WELCOME
When pursuing a career in education certain questions are inevitably brought up in conversation with just about anyone you encounter. "What do you teach? Why did you ever want to become a teacher, how can you stand all those kids?" The typical run-down of questions is nearly always forthright and rather bluntly stated, but always well meant.
I do not have the luxury of giving most people an answer they fully respect. When the answer to your subject is "I'm certified in art", you achieve plastering that look across the other person's face. The look that so clearly spells out "oh you got a degree in unemployment you cop-out" over the polite variety of responses that society demands they respond with verbally.
Many responses and emotions used to run through my brain after I had first earned my degree in such situations. After four and a half years with my nose to the grindstone and putting all my effort into my endeavors to make myself more rounded, more experienced, more knowledgeable, it largely seemed that my efforts were generally dismissed. Society at large, my community even, didn't see it.
It was when I started substitute teaching in the local school district that I realized the disappointment was misplaced. True, art positions are hard to come by, and even harder to get. I had realized so before I had even started my program of study, but it was a risk I was willing to take. It was the teaching part I loved. It didn't matter what subject, what classroom, what building I was in and focused on, I loved the kids. I loved doing something I do well. Whatever my subject, my motivations, education and goals were absolutely clear to me. That was what mattered. The public couldn't understand these any more than I could truly understand how hard it is to be a construction worker or a business owner. It was a different world, one they had never stepped into the role of, so how could they know? How could I expect them to understand that art has a role in math and science, that it crosses disciplines, that I was trained as a teacher, not an artist?
I couldn't. That realization gave me a definite edge to a clarity I had not possessed before.
When it came to writing the "I believe" statement for my video, the motivations behind it were the same as when I started onto this career path. All that was left was to put it to words and coax a story out of the cornerstone blocks. I knew exactly the one I needed to use.
The video below is the result of much effort and frustration, but I feel it was a success. The pictures (76 different images not including those that repeat) were all hand drawn to be simple and time-saving, as well as to point focus to the voice of the piece rather than the images. It may not be polished, but I believe it has a certain personality to it.
Being a teacher means that you are a student for life. You learn your students' tendencies; you study how to handle difficult situations and challenges; you further your personal education and skills in order to further your own students and their achievements; all in order to become someone who doesn't just impart knowledge, but inspires excellence. Being a student and being a teacher should be one in the same.
I intend to keep learning and exploring my discipline along with as many others as I can. The concept of being a "Renaissance Man" has gone by the way-side with time. Most people don't realize what such a thing means in modern times. I do. And I intend to embody that in any way I can. With work and some luck on my part, I will be imparting that knowledge to a classroom of my own someday.
I want someone to say to me one day "What CAN'T you do?".
And my goal is to be able to answer with one response:
"Exactly."
I do not have the luxury of giving most people an answer they fully respect. When the answer to your subject is "I'm certified in art", you achieve plastering that look across the other person's face. The look that so clearly spells out "oh you got a degree in unemployment you cop-out" over the polite variety of responses that society demands they respond with verbally.
Many responses and emotions used to run through my brain after I had first earned my degree in such situations. After four and a half years with my nose to the grindstone and putting all my effort into my endeavors to make myself more rounded, more experienced, more knowledgeable, it largely seemed that my efforts were generally dismissed. Society at large, my community even, didn't see it.
It was when I started substitute teaching in the local school district that I realized the disappointment was misplaced. True, art positions are hard to come by, and even harder to get. I had realized so before I had even started my program of study, but it was a risk I was willing to take. It was the teaching part I loved. It didn't matter what subject, what classroom, what building I was in and focused on, I loved the kids. I loved doing something I do well. Whatever my subject, my motivations, education and goals were absolutely clear to me. That was what mattered. The public couldn't understand these any more than I could truly understand how hard it is to be a construction worker or a business owner. It was a different world, one they had never stepped into the role of, so how could they know? How could I expect them to understand that art has a role in math and science, that it crosses disciplines, that I was trained as a teacher, not an artist?
I couldn't. That realization gave me a definite edge to a clarity I had not possessed before.
When it came to writing the "I believe" statement for my video, the motivations behind it were the same as when I started onto this career path. All that was left was to put it to words and coax a story out of the cornerstone blocks. I knew exactly the one I needed to use.
The video below is the result of much effort and frustration, but I feel it was a success. The pictures (76 different images not including those that repeat) were all hand drawn to be simple and time-saving, as well as to point focus to the voice of the piece rather than the images. It may not be polished, but I believe it has a certain personality to it.
Being a teacher means that you are a student for life. You learn your students' tendencies; you study how to handle difficult situations and challenges; you further your personal education and skills in order to further your own students and their achievements; all in order to become someone who doesn't just impart knowledge, but inspires excellence. Being a student and being a teacher should be one in the same.
I intend to keep learning and exploring my discipline along with as many others as I can. The concept of being a "Renaissance Man" has gone by the way-side with time. Most people don't realize what such a thing means in modern times. I do. And I intend to embody that in any way I can. With work and some luck on my part, I will be imparting that knowledge to a classroom of my own someday.
I want someone to say to me one day "What CAN'T you do?".
And my goal is to be able to answer with one response:
"Exactly."
MY CLASSROOM
Cambridge Springs High School is located in a rural school district in Northwestern PA. It houses 550 students in grades from 7-12 in the same building, with the average graduating class size of about 90 students. The student body at large are from middle and low-income families in a relatively spread out school district. It is one of three high schools in the PENNCREST school district.
Setting:
(EHow). Ample storage space for supplies as well as student work is a must in shelves and closets that provide quick access and easy organization of such materials. To one side of the room large areas are included for display of student work, famous artworks currently being discussed, and for display during peer critique for the more advanced classes. A small area is left clear for upright easels, pottery wheels, and other such media that can be shifted or left out during or after particular units.
A mini Mac lab is provided for student use, as well as a small desktop and large professional printer for appropriate large scale projects and printing of reference materials to be used in student work.
The Macs are complete with a student version of Adobe Creative Suite software, most prominently Photoshop CS5 which is used by the students on a nearly daily basis for anything from movie production and image creation to simple reference picture gathering, adjusting, cropping and printing.
As well as being a tool in the classroom, the technology integration within this class reaches beyond a mere tool. With a SMART board included, students will be able to enjoy access to video conferencing with museum staff regarding the history and certain artists in history, and even take museum tours when a field trip would otherwise be impossible.
A document camera allows for students to see over the teacher's shoulders and follow along in the lesson as sketches and project outlines are reviewed and given direction.
Students also have internet access to build online portfolios which can be shared, followed, and commented on by their fellow classmates in their period as well as by students in other classes. (DeviantART.com or other various free websites students can build.)
Students are expected to create and maintain a blog with certain prompts regarding certain artists and artworks given each week. iMovie creation and stop motion projects are also required in certain courses, collaborated and organized through several classroom periods in order to manage large project completion.
ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY
So. What do we do to adjust for Kyle?
The SMART board in the classroom also helps Kyle see the demonstrations when it is used with a simple document camera to display the work on the screen. Kyle doesn't have to try and fit into a crowd so that he can see what is going on.
The smaller work tables are shorter, and easier for Kyle to reach. They also provide easy movement around the classroom, as individual desks are eliminated and space is opened up. He is able to reach the tables and sit with his fellow classmates without any troubles at all, the wide top to the tables allowing his chair room to sit beneath it without difficulty.
FEEDBACK
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Tuffelmire, Dana. "The Advantages of Small Cluster Seating in a Classroom." EHow. Demand Media, 28 Feb. 2011. Web. 13 Dec. 2012.SELF-REFLECTION
As a future teacher, and a constant student whether paying for school tuition or not, there has been an extensive learning curve for me personally. I have a distinct advantage over those of you who have been in this classroom and are just starting on your way through your college degree because I have already begun my time in the trenches. As much as I thought I knew upon graduation, I have learned that much and more through practical experience. You trip and fall as often as you manage to walk, but that falling flat on your face, of having a difficult day or situation, can lead to far better enlightenment. Taking the risk to ask questions, seek out advice that may be difficult, or merely stand back and evaluate can make all the difference.
I've learned that to not take risks, to not ask "why not" is along the lines of giving up. You can only fail if you try, and success is only a failed attempt gone right. You take a risk every time you try something new, something unfamiliar, but that is what education is all about. I didn't learn what I know about a classroom by only going by what the books told me and leaving it at that. I rolled up my sleeves and got dirty. I've taught everything from Kindergarten to Chemistry to the French and Indian War. Things I didn't remember. Things I didn't know anything about. But I know how to teach, and I know to get there early enough to study the material that I can at least put on a good show. The students never know, and the more time goes on, the more amazement I get from my students when I admit that I am not actually a history teacher like they insist I must be.
I have struggled with Mac computers and won. I have been a PC user all my life, but with the rise in technology and the growing preference of Apple products in the modern world of graphic arts, it wouldn't do to not at least dip my toes in the water. My job is to prepare my students for the world, not to avoid it. I have never had the chance to work with iMovie before. And garageband seemed a rubix cube of massive proportions that immediately encouraged the window closed again.
At least now I have tools to add to my bright pink (because I have to be different) tool belt, and those now include programs with far more potential than I originally gave them credit for.
I think in all, it comes down to a phrase that I have enjoyed the thought of more and more as I consistently hear it and see its extensive value in the wisdom of the words:
"SEEK DISCOMFORT."
I've learned that to not take risks, to not ask "why not" is along the lines of giving up. You can only fail if you try, and success is only a failed attempt gone right. You take a risk every time you try something new, something unfamiliar, but that is what education is all about. I didn't learn what I know about a classroom by only going by what the books told me and leaving it at that. I rolled up my sleeves and got dirty. I've taught everything from Kindergarten to Chemistry to the French and Indian War. Things I didn't remember. Things I didn't know anything about. But I know how to teach, and I know to get there early enough to study the material that I can at least put on a good show. The students never know, and the more time goes on, the more amazement I get from my students when I admit that I am not actually a history teacher like they insist I must be.
I have struggled with Mac computers and won. I have been a PC user all my life, but with the rise in technology and the growing preference of Apple products in the modern world of graphic arts, it wouldn't do to not at least dip my toes in the water. My job is to prepare my students for the world, not to avoid it. I have never had the chance to work with iMovie before. And garageband seemed a rubix cube of massive proportions that immediately encouraged the window closed again.
At least now I have tools to add to my bright pink (because I have to be different) tool belt, and those now include programs with far more potential than I originally gave them credit for.I think in all, it comes down to a phrase that I have enjoyed the thought of more and more as I consistently hear it and see its extensive value in the wisdom of the words:
"SEEK DISCOMFORT."
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