Trust

(Image from http://www.etchingsetc.net/photo_4.html)

Okay, so I didn't answer the prompt on trust.  I was ADD before there was such a thing, so it's probably just a good thing I responded at all and didn't blow up the interweb while in the process...

One of the biggest aha moments of my early art teacher career (back during the Herbert Hoover administration) came in my second year in the LaGrange art room (actually, Science Lab, but who's counting).  I had a boy in fourth grade who was a superstar of drawing nature.  He could draw so well, not photographic but just really, really effective.  He was quiet, hard-working and just a kind of "get-out-of-his-way-because-he-is-just-better-than-whatever-I-can-try-to-teach-him-so-I'd-better-just-lay-low."  I praised him and built him up a lot because he wore it well, not at all big-headed.  He seemed so happy to be in the art room, and his classmates enjoyed him and went to him for ideas and strategies, especially with drawing trees.

We were going to have some artists and artwork recognized in the building, and I chose him as one of the recipients.  I told his classroom teacher about it, figuring she would say, "Oh, yes, Jehosophat (not real name) is my top dog."  But instead, she told me, "I'm so glad.  Jehosophat is my biggest struggling student.  He can barely write his name, does poorly with math, and doesn't enjoy himself much at school because he's so far behind."  I was floored.  I told her that this boy was one of the bright lights of the art room, and was in my opinion an advanced student.  His teacher, who was by the way one of the best in the building, told me, "He lives for art class.  He loves it and he feels like he's a great student, if just for that one period."

The art room should be the safest place in the school, because any child can succeed.  I don't mean every child is going to grow up to be Rembrandt, or Dr. Seuss, or even the guy who designed the Ritz cracker box, but he or she can blossom and thrive in the art room because there's really no way you can mess up, unless you don't try.  It is a place where every student should be able to trust his or her teacher to create a safe place.

Fostering Art Literacy through Assessment

After our discussion on art literacy through assessment, please post a response to this reflection:

1. I believe this is one thing I am doing well (or would like to celebrate) in my classroom with regard to fostering art literacy through assessment.

2. This is one assessment strategy I would like to try in my classroom/ or a lingering question I have for a fellow art educator regarding their use of assessment to foster art literacy.

Classroom Community...Building Trust/Safety

Trust/safety is one of the most important factors in any classroom.  Trust in my classroom includes that everyone will be safe and be given the opportunity to learn and create.  It is a pertinent part of relationships between students and teachers...and equally between teacher and students...trust should always be purposely created.
In the art room, where there are so many levels of artist, kids need to feel safe in creating.  No matter where they are...they should feel the confidence to create and be proud of their work. 

Robin Grattan
Centerfield Art Teacher

Safety and trust in the art room

I believe it is important to feel safe in the art room...."safe" for the student to artistically express himself (feel comfortable doing so) as well as "safety" rules being followed by all students.  When the environment allows for both to occur, then I think a lot is possible inside the 4 walls of my room.  All students need to realize it is a privilege to create art with so many different tools and mediums. Therefore, the expectation must be there for proper and "safe" use of each.  Once that expectation is established, so much can be done!!
betsyf

Native American Unit: "Talking Sticks"

Well...I was SO successful :) at blogging (thanks Kelly!) that I did decide to come back and blog again. One of my first lessons this year (with 3/4/5's) is titled "Talking Sticks"...also referred to as "Medicine Sticks", "God Sticks", and/or "Walking Sticks". It has been so much fun making these with the students. I got the lesson idea actually from the Dick Blick Catalog. There are always a few really interesting lessons included in their catalogs each year, detailing steps, media needed, etc. I chose this particular lesson as part of my Native American Unit and feel it has been a pretty good success. If you'd like to see what Dick Blick listed in their catalog on this lesson, go to DickBlick.com and type in "Polynesian Medicine Sticks". It will pull up info such as pictures of the actual artwork, process steps, and National Standards for Visual Arts Education.
I decided to use Model Magic Modeling Compound in neutral colors, instead of the recommended clay, and it does work great, but is fairly expensive to purchase. I had my students bring in an appropriate size stick for the core.Give LOTS of prior notice and notes home to parents so they don't forget to bring them. Even with all this, I had to bring in lots myself to help out the ones that forgot (or didn't bother to do it...), but most kids did bring them and were very enthusiastic. I "pumped" them up on this project, showing them lots of pictures of them on the Elmo ahead of start of lesson... and telling them how exciting this project would be!
I will bring an example to show you at our next meeting.
Thanks,
Cindy

News from Cindy's Corner...

Hi everyone! Well, I just sent all of you an email letting you know I tried this bog thing and was unsuccessful, but now, here I am trying again...hopefully it will work! This time I am trying with the new set of directions from Kelly (thanks again Kelly...you're great!)...this new set of directions seems pretty simple. I will not pretend to be a "Computer Nerd/Whiz", but I do what I need to, and then some...still learning all the time! :)

I will bring my lessons, etc. to our first meeting, so I will not be posting anything here for now.
All of yours are great though!
Cindy

Haiku & Art

(Image from http://www.earthrites.org/turfing/?p=3226)

Maybe I'm weird, maybe I'm different, but I like to try new things in the art room to keep things from getting stale.  At the end of the last school year, I got a couple of books full of ideas.  One included some stuff about poetry.  As an English major at Centre College many centuries ago, I read plenty of poetry.  Didn't write much of it, but appreciated it, studied it and wrote a bazillion papers on it.  Several years ago at LaGrange, the Arts & Humanities teachers got to go into the regular classrooms and spend time doing collaboration and enrichment work with the kids.  One unit I did involved writing poetry.  It was seemingly a success, but I never really pursued it again.

(Photo used by permission of me, since I took it)

I decided last spring to try again this year, but I wanted to stick to haiku.  I like the short length, the structure as well as the ideals behind haiku.  What we've been doing is making interpretive drawings of masterpieces, such as "Sunny Day" as a takeoff of "Starry Night" or a vase of Venus Flytraps instead of Sunflowers, then writing a haiku to display alongside.  We do so much writing in my room that the kids haven't batted an eye.  I've been doing this with first through fifth graders, and no kids whatsoever have had a problem at least trying.  Some of the poetry hasn't been half bad, either.  I've enjoyed working on this with the kids--it's been kind of like Writers' Workshop in my room lately--and I'll keep trying to incorporate new stuff.  While listening to the traditional Japanese music I'm playing in my room, a young man looked up at me and asked, "Is this art class or is this music class or is this writing class?"  Good question.  By the way, the guy in the pic at top is Basho, ancient haiku master.

--Corey

Trust in the classroom and building community in the Art room

I loved Kelly's post so much...written so well and great ideas! I like to build trust by encouraging an air of openness in the art room. If a child is creatively "stuck" he/she is encouraged to put their artwork up on the wall/door/board (with magnets), step back to look at it and ask for other classmates to give input. This option is just that, an option. I model how this is done so they understand it is constructive critique we are looking for.
If I have displayed an entire classroom's work in the hall on a board or wall, the class will go out for a critique taking turns commenting on work until all have had someone say something about their work. We of course keep it mostly positive but do give gentle suggestions, if needed, on how the art piece could have been worked differently.
Art critiques can also be the artist talking about his or her own work explaining why a subject matter was chosen or why certain colors were used. It gives students a chance to practice speaking in front of others and use their "art words". Mara

mezerins

Kelley, I am not sure I have spelled your name correct. I really liked your blog. I wanted to "comment" on it but could not do it by clicking the "comment"(?) Still working on understanding this "Blog" thing and determined to get it!!  I liked the idea of the perceived "mistake" setting the artist in a possible new direction! I will definitely use your ideas with my students! Take care!

Strategies for safety and trust in the classroom

(This is a response to the post below)

In the art classroom, it is important that kids feel safe to make mistakes or to try something new, even if they are not sure they will succeed.

To that end, one strategy that I use is simply to celebrate our shared learning experience at the end of class (either during our "wrap-up" session or when the students' general classroom teacher comes to pick them up). I verbally acknowledge that "mistakes are great opportunities to learn," that they are okay, and that I often learn more from overcoming a challenge or making a mistake than I do if there are no difficulties along the way.

I also stress this expectation throughout the year: that mistakes can often lead our creativity in a new direction. If a student (for example) makes a mark in a painting that they didn't intend to make (esp. if the mark can't be easily erased), I confer with the student regarding how to let that mistake lead their thinking in a new direction. Thus, they are not just trying to "fix" the mistake, but allowing it to change their thinking. I don't know how many times students have responded after they have finished their artwork, "I actually like it better now than I did before I 'messed up!' " The other option, of course is to discuss "creative fixes" for these situations, using the medium at hand or another artistic medium to allow the student to see their initial vision through to fruition. After all, it is their choice whether to change their thinking or to find another way to achieve their planned result.

A good fictional book to promote this concept is Ready to Dream by Donna Jo Napoli (2009). The story centers around a young girl who loves to create art; but other factors cause her artworks to turn out differently than she meant for them to (i.e. turbulence on a plane, something tearing her paper, etc). An adult artist helps her to see that these "mistakes" can inspire her to think about her art in new ways.

Welcome art teachers

Welcome art teachers of Oldham County Schools!  The purpose of this blog is to help us better foster creativity, confidence, problem solving skills, and appreciation of art in our students.

As we experiment with the blogging process, I suggest a preliminary exercise to familiarize ourselves with the blogging process.  The topic of this conversation exercise is the creation of an environment of safety and trust in our classrooms.  This topic, one of our goals for our district art programs, will allow us to get conversation started while familiarizing ourselves with the process of posting and commenting to other posts on this blog.

Once you have gained access to this blog, please do the following:

1. Create a New Post on this blog, elaborating upon a strategy you use in your classroom to promote an environment of safety and trust.
2. After reading some of the posts, "comment" on at least one.

In the future, I suggest that we create New Posts when starting a new topic of discussion, whereas we should create Comments when we are responding to a previously published post.  Does this seem agreeable to everyone?