*HAPPY*HOLIDAYS*

Because I completely relate the mental mantras of running to *life* in general...

I had to share this holiday card :) 

*HAPPY*NEW*YEAR*and*HAPPY*TRAILS!!!*
*Challenge Yourself To Climb Higher.  Stop + Savor The View.

*Tread Lightly On The Earth + Preserve The Trails For Future Generations. 

*Take The Other Fork In The Trail = Magic + Discovery Await.

*Life Is Just A Blissful, Endless Trail Run...

IT'S NOT A RACE --- FIND YOUR PACE.
___________________________________

This holiday season, I have heard people say over and over again that they are trying to spend and decorate less.  They have this nostalgia for the "simpler" times.  I myself have struggled with this concept.  I am always looking for ways to *spend* less but always *give* more.  I find malls and department stores to be clusters of spaces that people run to, like little rats.
Just like rats will eat whatever is laid out in front of them:  Whatever is displayed in the malls, people will buy. 
Most of the time, I ask myself,
"Where is the 'thought' actually put in to
 the gift?" 
I like to put thought into gift giving.  I have an idea and intention of what it is I am looking for...usually these "things" can not be found in a store.  So trying to actually put "theory" into practice this is just what I did...So I made "goodie" bags comprised of thoughtful items. 
Each of the goodie bags contained the following items with an explanation:

COOKIES: May the comforts of home always be *SWEET*
PEPPERMINT: May your outlook on life always be revived and *REFRESHED*
HERSHEY KISSES:  May your season be full of hugs and *KISSES*
CANDY CANE:  Turn it upside down, it's a J.  J is for Jesus...may he always be with you and may you always have *FAITH*
WINE:  After all the stress...hustle and bustle...may you take the time to relax and *UN-WINE*
CHOCOLATE COINS:  May you spend your time surrounded by loved ones...*PRICELESS*

*Afterall, this isnt a "fancy" gift. 
But it's thoughtful, personal, and meaningful to *me*...
Just like the *creative* process should be to every *individual*...
thoughtful, personal, and meaningful.

***
"There are only two ways to live your life.
One is as though nothing is a miracle.
The other is as though everything is a miracle."
-Albert Einstein
***


 

*Saturday*Art*School*Certificates*

Each certificate is designed specifically for each student with their name and photograph of the individual working intently at a moment in time during one of our Saturday Art classes spent together. 

Each certificate is placed in a large, 9x12 inch envelope.

I created a stencil that reads: "Saturday Art School 2011" and spray painted with a copper hue.

Each certificate is then placed in this Wayne State University folder

as a token and reminder to the students as to
 ~*where they have been*~

Placed inside each folder is a card which reads:
"To create one's world
in any of the
arts takes
courage."
-Georgia O’Keeffe-

*everything*IS*connected*

I was looking through my boyfriend's *ESPN* Magazine this week.  Last week I  wrote a blog entry pertaining to the Heisman trophy winner, RG3...AND...look what I found: 

{Caption: "Winning a Heisman is hard.  So is making one.  Employing a two-week technique called "lost-wax casting," a team of Jostens craftsmen in Oklahoma City take a wax imprint of the purple silicone mold pictured here, then transform it into an empty ceramic shell---a vessel for 25 pounds of liquid bronze that will harden into college football's top individual honor.  [The iconic outstretched arm is cast separately and welded to the body.]  The market price of bronze is $6 a pound, so the trophy's raw metal costs only $150 - a fraction of the $395,240 that Bruce Smith's 1941 award fetched in 2005.  But once in the hands of the winner on Dec. 10, the bronze will no doubt feel worth its weight in gold."}   ---Joel Weber

How awesome of an art*lesson* this could be in relation to bringing the *outside* in :) and students can also learn about art content and technique such as "casting" and "welding".  When I see things like this, it makes me smile because,

WEEK #14 RG3 "No pressure...No dominance"

Tonight, I am soaking it all in and being *reflective*.  I am being reflective upon AED5650 coming to a *finale*...a  l~o~n~g awaited finale!  But I am being reflective upon all the *lessons* learned and how I have evolved not only as a future art educator, but as a person.  Afterall, the success of how we evolve in our profession is utimately shaped by the person we are...and the person we are *becoming*.   

Tonight, while I am being reflective, I am watching the 2011 *Heismann* Trophy Award segment on ESPN.    The winner this year is Robert Griffin III, (also known as RG3) from Baylor.  During his acceptance speech he said these words that at this very moment, I can relate to:   "Where there is no pressure...there is no dominance."  To me, this means, if reaching a goal, whether that goal may be winning football games or doing your ultimate best to succeed at AED5650, was handed to us or "easy" then there would be no *dominance*.  When I say dominance here, I will use the definition given by http://www.thefreedictionary.com/:

DOMINANCE = Surpassing all other power, influence, or position.  A little bit of pressure teaches one to surpass all other power, influence, or position.  For me, pressure is an activator of self-motivation to learn.  But, it is uncomfortable and can be VERY difficult to deal with.  AED5650 taught me to work through pressure, and for this, I know I have evolved into a more sophisticated and disciplined individual which will benefit me along my journey to b.e.c.o.m.i.n.g. an art teacher. 

Other things I have learned about myself from AED5650:

*Diversity.  Frustration.  Appreciation.

*Resilience.

*Grit...I've got it.  Though, it is mental characteristic that has been acquired (especially within the last couple years on my journey towards becoming an art teacer)...it didn't come easy!!!

*I am ~b.e.c.o.m.i.n.g~


"Arriving at ((*1*)) ~goal~...
is the ~starting*point~ to ((*another*))."                                                   -John Dewey

*We make the path...by ~w.a.l.k.i.n.g~*

"All that is gold, does not glitter...
Quote by: J.J.R Tolkein

"Creativity seems to emerge from multiple experiences, coupled with a well-supported development of personal resources, including a sense of
*FREEDOM* to
venture beyond the known." -Loris Malaguzzi

WEEK 13 *N*A*C*H*A*S*

I noticed a quote on a sheet of paper in class yesterday.

It read, "What I teach to another, I master." -Mel Silberman

(Psychologist and Author of Active Learning Strategies.)



((-Sidenote:  On the website: http://www.activetraining.com/, it announced that sadly, Mr. Silberman passed away in 2010 from lung cancer.  For 13 years, Silberman lived with stage IV lung cancer. 

During those 13 years, he never missed a class at Temple University where he taught :) 

"It was his *~L~O~V~E~* of family, community, and his work that, our family, believes helped him survive and live life to the fullest."
For thousands of years, people have known how the best way to understand a concept is to explain it to someone else. This is ancient wisdom:

"What I hear, I forget
What I see, I remember

What I do, I understand."
(Confucius, Chinese Philosopher)

"While we teach, we learn."   (Seneca, Roman philosopher)

I've also heard the saying that we LEARN 95% by what we TEACH someone else. 

You know when I heard this, at first, it didn't make any sense to me. But I was intriqued to make sense of it.  I asked myself, "What does all this really mean?" 

So, this prolific concept motivated me to do some research of my own.  My research led me to this article in Time magazine by Annie Murphy Paul:  *The Protégé Effect*:  Why Teaching Someone Else, Is The Best Way To Learn (November 30, 2011). 

What is the The Protégé Effect?The Protégé Effect is best explained by saying that student-teachers work harder to understand, recall and apply material more effectively because they are teaching it to someone else.  According to this article, the student-teachers score higher on tests than students who are learning only for their own sake. 

So true!  When I was preparing and researching for my lessons, I discovered that I was:
1) Organizing knowledge and 2) Improving my own understanding. I wanted to master the material.  How could I teach a concept I didn't fully comprehend myself?  I am confident that the majority of "teaching jitters" are due to a lack of not mastering the material or skills needed to pass along to students.  If we get this down, teaching can be a lot less stressful!  This reminds me of the parallels of public speaking jitters.  The initial fear isn't necessarily speaking in front of an audience...the fear stems from not being prepared or knowing what the heck it is we are talking about!

According to Paul, there are also *social*impulses* that make learning-by-teaching so desirable.  Student-teachers are motivated* to help students master material, therefore they study it more conscientiously. 

Finally, above all else, their are *emotions* elicited by teaching which also makes teaching a compelling channel for learning.  When students succeed, an expert labels this feeling with the Yiddish term,
*N*A*C*H*A*S: "Pride and satisfaction that is derived from someone else's accomplishment."