As a person growing up in northern Wisconsin, I have made and still maintain many relationships with individuals who have made an impact on my life. I will admit, this is pretty easy to do, coming from an area where the population is less than 2,000, but even then, many of these relationships have helped me develop into the person that I am today. Besides my parents, some of my most meaningful relationships have been with teachers; Teachers who went above and beyond to see that you have reached your potential, and then some; teachers who still make connections with you even after you graduate and move on to the next chapter of your life. These are the kinds of teachers I know truly care and try to the best of their abilities to be the best teachers that they can be, and I hope to one day make an impact on my future students' lives in the way that my teachers made an impact on me.
I believe that by going above and beyond to help students succeed is one of many ways that I can make a difference in the lives of young people. One way to do so is to simply know your students. By knowing your students, you make them feel worthy and respected by both their peers and you as an educator. By giving students opportunities for success while still challenging them, students gain self-confidence in themselves and learn about what they are capable of achieving.
A personal example I can give of this is my high school Algebra 2 teacher. I had previously had him as a teacher for Algebra 1 so we had somewhat of a relationship, but this teacher did not make a significant impact on my life until Algebra 2. I have struggled with math my whole life, and Algebra 2 was proving to be even more of a struggle. I was failing the course according to the scores I received on my tests, but the results on my daily homework assignments were sufficient. After having a meeting with my teacher, he gave me the opportunity to retake my tests that I had failed, and I would have been insane not to take advantage of it, despite math being my least favorite subject. The one thing that I remember him saying to me was, "I refuse to give you an F in this class." When he told me this, I committed myself to proving to him that I deserved to pass this class. He was able to secure a permanent pass that would allow me to come to his room during Resource to work on homework, he allowed me to retake tests both orally and written, and when I re-took that first test and I received an A-, I broke down in tears because of the weight lifted off of my shoulders. From then on, I began to gain confidence that I could pass this course. Before every test, I re-did EVERY SINGLE homework assignment of the chapter. Eventually I worked my grade up from a F, to a C. Because of this teacher's dedication to my success, I want to be able to give this opportunity to my future students so they can experience what I felt and help them discover that they can do anything through hard work and determination.
Saturday, December 12, 2015
Week of November 23, 2015
"Individuality of expression is the beginning and end of all art." -Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
Initially reading this quote, I will admit that I was stumped at what exactly Von Goethe was trying to say. Upon further processing and reflection, I believe that what Von Goethe was trying to say was that art is a form of expression and each and every work of art is individual to both the viewer and the artist.
I wholly believe that a work of art expresses thoughts, emotions, and ideas, and those feelings are individual to both the viewer and the artist. An artist can infuse personal perspective, opinions, and ideas into a work of art that can be interpreted in the way the artist wants, or in a completely opposite way than originally intended. I believe that this happens when viewing art because a viewer can make connections between what they see in the gallery and compare and contrast it to their lives.
I believe that this quote could even be applied to some of history's most controversial works and the eternal debate of, "What is art?" Is art supposed to make us ponder and reflect, or is it just something that is supposed to be hung on a wall because its "pretty?" Is art supposed to convey the artist's individuality or are we as the viewer supposed to find our individuality within the work?
Week of November 16, 2015
This week in ARTED 308 we had the great privilege of being able to hear about what it is like to go through the job application and interview process from Principal Paul Weber. I found this opportunity to be exceedingly beneficial because I have not had many opportunities to hear from professionals about joining the work force after college or how to go about doing so.
The one aspect of the job searching process that I have been most concerned about is not being prepared enough, and so the most beneficial aspect of this session was to learn how to be better prepared for the interview. One way to do so is by researching the school district to which you are applying to. After the interview, a good way to prepare yourself for future interviews is to write down the questions that you were asked and analyze them. By analyzing the questions, you can start to see patterns of common questions that are asked at interviews, thus giving you opportunities to practice your responses to these questions.
Another aspect of the job search process that I had not taken into consideration is to never turn down an interview, and after discussing this with Mr. Weber, it only makes sense. By participating in interviews, you are practicing how to participate in interviews. Even if you participate in an interview for a job you don't necessarily want, it still is only beneficial to you. These opportunities can help you practice and then by the time you have an interview for the job you truly want, your interview skills should be top notch.
Overall, I am ecstatic that my classmates and I had this opportunity to better learn about the job search and interview process, and I believe that the other art education classes could benefit from this information as well. I feel more confident in my abilities to prepare for looking for a career and going through the interview process, and by doing so, I can only go up from here.
The one aspect of the job searching process that I have been most concerned about is not being prepared enough, and so the most beneficial aspect of this session was to learn how to be better prepared for the interview. One way to do so is by researching the school district to which you are applying to. After the interview, a good way to prepare yourself for future interviews is to write down the questions that you were asked and analyze them. By analyzing the questions, you can start to see patterns of common questions that are asked at interviews, thus giving you opportunities to practice your responses to these questions.
Another aspect of the job search process that I had not taken into consideration is to never turn down an interview, and after discussing this with Mr. Weber, it only makes sense. By participating in interviews, you are practicing how to participate in interviews. Even if you participate in an interview for a job you don't necessarily want, it still is only beneficial to you. These opportunities can help you practice and then by the time you have an interview for the job you truly want, your interview skills should be top notch.
Overall, I am ecstatic that my classmates and I had this opportunity to better learn about the job search and interview process, and I believe that the other art education classes could benefit from this information as well. I feel more confident in my abilities to prepare for looking for a career and going through the interview process, and by doing so, I can only go up from here.
Week of November 9, 2015
This week we were challenged to create an art room supply budget for an entire academic year, with the choice of either a K-5 classroom or a 9-12 classroom. The K-5 class was given a budget of $2,500 and the 9-12 class was given a budget of $5,000. I decided to have a K-5 classroom, and taking into factor the amount of students I would have, about 450, as well as the limited budget amount, it was challenging to say the least. This activity provoked me to think about ways I could possibly stretch out an art budget to the best of my abilities.
1) Use recyclable materials: This one I actually learned from my cooperating teacher during my Practicum experience! For example, the students at my Practicum placement recently completed a unit where they created African masks by using microwave meal trays. My cooperating teacher acquired this uncommon material from her neighbors, which then leads to my next idea for stretching a budget...
2) MAKE CONNECTIONS!: By making connections with art education colleagues, coworkers, and with the community, it can give you opportunities to acquire materials at a reduced price or even for free.
3) Garage Sales: Many of the materials that my cooperating teacher has accumulated throughout the years have come garage and/or yard sales
4) Apply for grants: Applying for grants can help stretch your budget by earning "free money," for lack of a better term, in order to acquire much needed supplies of even equipment so you have more variety of mediums present in your classroom
5) Shop during sales: While online shopping for the supplies needed for my classroom, I took advantage of Cyber Monday deals and it cut off a huge portion of the cost of materials I ordered (granted, it depends on which vendor you shop from)
6) Purchase materials from several vendors: Don't just choose one vendor when purchasing materials. One vendor my have a better deal than the next vendor!
7) Shop in the Clearance Rack: This is pretty self-explanatory, and while you might run the risk of purchasing a product that will soon be discontinued, it can temporarily help you out if you are under a tight budget by purchasing items 70% off or even better
8) Look for Alternatives when Creating Art: Its okay to look for alternative mediums to achieve a similar looking finished product. For example, if your budget doesn't allow for a kiln or clay, use air dry clay or paper mache
8) Look for Alternatives when Creating Art: Its okay to look for alternative mediums to achieve a similar looking finished product. For example, if your budget doesn't allow for a kiln or clay, use air dry clay or paper mache
Tuesday, December 8, 2015
Week of October 26, 2015
This week we had a guest speaker, Ramona Carrier, speak to my ARTED 308 class about working with students with special needs, as well as learning how to use a SMARTboard and how to implement them into the classroom. Overall, I found this experience to be very beneficial, especially in regards to the vast degree of disabilities that I may encounter through my educational career.
One of the concerns I have had as a future educator is how to work with and include students with disabilities into the classroom, especially because the diversity of disabilities is so vast and broad. The most essential factor that I found to be beneficial in how to learn how to include students with disabilities into the class is to simply ask about them; talk with your students, talk with the paraprofessionals, talk with the guidance counselors. It is ALWAYS okay to ask questions!
One of the concerns I have had as a future educator is how to work with and include students with disabilities into the classroom, especially because the diversity of disabilities is so vast and broad. The most essential factor that I found to be beneficial in how to learn how to include students with disabilities into the class is to simply ask about them; talk with your students, talk with the paraprofessionals, talk with the guidance counselors. It is ALWAYS okay to ask questions!
Week of October 19, 2015
One way that I see myself including academic language and literacy into the art room is by including reading, writing, and opportunities to include discussion about artwork.
I have made attempts at including literacy and including academic language into the lesson that I will be teaching to my Practicum students by first introducing the unit with a book that introduces the students to Australia. This semester, the students' curricula encompasses the continents of Africa and Australia, and the unit that I will be teaching will be the first unit that is based out of Australia. By reading the book "Australia ABCs: A Book About the People and Places of Australia," the students will be further exposed to the country besides what they currently know. I plan on implementing this type of instruction into my teaching style at various times throughout the school year.
By including writing into the classroom, students will 1)improve on their writing skills, 2) practice writing and using the academic language appropriate for the unit, and 3)improve the students' literacy. Students would have opportunities to write during such activities as think-pair-shares, writing self assessments, vocabulary quizzes/tests, etc.
By giving students opportunities to have discussions about artists' works, their own works, etc., students will have the chance to verbally demonstrate academic language and refine their understanding of those terms.
I have made attempts at including literacy and including academic language into the lesson that I will be teaching to my Practicum students by first introducing the unit with a book that introduces the students to Australia. This semester, the students' curricula encompasses the continents of Africa and Australia, and the unit that I will be teaching will be the first unit that is based out of Australia. By reading the book "Australia ABCs: A Book About the People and Places of Australia," the students will be further exposed to the country besides what they currently know. I plan on implementing this type of instruction into my teaching style at various times throughout the school year.
By including writing into the classroom, students will 1)improve on their writing skills, 2) practice writing and using the academic language appropriate for the unit, and 3)improve the students' literacy. Students would have opportunities to write during such activities as think-pair-shares, writing self assessments, vocabulary quizzes/tests, etc.
By giving students opportunities to have discussions about artists' works, their own works, etc., students will have the chance to verbally demonstrate academic language and refine their understanding of those terms.
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