project and became leaders.

Example Three: PostSecret: Hopes, Wishes, and Regrets

This lesson was great because although it was kept within the school the students learned about the diversity in their school and saw that they were very similar to other students. I feel that this was a very beneficial lesson for the students. What I liked about it was that the students had to take leadership and take the content they were given and interpret it and recreate it as an art form but still expressing the emotion and subject the writer had given them. This led to a lot of critical thinking and leadership on the student’s parts.

Social Justice in the Elementary Classroom

To be honest I'm not sure if what I have decided to write makes a lot of sense but it is purely an opinion that my also be a little bit of confusion on my part. J

--a little confused about what social justice in the elementary --classroom should be or is.

I see social justice at the elementary level being more about the basics; teaching students about equality, respect, towards others etc. I feel it is also important to teach students to look at both sides of every opinion, and to research. I believe kids are capable of much more than we think. I also think that holding high but reachable standards is a good thing.

After thinking about this blog prompt I realized that I didn’t really see myself teaching social justice in the elementary classroom in a “social justice” sense but it is almost hard to avoid since many schools mottos deal with kindness, respect, friendship etc. As I stated I feel that smaller but equally important parts of social justice issues are addressed in elementary schools all the time.

What I liked about the readings was the fact that the teachers gave the students the ability to use their own voice and that the students started embarking on critical thinking and viewing both sides of issues/arguments able to protest but not be hurtful. I believe this is a part of social justice and I just never thought of it as social justice before. I just saw these things as skills one should learn. There are many life skills that students should learn as early as possible and continue to grow in these skills throughout high school and their life. And these skills include many of the 21^st century skills

What I liked about chapter 18 was the fact that before the students saw the artists work the teacher had them look at historical works and meaning to have a base of understanding which I see as a great idea. This I would do in my elementary classroom. Young students need background and information before they can make informed art choices.

I liked the child labor lesson the students read about the 4 rights of children but also knew that they were forced into child labor. I think just having the student read about the child rights and then look at photos of children at work helped them understand the issue a bit more. It goes back to having a background of information for the students to see and read.

One thing I would like to try to do in the upper elementary classroom would be to work with collage in a great way. I enjoyed how the teacher wrote about collage and things are experimental and changeable until they are glued down. This gives students endless possibilities to configure/convey and issue or idea.

I really like the idea of the “eco wall of hope” probably because I enjoy biology and nature but also because “empathy” was the influencer for the project.

During the eco wall of hope the students learned about animals in trouble and then created their own designs for a tile. This was done in hopes that some of the students would build empathy for the animals and in turn continue to build empathy for others.

Overall I know this blog is jumpy and a bit confusing but I feel some basic parts of social justice need to be taught first before moving on to larger issues. I feel that issues that deal with the environment could be good starting grounds to teach social justice. But I feel things like respect, and kindness needs to be taught first. I also see that you can tie these things into social justice issues I guess I just don’t have the best of ideas as to how to do that.