Library & Art

Who ever thought that going to Art class meant going to the library as well? This was an issue that was recently brought up by some of my students. I explained to them that the library is full of valuable information that can be used to inspire ideas and foster creativity.

The concept of making art without making the art is new to these students. In fact, it is new to most people who are not familiar with the study of contemporary art or art education. I want to instill in them that artistic ideas do not come out of nowhere. In fact, they often arise from looking elsewhere. That’s what so fantastic about this subject. Art can be extremely interdisciplinary. Most of the students have this preconceived notion that art is about craft making where making pretty things is the most important goal. Because thinking about concepts and doing research involves more thinking than they’re used to in art class, I am encountering resistance. It is not “fun” and can be “boring” if they don’t find something of interest. I must reassure them that they will have plenty of time to work on their projects once I am done feeding them information. All in all, I think the library proved to be a useful resource they can tap into when they need.

My other challenge I had today was dealing with students who are struggling to understand English. The option was given to them that they may write their concept sheet and comic in Chinese. I think this will make them feel more comfortable and possibly, be able to express themselves better in their native tongue. We had a round table session where we brought in students who could speak both English and Chinese to translate what I was saying. This helped tremendously but I am still encountering difficulties in my other block of art class. I spoke to this student’s ELL teacher and she recommended that I give him an actual topic to write the comic on and to simplify the overall outlook of the project. Perhaps I could find another student in a different class to help in the translation process as well. In any case, communicating with ELL students will prove to be a huge challenge for me during my practicum.

No comments Add a comment

Ainby Tap

This morning I had the privilege of doing ice breaker games with special needs students. I started off with reading the bulletin and attendance. I wanted to energize the tired students so I did a “sit down” game. This was fun because there only turned out to be 2 winners but I gave chocolate to all students anyway. They all deserved chocolate for participating!

I then proceeded to learn their names and interests. I used images from an old calendar and had them choose their favourite picture. I went around the table to ask them to say their name and why they chose the picture they did. The purpose of the exercise was to encourage them to talk about themselves and to share this with others. After that, it was revealed that they had to leave half an hour earlier than I originally planned. I decided to just do the fun activities. I asked if they would be interested in doing Art trivia and they said yes!

I found a list of “easier” art questions and one of the students got nearly all of them right! Super impressive. She even impressed my SA and the other special needs workers. Who knew she was so brilliant? After the trivia, I had each of them contribute to a collaborative drawing. Each of them had about a minute or two to draw something on the paper. Afterwards, I put the collaborative drawing up in the room.

My second class was a ceramics class. This was also an introduction day. I could sense from the beginning I was going to face resistance from some of the children. There were eye rolls, whispers, and stares while I spoke. Someone went so far as to alter my name on the outline I gave him/her. I began to feel uneasy and wanted to hide but I couldn’t. I knew that I had to keep my composure and bear on. I must not waver. After a week and a half of “holding it in”, I released all my emotions after the class was over. I was feeling emotionally drained and stressed from all the planning and lack of sleep. I spoke to my SA and she said I needed to take care of myself. The most important thing was to realize that I am doing my best, that I show confidence, and to not take things personally. What affected me more than anything was the supposed teasing from a particular group of students. I could sense they were unhappy with my approach to art making. I don’t want to disappoint but how do I keep going?

I spoke to another student teacher from a different program and she too was feeling like bursting into tears. We shared stories and explained that we are in this together. It is a learning experience and that’s all it is. I will take my SA’s advice and sleep earlier. I know that without proper rest, I have difficulty functioning. And with that, I will call it a night.

No comments Add a comment

What is Art Class Supposed to be like…?

Today I presented a brief lesson on the history of comics and manga. My FA came to observe me but I wasn’t nervous. I just did my best to ignore the fact that she was there and continued on teaching.

My two blocks today consisted of teaching the same course material. I guess you can see it as a chance to improve my delivery the second time around. The beginning was a lecture and the second half of the class consisted of group work. The lecture went a bit faster than I thought it would (mostly because it was not a question and answer discussion) but more a presentation on information. The first class was very excited about the comic examples I was showing while the second class had difficulty engaging. There were those that did engage but one particular group of friends lacked the attention and focus I needed.

Today was a sick day for my SA so the TOC came in to help with covering the photography class and the studio classes which I taught. It proved to be a pretty easy day for him. He got to observe my teaching and said I did a good job with the flow of the class.

For some reason, I felt anxious from the beginning to the start. I wasn’t nervous and shaky…just stressed. I felt stressed about the idea of continuing on with what seemed to be mundane lectures that should be saved for a social studies or guidance class. I believed in my ideas and the need for discussion, student engagement, and critical thinking. I did not want the blank look on students’ faces to make me think otherwise. Art education IS important in learning about all facets of life on top of the field of art studies itself. My experience with the process of art making has proven to be fundamental in my development as an artist and as an educator. I began to feel worried that my students weren’t going to enjoy my lessons. I worry that I will have to be too stringent when the students refuse to pay attention or stay motivated. I worry how I will mark them for participation and effort. There are many concerns because I want to be a good teacher that educates.

I feel that there are many obstacles to overcome. The beginning of each unit will be full of front-loading information. The middle to the end of the project will be their own time to explore their own ideas. I don’t want to be the mean teacher but I also want to be stern. This is something I will need to learn. As a student teacher, I feel that gaining their trust in me will be difficult. I step in as a stranger and give them assignments that they must complete and that will also affect their grade. It’s a strange situation to be in, especially with my goals for an art classroom. I don’t feel comfortable in commanding the students around because I don’t yet know them. In my mind I wish I could, but I am afraid they will think “well who’s she to tell us what to do?” Perhaps I need to let go of these fears and act as if the class IS my own. In any case, I want my students to learn about life and art. I hope that by the end of my practicum, they would come away feeling like I’ve made a positive impact in their life.

No comments Add a comment

Social Justice Discussions

This morning, I worked on entering the names of my students into the mark book. I had to figure out what the breakdown of the marks would be and if it worked with my marking scheme. I figured I would separate the physical components that needed to be handed in because chances are, not all of them will complete it in time.

I visited the photo lab for the next period because I needed to learn more about photo. I desperately needed a review and it helped for me to work in the darkroom even for one exposure. The plan for the students was to make test strips out of one second intervals. This will allow them to determine the exposure and how their film would turn out if they exposed it under the light for X amount of seconds. The aperture of the enlarger lens was also a factor in determining how the photo would turn out. I had to re-familiarize myself with the enlarger, timer, developer, fix, and stop. I’m still apprehensive about teaching photo!

I need to revisit my photo project. I originally had planned for them to make photo memes. I think that with the amount of paper they are being given, I feel like they should make postcards instead. Or something smaller. Perhaps they can make “mood” postcards. This is probably what I’ll do. Take a picture of a happy scene, sad scene, funny scene, quiet scene..etc. The kick is to make these postcards without people. Maybe…I’m onto something.

At lunch I prepared to teach my Studio Art class. I had planned a group discussion day around major social issues so they can start thinking about what they want to do for their comic. My goal is to give them time to think their project over thoroughly without simply diving into it. I want to see their creative process and their minds at work. The discussion went well overall. The first group had a lot more talkers while the second group was more subdued. Either they were shy, not used to talking to non-friends, or faced language barriers. I’m unsure as to how I can help the ELL students. Perhaps I will need to talk to native language speakers who also speak English. I can see if they can help buddy or partner up with the struggling student. Another thing that irked me are students who appeared to “not care” or “try”. I wonder why. Is it because of their lack of motivation? Do they really lack interest in the topic or do they dislike school? Perhaps it’s a personal issue that is preventing them from focusing. There were many checked out faces and it frustrates me. I know this happens in all classes, but as a new teacher, it does drive me a bit nuts. In any case, I will continue to try to break through. I am very accustomed to university discussions where most people have the ability to contribute so when I went back to high school, I forget that many are still shy and are afraid to say the “wrong” things. I hope that they will get accustomed to speaking up around me.

It was nice to see the students engage in social discussion with other members of their class.

No comments Add a comment

Getting to Know the School

Today was a prep day for me so I had the luxury of running around to do the things I needed. The morning began with a visit to the photo lab where I found the projector I needed for tomorrow’s lesson. It was an adventure to get into the photo lab. I had the keys for the photolab and subsequently thought I also had the keys for the outside door into the photolab. Nope, I was wrong. No one except the engineers and principal had access to the school. Silly me. I had braced the cold only to run back and forth to find the photolab inside. It was like a maze but I did find it.

I picked up the projector and brought it back to the art room to test it out. I took out my laptop and realized that it only supports an HDMI cable which was incompatible with what the projector needed. So I told my SA and she said that there was a laptop back in the photolab I could use that does work with the projector. I made my way to the photolab again and brought back the laptop. I hooked it up the projector and it worked! I was excited. I am not tech savvy so hooking it all up on my own was very self-reassuring. I hooked up my USB to the port and played the Powerpoint. Everything was set.

I took the next block to prep for my social justice comic. I decided to do a rough draft of my story on racism. It was going to be called “Apples & Oranges”. The story takes place in a grocery store whereby the grocery clerk brings a box of oranges to refill the orange pile and one of the oranges escapes. This lone orange falls into the apple pile below. A few of the apples give this orange a difficult time but an older wise apple reminds the other apples that he is just a fruit like the rest of us. A story like this is simple but poignant. I wanted to give the students an example of a social justice narrative they could create but without telling them exactly how to do it. This is one fear I have: of using examples. I don’t want them to work towards an example because they think this is what the teacher expects. Instead, I think my comic will be done well, but it will be average, not stupendous. I hope my students can surpass what I create.

After lunch, I went with a fellow teacher candidate to meet with one of the counselors but ended up talking to another one because she wasn’t there. It was fine because we got to speak to two of the school’s counselors who were extremely knowledgeable, experienced, and engaging. I was entertained by their enthusiasm and passion for helping the students.

My last block was spent working in the Special Needs classroom. I wanted to learn more about how to develop lesson plans for them and how I would go about assessing them. Because my inquiry is based on assessment, I am especially concerned with the reliability, validity, and fairness of the assessment. After showing my lesson plans to the Special Needs teachers, they gave me helpful pointers as to how I should assess their work. The emphasis with these students is on the participation, completion, and sense of accomplishment they should feel when doing any assignment. It became more clear and I was given the task of drafting up a checklist of qualities that I would like to see my Special Needs learners accomplish. I worked with one student for the duration of the class and learned how challenging school can be for them. I also learned how patient one needs to be to work with them.

My day wasn’t over yet. At the ring of dismissal bell, I went to the homework club. It is a club that is overseen by one of the school counselors for students who require extra homework help. I ended up socializing more than actually tutoring, but it was all good. I got to chat with some young students who are considering the profession of teaching! They have a few years to go but it’s nice to hear them voice their aspirations. I plan on coming to the homework club once a week and to the Special Needs class once a week. There is also a badminton club which I am interested in volunteering for.

No comments Add a comment

Icebreaking the Group

Today was my first official day of teaching. I was nervous at the thought of teaching to strangers so I figured I would spend the first day getting to know one another. I came up with the human pictionary game and thought it would be fun if the students got up and moved around the class. I paired them up by splitting compound words into two cards. The partners must find each other with the other half of their compound word.

I met resistance right from the beginning. Many thought it was a pointless exercise and felt that the relation to art was not there. Many disliked getting off their seats to walk around. It seemed to me that physical movement was nonexistent in all their classes except PE. The idea of moving around the classroom to mingle with others is a foreign concept. Many felt that matching the compound words was pointless. I had to explain to them that my intention is to get them to talk to others in the class. I then had the pairs draw three things about themselves. Their partner was to introduce them by interpreting their drawings. The most common answer I received was that they enjoyed “sleeping”. Surprise surprise! Most of the students were very shy and used extremely quiet voices when talking about their partner.

After the icebreaker, I proceeded to outline my classroom expectations and the upcoming projects. One class was extremely enthusiastic and the other was very low energy or uninterested. My challenge will be to motivate all my students. I fear that they will find my style of teaching to be mundane, too conceptual based, and too boring. I want them to think. Art in high school consisted of projects that talked around concepts without delving into them. Often times, these projects were very surface based. The assignments and activities that I present to them are meant to challenge their preconceived notions of art education. I strive for meaningful art education.

I did make a few mistakes. The icebreaker was missing a card by the time I facilitated it with my second class. I also wasn’t sure how to handle students who did not want to participate. Some refused to listen and several were falling asleep. Several admitted they disliked school in general. How do I talk to these students without pushing them away? I really hope that with my passion for art and life, I can break down these walls.

No comments Add a comment

First Day Jitters

When September started, I knew that I had a challenging road ahead of me. Plenty of coursework to prepare us for this big performance. Nothing can ever really prepare you to perform as a teacher though. Despite the tremendous amount of readings and assignments, nothing could prepare me for the mental toughness I needed to go teach. Resilience and patience is what I had to get through the busy semester before and I needed it here.

I met some of my fellow teacher candidates and we shared stories about our fears, lesson plans, and extra curriculars we wanted to participate in. I was happy we were there to support each other.

The first block I went to see my SA. She was teaching the students how to make pinatas. They were beautiful and I was very impressed. I would soon be taking over this class and working with these wonderful children. There were many familiar faces. I got a chance to speak to my SA about my lessons and received positive feedback. I was going to try inquiry in the classroom and will attempt this by giving them concept worksheets. I’m a bit weary as to how they will react to the idea of “researching” for their ideas, but I believe this is a smart group. I am hopeful that my lessons will be a success. I am especially excited about the social justice comic that I will be introducing to one of the classes. Promoting social justice has always been a passion of mine.

I was lucky enough to be given a demo on how to use the photocopier and booking library sessions. I booked my class in for a research day in the library to explore their social justice topic further. I also had the chance to visit the Special Needs teacher. I expressed my interest in helping out with this group of students and she was very receptive.

Despite my fears of starting practicum, it started off on the right track. I had plenty of support from my SA, student teachers, and I hope, the students.

No comments Add a comment