"How Do You Know You're A Teacher?" By Jeff Foxworthy

...I thought this was too cute that I needed to *share* ~ *Enjoy* ~
(Originally posted on "Diary of a Public School Teacher")

1. You get a secret thrill out of laminating things.
2. You can hear 25 voices behind you and know exactly which one belongs to the child out of line.
3. You walk into a store and hear the words, "It's Mr./Ms.______________and know you have been spotted. 
4. You have 25 people who accidentally call you mom/dad at one time or another.
5. You can eat a multi-course meal in under 25 minutes.
6. You've trained yourself to go to the bathrrom at two distinct times of the day: 1) Lunch and 2) Prep.
7. You start saving other people's trash, because most lively, you can use that toilet paper tube or plastic butter tub for something in the classroom.
8. You believe the Teacher's Lounge should be equipped with a margarita machine.
9. You want to slap the next person who says, "Must be nice to work 7 to 3 and have summers off."
10. You believe *chocolate* is a *food*group. :) :) :)
11. You can tell if it's a full moon without ever looking outside.
12. You believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if anyone says, "Boy the kids sure are mellow today."
13. You feel the urge to talk to strange children and correct their behavior when you are out in public. 
14. You believe in aerial spraying of Ritalin.
15. You think caffeine should be available in intravenous form. 
16. You spend more money on school stuff than you do on your own children. 
17. You can't pass the school supply aisle without getting at leat 5 items! 
18. You ask your friends to use their words and explain if the left hand turn he/she made was a "good choice" or "bad choice." 
19. You find true beauty in a can full of perfectly sharpened pencils.
20. You are secretly addicted to hand sanitizer.
21. You understand, instantaneously, why a child behaves in a certain way after meeting his/her parents. 

WEEK 8 Multi-Cultural Teaching: *Food*For*Thought*

WEEK#8 10.22.2011                    Photo Source: http://lissawriting.wordpress.com/2011/10/23/racism-think/
With Halloween quickly approaching and learning about teaching multi-cultural art education curriculum, I came across these photographs and blog, http://lissawriting.wordpress.com/2011/10/23/racism-think/, and it led me to some thinking...

As Art Educators, we have earned the immense privlige* of creating curriculum that is thought provoking, enriching, personal, and expressively creative for our students.  But if one is not careful, they may use such a privlige as a vice.  What I mean, is that if one is not cautious, knowledgable, or sensitized to the content they are teaching their students, they may be infusing their students minds with unintentional stereo-types and racism!  This reminds me of the article by Peggy McIntosh, The White Privlige, The Invisible Knapsack.  If you are a caucasian male/female and have ever walked in to a convience store and do not have to worry about finding a bandage that matched your complexion...you are part of the white privlige and subconsiously unaware of how you carry the "invisible knapsack"...it is a form of  "stealthy racism."  Stealthy racism in itself isn't announced...it's silent.  Like the photographs posted above. 
Now, I love halloween and dressing up.  Who doesn't love the nostalgia, fantasy and candy for a day!  Also, I an not suggesting the thought that one shouldn't dress up as figures such as, Frida Kahlo, Himiko, Inanna, or Athena.  The difference here is that these are particular, notable figures...individuals.  It is not a mockery of an ignorance to a whole culture (i.e. "geisha girl", "indian").

As educators, it is our responsibility to be aware of and sensitized to *unitentional*racism so we do not contribute to the *stealthy silence*.  Before, I may have never considered these halloween "costumes" as offensive and I certainly would never intend to be offensive towards another person or culture for that matter.  But this is exactly what "stealthy racism" is..."it doesn't announce itself and it's complicated!" Now, I am much more knowledgable, sensitized, and empathetic to the form of stealthy racism that these so-called costumes are imposing. 

"He who experiences the unity of life sees his own self in all beings" *Buddha*

Full Article ~ The White Privlige, The Invisible Knapsack.
http://www.nymbp.org/reference/WhitePrivilege.pdf

WEEK 7 ??? *Essential*Question: Where Did You Get Your *GRIT*???

"THE BATTLES THAT COUNT ~aren't the ones for gold medals.
THE STRUGGLES WITHIN YOURSELF ~the invisible --- (inevitable) battles inside (all of us)THAT'S WHERE IT'S AT"
---Jesse Owens
Photo Source: Freep.com
WEEK #7 10.15.2011This past Sunday, I ran my second 5K at the Detroit Marathon, Half-Marathon and 5K Event.

Often times, I find myself reflecting on the parallels between running and my journey to becoming an art teacher. 
There are many simliar *LIFE*LESSONS* and *CHARACTERISTICS* that the ~*Visual Arts*~ teach and that ~*running has*~ taught me along my journey to becoming a runner:    Dedication, Perserverance, Living-in-the-moment, Set-backs, and "Grit".



What is Grit?
I came across the article, The Truth About Grit, by Jonah Lehrer (August 2, 2009).  In his article, Jonah explains, "Grit is a term psychologists use to describe a *mental-trait*." This field of study is only a few years old.  Grit is about setting a long-term goal and sticking to it until the goal has been reached...it simply isn't about working hard.  People with grit, stick to it AND they don't give up.  People with grit, can keep going ~ so why do others struggle and give-up? 

“I’d bet that there isn’t a single highly successful person who hasn’t depended on grit,”

says Angela Duckworth, a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania who helped

pioneer the study of grit.   “Nobody is talented enough to not have to work hard, and that’s what grit allows you to do.”

"Woody Allen once remarked that “Eighty percent of success is showing up.” Duckworth

points out that it’s not enough to just show up; one must show up again and again and

again. Sometimes it isn’t easy or fun to keep showing up. Success, however, requires

nothing less. That’s why it takes grit."

I believe as an educator it is pertinent to teach student's *LIFE*LESSONS*and *CHARACTERISTICS* in the classroom such as becoming *"grittier."  No one has ever been considered a "runner" in my family and as for myself, well, I just began running last winter!!! Meanwhile, my ultimate goal is to run the half-marathon next fall and the *MARATHON* for my *30th*!!! When it comes to art and being creative, my mother hardly as a pencil in the grip of her hand before she says "I can't...I'm not creative!"  and my dad, well, he's never been fortunate enough to have educators or loved ones inspire and help him bring forth his creativity even though he has the potential to be so talented ~ and my sisters and I couldn't be more different.  My younger sister is in the medical field and my older sister is in the business sector of the automotive industry.  So my thoughts are that along the way, I picked up *grit*...it was learned in a nurtured environment that intended to do so ~
My *essential-question* would be: "When, where, how, and why did you develop your grit? Who do you attribute to supporting you develop this trait?" 
My answer would be: "The person I attribute to supporting me develop this trait is the one whom reads this" :) 

I believe grit is not necessarily an inherited trait.  Instead, it is an understanding...a mental state...a personality trait...that we can be lead to grasp by parents, role models, and/or educators.  

As Grant Wiggins states in his article, "What's An Essential Questions (EQ)?":  "A good education is grounded in such life-long questions, even if we sometimes lose sight of them while focusing on content mastery.  The big-idea questions signal that education is not just about learning "the answer" but learning how to learn."  *Here is a link to a PDF that I found online regarding Essential Questions Understanding By Design Workbook by Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins. I found this particular article very helpful and insightful about explaining *essential-questions*:
http://education.vermont.gov/new/pdfdoc/pgm_curriculum/science/resources/cd_materials/local_assessment/Questioning%20Skills/PDf%20Format/Essential%20Questions%20Summary.pdf

Full Article: http://www.skrpartners.com/pdfs/The_truth_about_grit.pdf

Another article I came across in the NYTimes:  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/18/magazine/what-if-the-secret-to-success-is-failure.html?_r=3&pagewanted=9

"Just concern yourself with the next step, and don't look too far down the road.
Today is all that matters."
Howard Rankin, Ph.D., (clinical psychologist)

 

WEEK 6 My*1st*day*teaching*ART*!!!

WEEK #6 10.08.2011It was an *Ah-ha* moment :)  I've had two of those so far in the past year-in-a-half along my journey to becoming an *Art*Teacher.  My first "Ah-ha" moment was on my first day of a computer grahics in the classroom course.  This was my very first *Art*Education* course.  For the first time, I felt like "this is exactly where I am meant to be...this is the path I'm supposed to be on...becoming an Art teacher is what I am meant to do.  Then, my second "Ah-ha" moment came last Saturday, when I taught my first art class :)

I was at the library the other day, and I stumbled upon the book, "Emphasis Art" *SECOND*Edition!!!
I couldn't believe it.  I've purchased the newest (9th edition) over a year ago.  So I checked out the second edition.  I always like to flip through the pages and look at the pictures (call me old fashion)...anyways, I came across a few paragraphs from Chapter #1 and #3 that I would like to share:
 *The Teacher's Role*  Sometimes, more than we often take time to "notice", some things are sent our way in life to send a positive reminder of our vital roles and passions in life.  I was having a conversation with my mom about how time consuming and how much thought, effort, and dedication goes in to lesson planning for an art lesson.  Her response was, "What do you mean? You can't just give the students a box of crayons and tell them to color?"  So here we go...

Chapter#1: INTRODUCTION"We are surfeited with the reassurances of art educators and child psychologists who insist that it is easy to teach art to children.  They speak of 'relatively little effort required' or tell us that 'to be creative, children need only materials and a place to work.' 

Let's keep the record straight.  Art is not easy to teach; that is, if we are speaking about a bona fide art class and not a play session.  It requires as much preparation, intelligence, and organizaitonal skill as any other subject area in the school and, in certain instances, even more.  The teacher's expertise is a major factor in the implementation of a *quality*art program."  (p.6)

Chapter #3: THE TEACHER'S ROLE"A creative, enthusiastic, imaginative, , adaptive, sympathetic, and constantly resourceful teacher is the essential catalyst, the *sine qua non* in the development and implementation of a qualitative program in (elementary) art.  The teacher of the art class must be an organizer, house-keeper, counselor, resource expediter, referee, adventurer, and last but not least, a lover of children...

The reference to the teacher's dedication is deliberate.  Dedication is, and always will be, a vital teaching asset in a democratic society.  It transcends classroom expertise and management.  Nothing is said, it is true, in the teacher's contract about dedication, not even in the small print.  Nor is there anything explicit in the agreement about the requisites of love, patience, and sympathetic understanding that go hand in hand with good teaching.  Unselfish dedication and enthusiastic involvement, whenever and wherever they occur, are in the most instances freewill gifts of a devoted teacher and cannot be measured except perhaps in the amount of inner satisfaction and fulfillment they bring."  (p.15)


*THANK YOU* Frank Wachowiak! :)

WEEK 5 Diversity*

WEEK #5 10.01.2011
Our *1st* Day: *ICE*Breaker*Activity In anticipation for our first session and meeting with the students, I was filled with mixed emotions.  I was a bit nervous, yet overwhelemed with excitement!  Needless to say, the students were great and I look forward to learning besides them in the next nine weeks!!!

I had cut 30 puzzle pieces out of black posterboard (I was expecting more students, and didn't want anyone to not have a piece).  Five students arrived but were excited to take three to four puzzle pieces to signfy what ((ART)) means to them.  I explained to the students that even though we are all different, and our representation of ((ART)) will probably look different...we all come together (like a puzzle) for the PASSION and HAPPINESS that creativity and art bring :)  I said I would like to clase each blog with a prose...I will let Malik and J'Nel's puzzle pieces serve as closing thoughts ~

  

                                         "Art is a pathway into a world only few people know."

                                                                                                               -Malik

                                                                "Earth w/o art is 'Eh.'"
                                                                                      -J'Nel