Art Room Goals

Every student has an art goal in class each week. As the students enter my room, I get them seated and settled down so I can proceed to introduce or review a lesson. I first demonstrate what I want the students to do, and I ask for a volunteer to read the art goals that are posted on the white board while still at the demonstration table. A student will read the goals that repeat what I just finished showing them by demonstration. I explain that their goal is what I want them to complete today in class, and if they are working and not fooling around, they should be able to complete their goal for the day. Questions, if any are answered and the students go back to their seats to get to work. I estimate that half the class can work independently, and the other half can't seem to do the task on their own without my help. Is it because they aren't paying attention while I'm talking, or do they have trouble with multiple step tasks? Generally I think it's the later, and for this reason alone it's so important to post the goals on the board for all to see. If they get confused, the steps are clearly stated on the board for the student to read at any time. It's also a good idea to post the goals for the anxious student who walks in the door and asks "what are we doing today?" as they pass by me to enter the room. All I have to say is "read the board" for the student who can't wait any longer. Posting the goals helps me as a teacher to stay focused and organized especially since I travel from one location to another everyday.

Why Did I Become a Teacher

Kathy mentioned that we should review our personal mission statements and ask ourselves "Why did we become teachers?" For me that's an easy question to answer since I became a teacher later in life. I simply needed to continue to follow my passion for art and design and take it to another level, which for me was sharing my abilities with K-12 students. When my own kids were young I volunteered weekly at their elementary school, Southtowns Catholic School. The principal at the time was Jerry Baldelli, and at a PTA meeting, he asked us parents to write down an anonymous wish for the school and place it in a box. I wrote that I wished the school could have a mural or some type of art that represented our lively and energetic student body. All the hallways in the school were painted beige, and there was very little color to be found in the building. The school looked like an old hospital to me and I hated it. To make a long story short, my anonymous note became my own six month project involving two hundered students painting full length, self-portraits on primary colored walls. After that experience I re-evaluated my professional life and realized that I spent most of my time designing print materials that talked people into buying products, eating in specific restaurants or visiting local attractions. I needed more, and wanted to channel my abilities into something more meaningful. So I made the decision to work towards my art certification once both my children reached Middle School age. By the way, I started my college education at Buffalo State in 1978 as an Art Education major and changed it to Design in my senior year. Funny how life turns out, I have truly come full circle with no regrets and know in my heart that my art teaching career was meant to be.

Synergize, Synergize!

My art room has certain routines that when followed, make the class run like clockwork. For instance in the beginning of class I call one art leader from each table to pass out artwork and certain supplies. While they're doing that, I'm usually handing out paint, water or paper mache glue. It makes my job easier and faster to have these students help in the beginning of class. But at the end of class I call on ALL students to synergize to help clean up the artroom. Before a student can wash up from class, they first need to put away their artwork, and then go back to the table to collect their supplies and take it to the cart. It's hard to believe at this point in the year that I still have to remind some students that they need to take care of their supplies before washing their hands. At clean-up time, I'm constantly saying take care of your artwork first, then go to back to your table and get your dirty brush and paint palette and return it to the cart, then you may wash your hands. When we paint in art class we need about ten minutes of clean-up time for eveyone to take care of their art, put away supplies and wash their hands. Students are supposed to synergize at the end of class to clean up their own tables. Most students do, but I constantly have some students look at me like its their first day of school, totally puzzeled as to where everything belongs once they're finished with it. I sometimes wonder if they do anything to help clean up at home. If not, they don't have any concept of helping to clean up at school. So one day I started clapping my hands, singing "Synergize, synergize thats the way, to clean the art room everyday". I repeated the tune over and over again and it seemed to get the kids motivated to synergize and help clean up. When we all work together we get the job done faster and more efficiently.

Art Goals are a Win-Win

Since our lighthouse meeting at Jim's house, I've been more consistent in posting my art class goals on the white board for each art class. Instead of just telling my students what I want them to accomplish each class, I discuss it as the art goal and write it on my white board for the entire class to see. I really liked the way we posted all our ideas on the walls of Jim's house, and I remember discussing with Brian that's its a really good idea to post our student's class goals. Before our meeting I was writing the class goals on the board, but not consistently because of time constraints. Now, instead of worrying about the time constraints of getting each new goal on the board as classes switch, I approach it as a discusson in the beginning of class and write the goal as part of my intro. to the lesson. The students are really attentive as I write the class goal on the board, as if it was a mystery unfolding. I let them know that the goal is what I expect them to accomplish in class for that day. If they meet their goal they know that they've worked hard in class and were successful in the art task. At the end of class I ask all students who reached their goal to raise their hands and I applaud them for a job well done in accomplishing their goal. I inform all students that if they didn't reach their goal, maybe they were talking or fooling around too much when they should have been more focused on their artwork. Posting the goal in class is a great way for students to gauge themselves on how well they're working in class. If they reached their goal they know they've been successful in the art room that day. If they did not reach their goal, they can internalize what they need to improve upon so they can be successful the next time. It's a win-win for both student and teacher that class goals and expectations are clear and simply stated so that every student can succeed in the art classroom.

Service Learning in the Art Room

This year Art Club will be involved in a Service Learning project. I decided to start Art Club later in the year due to my last sememster at Buffalo State that ends next week (Yea!). Since September, I've been reminding the 6th grade students that only serious, dedicated, hard working artists should sign up for art club this year. Happily I had 22 students sign up, and they are the most diligent workers and best behaved students in the sixth grade. We started the first meeting with a brief slide show about the kids that need our help at Women and Children's Hospital. I explained to our students that as a Lighthouse School we need to reach out to the community and give back by serving others. This year our school chose to serve the community by helping other kids, and raise money for Women and Children's Hospital. I went on to explain how Variety Club works, and that the hospital can't survive without donations from the community. Kyle immediately spoke up to tell the story of how Children's Hospital saved his life. After listening to Kyle's story, the students really began to understand how vital this hospital is to our community. Then I posed the question, "What can an art club do to help the community?" Many students shared their ideas until we all agreed to make something we can sell. I reminded them that we had no budget, so whatever we made would come from the supplies we have in the art room. We decided to make a two column chart on the Promethean asking, What can we make, and How do we sell it. The students were very enthusiastic and we filled both sides of the chart with ideas through sharing and discussion. I told the students from the beginning that I had my own idea in mind, but I wanted to see what they thought we should do first. Funny thing is, my ideas ended up right in front of me on the Promethean board. On their list under the "To Make" column was paper mache sculpture, and under the "How to Sell" column was Chinese Auction. They came up with the same ideas I had, all on their own. We reviewed all the choices and as a group decided to make large Chihuly inspired bowls out of paper mache that we can sell by silent auction on Fine Arts Night. Even though I had this idea already planned, I needed the students to come up with their own ideas so they could take ownership of the entire process. I plan on having the students not only create the vessels, but also promote, display, sell and distribute the vessels after the auction. This should be an awesome year in art club, and I'm anxious to see how it all works out.

Think Win-Win with a visit to the Albright-Knox

The 6th grade field trip to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery is quickly becoming my favorite annual Winchester activity. I am amazed at the reaction my students have to visiting the gallery for the first time. Some students have never been to a museum let alone a world class gallery like the Albright-Knox. The Gallery is committed to collecting and displaying contemporary works of art from some of the most cutting edge artists working today, along with original master works by Jackson Pollack (a Winchester favorite) Picasso, Monet and Warhol. The timing could not have been more perfect for the 6th grade class who just finished studying the figurative sculptures of Alberto Giacometti. The gallery collection includes the original "Walking Man" by Giacometti that the students just viewed and discussed in class. For our students to see this sculpture up close and personal was a memorable and powerful learning experience. Taking this field trip allowed our students to view original works in a magnificent setting that feels like a world away from West Seneca. I'm a believer in taking students out of the classroom environment and into the community to enhance learning, it is a win-win situation for everyone. The students win by discovering original works of art inside a world class museum environment, creating a lasting educational experience. It is a win-win situation for the Gallery, attracting as many young people to the Gallery as possible, increasing the chances that they will become life long patrons of the arts. It is a win-win for West Seneca Schools because there is no cost to the district, with busing being subsidized by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Western New York. Finally, it is a win-win for meeting the educational goals of our district through the visual arts curriculum, that works to develop critical thinking skills in our students. What better way to encourage critical thinking than to visit our gallery that has an abundance of visual stimulation. I look forward to future trips outside our classroom walls and into the community where I can explore learning opportunities that create life long memories for our students.

P.S. Don't forget Gusto at the Gallery Friday nights, with FREE admission to the Gallery. For Sabres Fans (and I know you're out there) the current "Forty Years" hockey exhibit is highly recommended. Send me a post after your visit and let me know about your experience. Thank you Mrs. Mock and Mrs. Waite for the awesome thank you notes from your students, I love the drawings and heart felt thoughts about the trip.

Teaching Eachother to Be Proactive

I love to observe the students teaching eachother to be proactive in the art room. There's nothing more that prove's the Habits are working, than watching students in action correcting eachother's behavior. There are days when I have to wait an awful long time for some students to stop talking, before I can continue on with a lesson. I really enjoy seeing a student tell the rest of the class to be quiet and let them know that they're not being very proactive. I see this kind of behavior more and more every week, and it confirms that what we're doing is working. Some kids have a natural tendency to be leaders on their own, they have a confidence within them that other kids tend to respond to. These students are the ones who naturally speak up in class and tell others to be more proactive. Its positive peer preasure! Nothing matters more at this age than to be accepted by your peers, and when a fellow class mate tells you to be more proactive, I think it means more than the teacher saying it over and over. We are changing the behaviors of some of our students, over time that number will ultimately grow. It is hard work, it takes consistency and sometimes I even forget to apply the habits where I could have in a situation, because I am so busy. But its really rewarding to have a student remind you of that 7 Habit teaching/learning opportunity.