Yesterday, I finished my second week at Peabody. I know that others have commented on this, but really the environment is such an overwhelming part of the program! I was just blown away entering the school's space and, in particular, the art room. Literally everything in the school stimulates creativity and imagination in some way. There were amazing things to look at, cool books laying out for the students to pick up, musical instruments, animals, etc.
I can see how for some teachers and students this could be chaotic and I don't think this approach is for everyone. However, for me it was amazing-it made me want to teach and/or have my son learn in a place like this. Not only did I feel like I took away tips and ideas for my future classroom but I also feel like I left with a head full of ideas for my own parenting. I loved how the materials were out and available to the students. I also really appreciated the fact that nothing was too precious; including the students' own artwork. Completed and in-progress projects were laying around on the tables- not sequestered in display cases or put off limits to prying fingers. I feel like this atmosphere encourages experimentation and autonomy-if nothing is too precious then you are not afraid to use different or unknown materials and explore your ideas.
The other thing I loved was the wide variety of materials the Peabody students had access to. Not limiting art to simply standard art materials and incorporating found and recycled materials, encourages students to be aware of art in their environment. Not to mention it instills an ethic of recycling and conservation. If bottle tops, lids, packages can be reused for art projects then things cease being considered just one time disposable objects.
The other thing I really liked (which I think speaks to my own learning style)is the project-based nature of the art curriculum. I am not good at thinking quickly and really like having time to develop and revise my ideas. The fact that the students worked on their ideas over a period of time and in a number of forms (sketches, plans, etc.) really appealed to me.
I definitely left Peabody feeling excited about what was possible in an art room and art program.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Articulate 2
This weeks observations made me think the purpose of the art room. The Corcorans Art Ed program encourages a broad and considered use of the arts that include studio, art history, art criticism, and aesthetics. The Corcoran program also encourages using art to teach subjects or issues such as character development, math, science, etc.
In all except one of my observations, studio is all that has been attended to. This is not a criticism. I have not spent much time in any of these places and a large portion of my observations were with Kindergarteners who were not ready for a full discussion on aesthetics. It is an observation that makes me wonder if studio is the basis of most school art programs. (I would like to add that Ms. Dorothy, at WVSA, was the only teacher who taught an art history lesson or present anything.)
The Articulate classroom is unique from other classes, and it may be that studio work is the most suited for the purpose of this program, but here is a another classroom to observe. As a teaching style, Jude seems to have a running philosophic narrative about art and life that his students may or may not relate to. The classes have an organic flow. Jude seems to teach one on one versus giving group instruction. Today that individualized attention included drawing on a students work.
For Jude technique is important. Showing a student how to develop observation skills and how to create an accurate visual representation is a part of students artistic development. But, I don't know about drawing on someone's work. Maybe as a teacher you learn which students this is a effective for, maybe you ask first, but personally I remember being very uncomfortable when teachers would do this to my work. I will reflect more.
From one perspective, the studio art room can focus on mastery of skill, from an alternate perspective, the expression and comprehension of visual language may have more emphasis. I agree with the Corcoran philosophy: exploit art for all it is capable of, and if time and energy permit, I agree with designing lessons with purpose. Not all students will be fine representational artists, or artists at all, but nevertheless students can learn from or take pleasure in the arts when education is made available and the classroom experiences are more encouraging than discouraging.
In all except one of my observations, studio is all that has been attended to. This is not a criticism. I have not spent much time in any of these places and a large portion of my observations were with Kindergarteners who were not ready for a full discussion on aesthetics. It is an observation that makes me wonder if studio is the basis of most school art programs. (I would like to add that Ms. Dorothy, at WVSA, was the only teacher who taught an art history lesson or present anything.)
The Articulate classroom is unique from other classes, and it may be that studio work is the most suited for the purpose of this program, but here is a another classroom to observe. As a teaching style, Jude seems to have a running philosophic narrative about art and life that his students may or may not relate to. The classes have an organic flow. Jude seems to teach one on one versus giving group instruction. Today that individualized attention included drawing on a students work.
For Jude technique is important. Showing a student how to develop observation skills and how to create an accurate visual representation is a part of students artistic development. But, I don't know about drawing on someone's work. Maybe as a teacher you learn which students this is a effective for, maybe you ask first, but personally I remember being very uncomfortable when teachers would do this to my work. I will reflect more.
From one perspective, the studio art room can focus on mastery of skill, from an alternate perspective, the expression and comprehension of visual language may have more emphasis. I agree with the Corcoran philosophy: exploit art for all it is capable of, and if time and energy permit, I agree with designing lessons with purpose. Not all students will be fine representational artists, or artists at all, but nevertheless students can learn from or take pleasure in the arts when education is made available and the classroom experiences are more encouraging than discouraging.
Choice week 2
I spent choice site two watching one of the other teachers at Sitar. Yeah, yeah- it seems like a cop out being that I teach there as well- but with no word from the center for the aging, I decided this was a pretty good alternative choice. I watched the ages 10-18 illustration class which proved to be a pretty interesting dynamic. The range of ages could prove to be a difficult group to handle- without factoring that this is an after school program and the kids have already pushed through an entire day.
The kids were quiet, focused, and intent on creating good representations of the blocks on the tables in front of them. I remember being in an illustration class at age 10- my drawings mostly looked like cave paintings and I would have been bored to tears trying to render the perfect shadow on a wooden cube. In fact, I remember being bored to tears, which is perhaps why I am not very good at drawing. I will attribute their attentiveness to a few things, 1) that they chose to sign up for this course as opposed to others, 2) that the older students guide the younger ones by displaying appropriate behavior, and 3) that the teacher has excellent classroom management skills.
The older students are well into high school and are clearly there to practice their arts seriously. The students take the class assignments quite seriously, not treating the course as if it were just a way to pass the time after school until dinner. The younger students then fall in line with the behavior of the older ones. It's not to say that they are not having fun, its just that they are quiet, focused, and try their best to complete the assignment before the class ends. I attribute this as much to the self-guided study as to their teacher's management. She steps in for more guidance with the younger ones, but generally hangs back and allows her students to create. Stepping in when they need help, or offering advice, but really allowing them to take in the experience. A part of the class that I really enjoyed was at the end she had all of the students stand behind their chairs and circle the room single file. The students then got to look at the work that everyone had done with a certain degree of anonymity. It freed the students from the pressure of speaking about there work, but still allowed everyone to see the progress and ideas that had come out of the assignment. I thought this was a great idea, but the more that I think about it, it seems like the most practical way to share work in a group of students that has such a large range of age and experience.
The kids were quiet, focused, and intent on creating good representations of the blocks on the tables in front of them. I remember being in an illustration class at age 10- my drawings mostly looked like cave paintings and I would have been bored to tears trying to render the perfect shadow on a wooden cube. In fact, I remember being bored to tears, which is perhaps why I am not very good at drawing. I will attribute their attentiveness to a few things, 1) that they chose to sign up for this course as opposed to others, 2) that the older students guide the younger ones by displaying appropriate behavior, and 3) that the teacher has excellent classroom management skills.
The older students are well into high school and are clearly there to practice their arts seriously. The students take the class assignments quite seriously, not treating the course as if it were just a way to pass the time after school until dinner. The younger students then fall in line with the behavior of the older ones. It's not to say that they are not having fun, its just that they are quiet, focused, and try their best to complete the assignment before the class ends. I attribute this as much to the self-guided study as to their teacher's management. She steps in for more guidance with the younger ones, but generally hangs back and allows her students to create. Stepping in when they need help, or offering advice, but really allowing them to take in the experience. A part of the class that I really enjoyed was at the end she had all of the students stand behind their chairs and circle the room single file. The students then got to look at the work that everyone had done with a certain degree of anonymity. It freed the students from the pressure of speaking about there work, but still allowed everyone to see the progress and ideas that had come out of the assignment. I thought this was a great idea, but the more that I think about it, it seems like the most practical way to share work in a group of students that has such a large range of age and experience.
Monday, April 6, 2009
WVSA
I apparently was in the wrong place last week ? I don't know. I went to WVSA and told them I was from the Corcoran and they took me to Jude's classroom and the Articulate program. So that is where I spent my afternoon.
They have their studio in a basement room that was sorta cramped. They had 2 (?) macs available for the students and previous work hung everywhere and piles and piles of books and works in progress. It was quite the storehouse.
The mood in the room was relaxing and welcoming. The ARTiculate program is a program for special needs kids to young adults, I think it was ages 15-25. A big drive for the art work they produce is the gallery in the school which of course is trying to sell the works. The gallery gives them themes and they have to work on that theme and produce things for the gallery. The theme they are working on right now is "beauty as in the eye of the beholder". They had images printed off the computer of different ideas of beauty from different cultures. The students were using the images that appealed to them and reinterpreting them in their works.
Jude takes a backseat in the program and seems to be more of someone who is guiding them and available for them when they need, he does not hang over everyone's shoulder. And the students work well on their own and get right to things as they come in. They know when it is time for them to stop and clean up and they do so in time to catch their various rides to wherever they are going.
Art within a School Within a School
Before starting my blog entry for the day, I browsed what other people have said thus far this week. I started to laugh to myself when I read Malkie's. We were at the same site on Tuesday and apparently placed great importance on the same thing: the room.
When I walked into the art room at SWS I was blown away. I was surprised enough to chuckle a little as I took the environment in. There was pictures and sketches and posters all over the walls. Every horizontal surface area was buried in art, art supplies, knick-knacks, or all of the above. There were paint-stained tables and textiles hanging everywhere. There were even huge sculptures of a pegasus and a butterfly hanging from the ceiling. I was temporarily overwhelmed. But, in a opposite reaction from Malkie, I laughed because I loved the decor. In fact, that classroom looks just like my bedroom, right down the collection of trite plastic snowglobes from around the world.
Somehow, I never thought my bedroom full of junk and art bits would make a good learning environment. However, the SWS's art room did. Sure, things were confusing and hard to find, but the teacher seemed to navigate her endless plastic bins of supplies well. Even the students knew where things were, and recognized areas like the "Ask Me" supply section. The biggest obstacle in organization I saw was us three ladies sitting and blocking off access the bins.
What I appreciated most about the environment was that, true to Reggio form, it was the "third teacher." Everything in the room reinforced creative learning. I also greatly enjoyed the paradox that everything in the room was both precious and non-precious. Every bottle cap, Styrofoam meat tray, sketch, and fairy house was appreciated for its creative potential or creativeness. Yet, the tables, tools, sinks, et cetera weren't treated as precious objects. Of course, everyone in the room respected the items, but the instructor did not fret a drop of paint her or some glue stick goop there. I think that's a good perspective. All too often art classrooms become stressful over a need to keep the tables pristine. They're art tables. If you do it right, they'll get (a little) dirty.
I'll be interested to see what Malkie and I notice next time, after we're over the shock of the super-packed room.
When I walked into the art room at SWS I was blown away. I was surprised enough to chuckle a little as I took the environment in. There was pictures and sketches and posters all over the walls. Every horizontal surface area was buried in art, art supplies, knick-knacks, or all of the above. There were paint-stained tables and textiles hanging everywhere. There were even huge sculptures of a pegasus and a butterfly hanging from the ceiling. I was temporarily overwhelmed. But, in a opposite reaction from Malkie, I laughed because I loved the decor. In fact, that classroom looks just like my bedroom, right down the collection of trite plastic snowglobes from around the world.
Somehow, I never thought my bedroom full of junk and art bits would make a good learning environment. However, the SWS's art room did. Sure, things were confusing and hard to find, but the teacher seemed to navigate her endless plastic bins of supplies well. Even the students knew where things were, and recognized areas like the "Ask Me" supply section. The biggest obstacle in organization I saw was us three ladies sitting and blocking off access the bins.
What I appreciated most about the environment was that, true to Reggio form, it was the "third teacher." Everything in the room reinforced creative learning. I also greatly enjoyed the paradox that everything in the room was both precious and non-precious. Every bottle cap, Styrofoam meat tray, sketch, and fairy house was appreciated for its creative potential or creativeness. Yet, the tables, tools, sinks, et cetera weren't treated as precious objects. Of course, everyone in the room respected the items, but the instructor did not fret a drop of paint her or some glue stick goop there. I think that's a good perspective. All too often art classrooms become stressful over a need to keep the tables pristine. They're art tables. If you do it right, they'll get (a little) dirty.
I'll be interested to see what Malkie and I notice next time, after we're over the shock of the super-packed room.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
MLK Elementary 4/2/2009
Since last week was Spring Break for DCPS and the prior week was Spring Break for the Corcoran, I have not posted an entry for a while. This week was my first week at MLK elementary. It was interesting on many levels. First, in contrast to Amadon-Bowen: Simply put, there is a very different energy at MLK. Perhaps my impression will change next week, but the school seems much more orderly and calm than A/B. Perhaps it is because it is an established community. The hallways were calm and quiet and there seemed to be a positive energy to the place. Second, of course Bryan Hill has a dedicated art classroom. The room is set up with supplies around the perimeter of the room with tables in a "U" formation in the center of the room. Mr Hill seems to have plenty of storage space and utilizes the classroom well. He does not have a sink and brings in water in tubs on a cart when he has painting projects.
On Tuesday Bryan was giving a lesson using Miro paintings as an opportunity for the children to develop their visual attention to detail. I observed a first grade class as well as a fifth grade class. In the first grade class Bryan gave specific instructions on what elements needed to be in the work and gave them blue and yellow construction paper, glue sticks, scissors and crayons to finish the project. In the fifth grade class Bryan just asked them to make the work. These less specific instructions were in hopes that the children would be using their observations to identify what elements were in the painting and replicate these to complete the assignment.
The children were eager to be in this room and do their work. Only two or three children in each class needed support to complete the assignment. It was clear that some children struggled with the independent nature of the assignment and wanted step-by-step instructions but Bryan resisted this and encouraged their independent problem solving.
I was impressed with the balance of clear rules and warmth that Bryan maintains. He can clearly "speak the language" with these kids so that they know he is serious with his expectations but he seems to know how to do this while still joking with the kids and making them feel valued. He has authority in his classroom (one boy was not allowed to participate in the project because of misbehavior in the hallway), and he also provides a place of learning and fun for the children. The children's works are displayed beautifully in the hallway, again allowing the children an opportunity to be honored for their artistic contributions.
Keys to Bryan's success seem to be preparation, assignments that ensure artistic success for the children, consistency with rules and discipline, and celebration of the children's accomplishments.
Peabody
Wow, this was different. I have never seen a set up or a classroom quite like this one. I will do my best not to sound judgemental but I know that I could never survive in a setting like this. The classroom is fairly small and long. The teacher had it decorated to the hilt and it gave it an enchanted forest kind of feel. But literally every space was taken up. This woman is the queen of the plastic box. She had hundreds of kinds of materials each in their own little Tupperware that the kids could use. She also had a light projector, music station, and a bathroom (public bathroom, kids were going in and out all the time) and much of the students old projects lying around. There was no space to move or to put any other works. Clutter was everywhere and since the students don't take home their work that often, they were storing a lot of pieces everywhere. I need space so this could not work for me.
The students come in rotations and never more than 6 at a time. We were told to be "a fly on the wall" and not to interact so much as to observe. The kids were finishing up a project based on recycling materials and turning them into structures and objects. They had been working on them for a month and had begun the process by sketching about it. It was also being talked about in all of their classes so they get a lot of cross reinforcement. Most of the kids were really done and had little to do so they had about an hour of free time. This meant that they could leave the classroom and wander into the center play area where there are structures are play toys. Again, not being able to see my kids would freak me out. The kids know that the teachers expect them to follow the rules. However, one boy constantly was making a mess at the water table and splashing others. Of course he was, he was a five year old not being watched! So he got a warning and when he did it again he was sent back to his classroom. We were later told that he always has trouble this time of day and the teachers think he needs a nap. Maybe he does or maybe he needs supervision.
The amazing thing is how independent the kids are. They ask for materials and help and have great ideas. However, I do feel like the teacher did guide them and told them what to do in some cases. She really pushed for things and a particular way of doing something if it was what she thought would be best. That is fine, as teachers we will all give advice to our students. But I didn't think that that was part of the Reggio approach. Who knows?
In short, I could never live with this chaos, but it works for her and her students are happy so I can not say that it is a good way or a bad way, just a different way.
The students come in rotations and never more than 6 at a time. We were told to be "a fly on the wall" and not to interact so much as to observe. The kids were finishing up a project based on recycling materials and turning them into structures and objects. They had been working on them for a month and had begun the process by sketching about it. It was also being talked about in all of their classes so they get a lot of cross reinforcement. Most of the kids were really done and had little to do so they had about an hour of free time. This meant that they could leave the classroom and wander into the center play area where there are structures are play toys. Again, not being able to see my kids would freak me out. The kids know that the teachers expect them to follow the rules. However, one boy constantly was making a mess at the water table and splashing others. Of course he was, he was a five year old not being watched! So he got a warning and when he did it again he was sent back to his classroom. We were later told that he always has trouble this time of day and the teachers think he needs a nap. Maybe he does or maybe he needs supervision.
The amazing thing is how independent the kids are. They ask for materials and help and have great ideas. However, I do feel like the teacher did guide them and told them what to do in some cases. She really pushed for things and a particular way of doing something if it was what she thought would be best. That is fine, as teachers we will all give advice to our students. But I didn't think that that was part of the Reggio approach. Who knows?
In short, I could never live with this chaos, but it works for her and her students are happy so I can not say that it is a good way or a bad way, just a different way.
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