ART: Semester Reflection Trailer

Reflection

This process this semester has been truly wonderful, although it has been quite messy. I believe reflection to be an integral part of what it means to be a post-modern, 21st century art educator and completely necessary for students to practice if they are going to become better artists. 

In the short video above, a woman studies her reflection contemplating what must be done to improve the quality of her appearance. Upon reflection she attempts to cover up her imperfections, but in the process undergoes a transformation and decides that she should attempt a different look and add some color. Trying multiple techniques and colors, she appreciates the work it takes and how each color adds another texture and dimension to her appearance. After studying multiple methods, and undergoing a very messy process at the time of application, the cleansing process uncovers her true self and leaves her refreshed and ready to take on whatever comes next. 

Although this video was merely testing out an idea, I thought I would include it for further reflection and refinement. :)

ART: Week 11 - Actual Why? Lesson

Week 11 4/5 - 4/12No reading this week, practice instead!Due end of week 111. Detailed description of, and reflections on the actual lesson you did with students. How did it go? What did you learn? What would you do differently? WHY did it work or not work? Be your own inner annoying child. Record your questions with your response. Compare and contrast with your pre-thinking. * For those of you with non traditional classrooms, contact me with thoughts on alternatives. 

Well, here is how our day actually went down:

Agenda Intro Meeting #3 4/23/14

           • Welcome!

         We started out  by VTSing, keeping our skills sharp. 

           • Teaching Meaning in Art-Making

          Then we discussed our reading of the book. I asked "Do you think it would be a good idea to implement this (meaning the ideas in the book) as part of our practice as art teachers?" We had a short discussion of how helpful (or not) this book was at this point in their journey. The interesting thing was that some people were well beyond it, and others said it helped them to understand using big ideas in concrete terms. I then used the PMI format to dig into specifics about the ideas behind this book. This part was pretty enlightening in terms of how the book was received. 

I also asked them to fill out a card, in regards to this topic, completing the statement, "It would be interesting to see…" 

Then we tried out developing some Big Ideas by creating some mind maps. In partners, each group came up with a Big Idea. Then the tricky part was, without speaking, they were to create the connections. I was hoping that by not speaking at first, each person would be able to then take it in an individual direction and not be led by a preconceived notion of what the big idea was all about. After a little while working on it, we then came back together as large group and did a gallery walk, adding to each other's maps. I got to see where their thinking was at in terms of teaching in big ideas.  I think if I was to do this again, I might have people work individually first, then in partners, then as a group. This way, the ideas might take off in various directions, not just a linear line. 

           • Unpacking the National Core Visual Arts Standards 

We then discussed how standards can be translated into Learning Targets for daily use. This is a rephrasing of a standard so that it makes sense to students (using student vocabulary) and breaks down what it is that will be done that day in class. Most Learning targets start out as "I can…" statements. Most of our schools ask teachers to post their objective or learning target so it can be seen by students. We also discussed how this sets how deep you are going to go, or in regards to the Depth of Knowledge, how you will address the standard.

  

           We looked at some standards and discussed ways to elevate the DOK and how to integrate contemporary artists.

     

We spent some time creating some learning targets and discussing them before breaking for lunch. 

           • Lunch!

           • Technology Integration

After lunch, I had a surprise for the group. I was able to get permission (and secure some funds) to purchase an iPad for each team member! The purpose was to get them thinking about how we can start to incorporate digital media into our lessons. They were so surprised, they thought I was joking. :) 

We started talking then about how we could possibly group the standards and how to address the issue of creating a curriculum that was equal parts tight and loose. How can we be sure to be at the same point of learning (in order to collaborate and have common assessments) and yet, offer teachers (and students) choice in developing their lessons. The recurring theme in our era of standardization.  

We weren't able to really get to the last two parts of our agenda:

  • Looking at a Spiraling Curriculum

           • Upload Step 1 Artifact

But we decided, we wanted to meet again to shore up our thinking and get some work down on paper. The next meeting would then be to discuss overarching big ideas that would encapsulate what standards would be taught in what order. 

So compared to what I wanted to do, not too off topic.

1) Discuss our reading of Teaching Meaning in Artmaking

2) Write Transfer Goals for this course.

3) Unpack the Core Arts Standards for High School Art level I & II.

4) Determine possible combinations of standards as well as opportunities to spiral in order to develop common units.

5) Identify Priority Standards (in order to help spiral the curriculum.)

I would also like to include an opportunity to practice a VTS discussion and share some more contemporary artists (two needs & goals identified by the group.)  Oh, and I wanted to discuss the shifts in art practice as defined by the CCSS. yikes!

 I think the PMI was very useful and in retrospect, the unpacking was VERY necessary in order to really understand what was being asked in the standards. It was also a way to focus them into looking at each standard. Too often this is seen as a chore and may actually not be done very thoroughly (or at all really.) After seeing how they used the standards to think about the new curriculum, (or rather how they didn't use them at all at first) in our next meeting together, I am really glad that at least some where in the back of their minds they had them rolling around. I'm still not sure I did a very good job at addressing my goals, however. (Goal #1-  By the end of the year, I will raise my score on helping students process new information from a 1 to a 3. Goal #2 - By the end of the year, I will raise my score on organizing students to practice and deepen knowledge from a 1 to a  3.)

     I am finding this to be very hard with my group of adult learners. They are somewhat resistant to formal strategies to learn new information. Or maybe I am not very comfortable with using them yet. Either way, it is hard to get them to formally incorporate new knowledge. Other than encompassing the general change of philosophy in the Core Arts standards, I am not sure they have truly learned them. Perhaps this won't really happen until they have written the curriculum, having applied it to a specific task and therefore giving them meaning. 

ART - Week 10 (take 2)

Week 10:
2. Pre thinking on lesson with “why questioning”
Share a roughly outlined lesson plan,
add a descriptive narrative. It might be interesting to interview yourself with why questions (record it) and transcribe it.... However you accomplish this, make sure you're reflecting deeply on the process.

Sooo...I kind of thought I did this in my last week 10 post, but then Amy asked me if I was going to post my "why questioning" so I thought I better repost a more thought out response. Here is my unique, non-classroom approach to using what we read.

Since I don't have a typical classroom environment, I had to figure out how what I've learned in ART will be used in my situations where I work with teachers (the learners in my environment) and my reflections on the topic. What I realized as I read was that these strategies dovetailed nicely with my Intro to Art curriculum writing team. We are examining the new Core Arts Standards and re-thinking and re-imagining how our curriculum will look. The challenge is that we are required to use a template for common unit based performance assessments. (This is an exciting possibility in my mind because it is a format that FINALLY embraces what we do in the art classroom. No more mandatory multiple choice tests and scan-trons! However, at the same time scary because we all have to do the same assessment. How we get kids there is up to us, but the team lays out a suggested structure.)   
Here is the non-traditional classroom agenda for later this week:
1) Discuss our reading of Teaching Meaning in Artmaking
2) Write Transfer Goals for this course.
3) Unpack the Core Arts Standards for High School Art level I & II.
4) Determine possible combinations of standards as well as opportunities to spiral in order to develop common units.
5) Identify Priority Standards (in order to help spiral the curriculum.)
I would also like to include an opportunity to practice a VTS discussion and share some more contemporary artists (two needs & goals identified by the group.)  Oh, and I wanted to discuss the shifts in art practice as defined by the CCSS. yikes!

So in thinking about the "lesson" here are some of my 'why' questions:

• Why so much??? It is our last meeting of the year (argh! need.more.time!) so we have a lot to accomplish in a little time. I wish we had more days we could meet together. We have  had a lot of mind expanding discussions and development as we prepare to make this pedagogical shift.
• Why do you think the adjustment is going to be so difficult? After being conditioned to teach to concrete, testable standards, the new NCCAS standards are liberating but could also cause confoundment. They are so wide open, I felt I needed to consider that teachers could easily fall back into old habits and ways of thinking. I also know from experience that transforming your teaching style can be overwhelming and take a bit of getting used to so I wanted to support my teachers in whatever ways I could, making the transition easier and increasing their skills to make the curriculum writing portion better. 
• Will they get what the standards are really asking them to do (think like artists)? Will they be able to translate this into a new way of teaching? (I think yes! it is totally possible! but by the time we set out to write curriculum? :/ )

Truthfully, I don't feel as confident about this as I do when I teach in the classroom. Maybe because I don't have a clear vision of where we are going yet, so I don't know what to do to lead them there. But, I keep telling myself that this is like the way I want them to approach teaching. Enable through constraints, but allow the student to direct the learning. So I am trusting my gut and relying on my knowledge to help guide us through the exploration together! 

I may modify this between now and when I "teach" it so I will be sure to update via a new post for week 11.

ART: Week 10 - Why? Questioning

Week 10 3/29-4/5

Read: Teaching as if Life Matters Chapter 3 

Due end of week 10 : 

    1.   Read & Reflect

2. Pre thinking on lesson with “why questioning”
   Share a roughly outlined lesson plan,
   add a descriptive narrative. It might be interesting to interview yourself with why questions (record it) and transcribe it.... However you accomplish this, make sure you're reflecting deeply on the process.
3. Question the teacher. This is your chance. Do you have a burning question (related to this class of course) that you've wondered about? Has something bugged you and you want to know why? Ask me “Why?” :) 
   
   
   
   
   I loved this chapter. I think it is so important to ask questions, and encourage students to ask questions of their own. As a high school teacher, we are faced with apathy out the wazoo. Students have been molded and hardened into the pre-determined 'school' shape and I love getting to crack their shells, breaking them free. Getting them to open up and explore their own curiosity and points of view. Getting them to ask questions can be difficult at first. Mostly because of what Uhl describes in this chapter, they have been discouraged to ask questions because it isn't on the day's prescribed task list. They have had this part of them squashed. It is also part of why I love modern and contemporary art so much, it invites the viewer to ask questions, to ponder, and wonder. 
   
   
   Currently I am thinking deeply about transforming the way we teach art. We are at a junction where we are transforming from one way of teaching (DBAE) to a new one (yet to be titled) for the 21st century that incorporates not just media or formalist strategies but also interweaving meaning making, social justice, reflection, context-based, and student centered practices. I have been asking myself How will we transform our profession to include these future best practices? It will be interesting to see how we transform ourselves as artist educators to meet the needs of our contemporary students. What role will I play in creating this transformation in my district? How big of a part do I play in creating the impetus for change? What will be the best way to start teachers thinking about change? Will teachers be willing to change after teaching for so long? Will they be thirsty for change, as I was? Or reticent? Will it be seen as a burden? What can I do to support them? What can I do to motivate them to ask their own questions and start their own evolution? What conditions are needed for change to take hold? How will elementary and secondary teachers differ? 
   
   
   I think my "lesson" will differ from the traditional classroom lesson in that I am thinking about my interactions with a group of teachers selected to write our first Core Arts based curriculum. How do I get them, to quote Apple, "Think Different"? My lesson then will be an extension of my first video where my "students" were learning about the new Core Arts Standards for Vis. Art. What is the next step for this group? What materials do they need to be prepared to write this curriculum? How will their thinking evolve to include the aforementioned practices? I am seriously debating having them read this chapter about questioning because so much of what we want our curriculum to be revolves around good essential questions and big ideas. We will read and discuss Sydney Walker's Teaching Meaning in Artmaking on our LMS (learning management system) after having started out by reading and watching Gude's thoughts on a bricolage curriculum. Perhaps then we will have a deep reading of this chapter on asking questions, contemplating what questions we would like our students to explore. In preparation for designing units with common assessments, what kind of deep, essential questions will we ask? We need to determine an organizing structure that our curriculum will fit into, meaning we have a template that defines units, but how will we organize our units? What units are worth teaching in common? How do we create common units with enough room for individual interpretation, but yet have a worthwhile common cornerstone assessment that is meaningful for students, teachers, and learning within the arts? How do we do this while being able to mostly avoid being completely overwhelmed and freaked out? 
   
   
   So I have a lot of questions I am pondering about this idea, and I would love to hear others thoughts on any of the above. Is there something that would help a teacher in this position? What would be good for you in this situation? What would you want to see / hear / feel or what would you need? What would make this transition worthwhile for you in your practice? 

Assignment Interuptus...

This past month I had the extreme pleasure of being able to go both to Jefferson City for the MAEA conference and also San Diego for the NAEA convention.  (Missouri / National Art Education Association.) I love being able to attend these events. They offer fresh insights, exciting possibilities, and all sorts of contact with new ideas. I find it so very important to get outside of my day to day exposures, leave the vacuum behind, and expand my horizons in the field of art and education.

I could write screens full of what I took away from both of these events, and perhaps I will later on. Today I wanted to share some thoughts I am having on a major theme in my teaching. I've been thinking a lot about the concept of constraints that enable. Both conferences had speakers that added to my thoughts on this topic, Shyla Rao and Juan Carlos Castro at MAEA (who were also at NAEA); Phil Hansen, Cindy Todd, Katherine Douglas, Olivia Gude and many many others at NAEA. In fact, on my way home, I ended up sitting next to a photographer on the plane. He struck up a conversation after seeing my scribblings for my ART class, and we talked about how constraints can open up the realm of creative possibility. How do we self-impose constraints? How do I as a teacher offer constraints that encourage creativity instead of limiting the realm of self-discovery? How do artists practice this?

The photographer, Jeremiah (check out his website/blog here,) has decided to travel around the world, taking photographs. He was traveling light, and contemplating only taking one camera and lens. As a practicing art teacher hoarder, I was mesmerized and impressed by this. My motto stems from scouts in some form of "Always be prepared." I need to have the solution at my finger tips and that inhibits my ability to pack light. I'm working on that...one day I'll be able to say I'm a recovering art teacher hoarder. ;)

Look! I'm famous! I'm in a blog!! (no, not the photo--"I sat next to an art teacher" )

Talking with him made me think about what it is I would like to set out to do. What brave things do I shy away from? What kind of constraints do I put on my everyday life that I could release? How could I channel this in some artistic fashion? How can I use it to my advantage?

How do you see constraints enabling your life?

ART: Week 9 - Read & React Teaching as if Life Matters (prologue & Ch. 5)

Week 9: R & R Blog Read: Teaching as if Life Matters, Prologue and Chapter 5 

Summarize and:

1. Consider the word “teacher” We, as does the public, have many ideas surrounding this title. Imagine dropping the title “teacher”.... What lies beyond the title?

2. Contemplate deeply the idea of truth speaking. Reflect on your classrooms and your relationships with your students... How and where is truth speaking present?

3. Thinking back through all the reading and reflecting to date, write a personal classroom mission statement. Something you could put up in your room. After you come up with this statement, share it on your blog and talk (truth speak) a little bit about how you arrived at this statement,

4. Reflect on some ways your consciousness about teaching has expanded since the start of this course and how does this relate to your goals? Do your goals need tweaking at this point? Restate them here (as they were or as they now are).

5. Anything else that moved you in anyway. :) 

Prologue and Ch. 5. - Teaching as if Life Matters (cause it does) or at least that is the rest of this book's title whenever I read it. 

     I was put off at first by the prologue of this book. Mostly because (I think) I don't think of schools leaving scars. Maybe it is because I was lucky enough to have great teachers and school programs, because I really enjoyed school so much, or because I had teachers I really loved and respected, or because I work hard as a teacher to build relationships with my students and treat them the way I would hope to be treated. It physically pains me to think that students would leave school having been scarred by the institution. On the flip side though, I am also not super surprised that school was bad for some people. I know plenty of people who are very resentful of their time in school. Some are teachers who went into teaching to make up for that horrible experience, some who went into it for the wrong reasons (paycheck only) and seem to be propagating that horrible experience. However, I think a lot of it is that we choose how to feel about circumstances. We choose to let go or hold on. We choose to dwell and wallow, or we can choose to make things better. I am not one to hold on to resentment or nurture a chip on my shoulder, so I think I as I get older I am less patient with those who do. In short, get over it dude! Make the world your oyster and not your own private prison. F. Scott Fitzgerald said, "The test of a first rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function." So even while I type this, I am thinking about how I empathize with people who had a poor schooling experience and desire to make it better for others, I am also tired of the pity party. I can't help but feel guilty about my lack of empathy, because that is a very real scar for some people. Our years of schooling shape who we are to become, and thank goodness we continue to grow after school, I just wish it wasn't negative so often. 

    I really enjoyed chapter 5 and was able to get past my feelings from the prologue. I loved thinking about relabeling to change our perspectives. I learned a little trick that goes along the same vein to help me out when I wake up in the middle of the night (which I do more often now with kids.) When you wake up  in the middle of the night, and you glimpse the time on the clock, how do you interpret those glaring numbers? Do see the time and think, "Crap, I only have an hour before my alarm goes off…" or do you see the time and think, "Sweet, I can still sleep another hour!" That minor reset has been a big improvement on how I approach irritating insomnia and makes me rest better. I think of this example from my time at MAEA, too - instead of calling elementary art, music, pe specials, we could relabel them as 'extended learning time.' How we perceive things or present ourselves makes a difference in how we are approached and / or treated. It has to be grounded in thought though too, otherwise we run the risk of being seen as absurd. I keep think of our school libraries being transformed into "Learning Commons" - what is wrong with Library? Are we afraid of being associated with books? Why do we need to change the name instead of changing the perception of the label? Is one easier than the other? Is it a change in name only? "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Does this always apply?

     This chapter got me thinking of all sorts of tangents, so I better reel myself back in and focus on the questions of the assignment. :) 

     Would it matter what we called ourselves? Instructor, professor, teacher. Would students with ill feelings toward the institution of school feel differently towards the position if we were called something else? Master, Sensei, Leader? I think it depends more on the relationships we are willing to build with our students. Sage, Shaman, Geshe. I would prefer to think of myself as a partner in my students education.  A guide at times, an instigator, someone with experience. A thinking partner. As teachers our actions speak louder than our words, than our title ever will. 

     I think about four years ago now, summer time, I had been thinking about my upcoming year. What kind of things would we explore? How would I set out to build community with my students? How would I present questions in a way that they couldn't help but dive in and explore together? I sat down to write a mission statement. I decided I would have students discuss why they were in the Intro class and what is was they really wanted to get out of it. I had been experimenting with goal setting in previous years, and I decided it hadn't gone so well because I was always weaseling in on what should be a personal endeavor. I could help them out by starting them with out with a challenge, but I had to stop giving the map. We needed to map the terrain together. I came up with my own mission, and I wish I could remember what it was. It served me well. You would think if I had internalized it I would be able to recall it, but to no avail. I believe it was something like this: "To help students open the doors to their own artistic understanding, experiencing growth along the way." That was also the year it became mandatory (and a competition between classes) to have students set goals. And it had to be around attendance, behavior, and / or grades. I rebelled and refused to impose this on my classes. Don't get me wrong - goal setting is great. But not when the goal is set by someone else, or you have to compromise to the lowest common denominator. It became a meaningless practice as soon as an administrator stripped it of personal significance and offered an extrinsic motivator (pizza party! gas cards!) It was not what I wanted to teach my students. I don't think my students missed out, in fact I think they improved their grades, attendance, and behavior by becoming invested in our class and connecting with what they were learning with their "art family." 

     What would be my mission statement now? How does being away from the classroom change how I perceive my role in art education? I still see my role as being someone who partners with others to share the joy of art and what it can bring to our lives. Perhaps now it is more about advocacy. About making the arts more accessible and more attainable, offering support in both curriculum and engagement within our field. What a difference some one who speaks your language can make. My mission (should I choose to accept it…) is to support and promote the arts through significant professional development, curriculum planning, and instructional growth. I will be a champion for the arts in schools, and living a life enriched by the impact the arts can make on the citizenry of the world. I will think, I will question, and I will practice what is best for students.

    My goals. Do my goals as a content leader align with what they would be as a classroom teacher? Although my "students" are now teachers, they are less of a student and more of a partner. They are an extension of self. Or am I an extension of each of them? I often see myself in a role of service of these teachers, being given the luxury of time to do work they would engage in if given the opportunity. Can I dig up resources so that field trips are real possibilities? Can I engage teachers in topics of conversation that widen their scope of influence? Can I provide resources that allows for expanded breadth of instruction? Can I be a voice for the voiceless, offering a perspective that is frequently misrepresented or ignored? If I can do these things, while getting the formal aspects of my job (common assessments, curriculum documents approved) completed, I will be worthy of my position and it will be worth a hiatus from contact with my own students. 

ART: Week 7 & 8 - Peer Reactions & Reflections

First I had to chunk up my reaction to Livey...This first question and her post were a lot to digest.

"-Where /when do you notice “discomfort” when you are teaching? Please illustrate with a teaching example.

I notice discomfort when I have to grade things.  I have noticed that I am struggling, looking at, and writing new ideas about assessment.  I noticed that at the end of Gude's Playing article, she says that she is skeptical that we would be able to assess things and keep the central intent of developing creativity.  I kinda agree, but I am not totally convenced.  I think it is important for us to use the terms, assessment and evaluation separately.  Evaluation being grading and assessment as formative information.  I think that there are some things that we should not evaluate, but can assess in a gentle, and caring fashion.  I have a had time putting that final grade in the grade book.  I have trouble knowing the student on a creative and friendly level, then having to give them a grade in the computer which the student may or may not internalize as a quantity that I have placed on their relationship with their artwork.  I have no doubt that I can articulate to the students that their grade is not the most important part of their experience, but rather, a form of evidence that the rest of academia uses and that (at least for the current reality) we are forced to use.  Yes forced.  This is the discomfort that most art teachers feel I am sure.  However, because I have discussed assessment with many art teachers over the last three years, many of them use the grade as a way to FORCE the artists to create.  They say that we have to teach them to be accountable for their actions, and that grades have a lasting effect and therefor they are a more reliable way to force the students into working hard.  I disagree, wholeheartedly..."

Hmm, I also don't really like grading things. I often would put it off until grades were almost due. I was sure to give auditory feedback and we would have critiques, but I highly disliked taking time away during class to assign a grade. I often wondered how students felt about this, because no one ever asked or questioned the way I graded. Wonder if that is more reflective of the value they put on art class, or if they felt like they had a good idea of what grade they would get. I was sure to check in with those kids who didn't turn stuff in, and I did my fair share of nagging, that's for sure. What I really didn't like was the way students would flip over their project, check out the grade (but not read any feedback left) and then chuck it in the garbage. Boo! Hiss! Not why we make art and spend HOURS doing it!!

   Once I decided to examine my practice and do a little action research on what motivates and how to teach creativity, I decided to de-emphasize the grade and grading portion. It became more about the delivery of content (an apprenticeship or combo inquiry based model) and how students were interacting which increased motivation (more intrinsic than extrinsic (= grades) ) and made it unnecessary to have to "make" students "do art." Grades shouldn't be a punishment or a threat. They should be a record of effort and application and meeting goals established not just by the teacher, but also by the student. 

   Philosophically, I did think that attendance and participating in our artists' community to collaborate and soak in the goodness as well as my artistic genius and golden nuggets of advice (just kidding!) - but seriously, to let me see their genius develop, was important so I gave 5 points everyday for being here (in the studio) on time and being willing to work and contribute to the artistic atmosphere. Not much, but a way to say, "hey! You are important to what we do here." I think if you have to "force students to work hard" you aren't meeting their needs as a learner and need to take some time to investigate what they really are and what could be going on differently. (not to throw stones at glass houses though, cause that is a hard thing to figure out sometimes. and every class and content is different with lots of different factors.)

 and part two:
-What do you think accounts for the discomfort?

The discomfort is due to the fact that the students and I work more as colleagues.  It almost feels like our foreman or superviser or someone over me should be the ones putting in the grades.  Well, better yet.  No grades, just evidence of learning.. but I know that is a pipe dream (at least for the next few years:)  I can imagine an educational system where the students and the teachers are there to work, and work they do!  Work for and with each other. Where the studets leave the environment prepared for WHATS NEXT, without some number following them around.  What if we spent the same amount of time documenting the process and progress of each student as we did calculating progress reports, quarter grades, attendance deductions to grades, semester grades, 20% of total grade in relation to the final, and the obsessively 80/20 split between products and homework.

-What (if anything) inhibits your creative development. Think internally, the obvious things like schedules most of us are stuck with, but sometimes internally there are ideas and perceptions we can let go of which open us to new possibilities. 

What inhibits my creative development?  Space in my head.  I strive to find every spare moment to developing new ideas, rehashing old ones, or just existing in the head space that I like the most... the space where "cells of thought" combine into some living thinking then into a reality.  

Domestication inhibits my creative development.  As much as I want to be really good at housekeeping and laundry and such..  I just don't find them generative.  Yep, I am a wild thing.. if I were an animal, I would say that I was more like a squirrel than a cat.  My creativity might be doubled if I could excuse the time I spend making instead of doing housework.  But, I don't really allow myself that "making time" without so much guilt about what I am not doing around the house, that I just don't make.  

I should have a condo, with as few possessions as possible.  That would be so liberating!!!!!!

Amy RuoppMarch 9, 2014 at 7:12 AM

Hi Liv,

A condo with nothing but big blank walls. :) Sounds good to me! Sign me up. So let me ask you this, who cares if the laundry is piled up and you get to it once a month? Guilt is terribly over rated (unless your a serial killer or something... then its good) So I encourage you to let it go.
Do you treat yourself the same way you treat your students???? From what I know about you, you honor them, liberate them from the shackles of small ideas, make a safe space for creative exploration, celebrate every bit of them..... Do you also do this for yourself? ;) (Im serious)
You already know I agree with you on your assessment points. I do believe it inhibits in so many ways. I love the differentiation you make between assessment and evaluation.
As you may remember, the way we assess at my school is, on the report card they receive an effort score (1-10), that is the formal score, and the rest is a written commentary which arises from the relationship, discussion etc that occurs during the class. This is A LOT of work, but much more informative and valuable. A student producing beautiful work may be skating along in their safe zone and receive a 7 for effort while someone who doesn't produce a single product all term earns a 9 because they worked their tailed off, made 17 huge messes, but never gave up and learned from each mess..... There is no forcing... there is little fear of failing because failure is learning. Does that make sense?? I hope someday, there is the realization that learning is a joy and takes different forms for each human being, we are all different, so how is it we are measures the same way? sigh

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So many things to think about! And all packed into one mighty post! 
Okay, so a couple of thoughts / questions popped into my head as I read your post and the comments. 1) I'm curious to know how you felt about grades when you were in school (not that you have to tell me) and how that might be contributing to the way you feel about them as an artist teacher. 2) Housework is overrated and definitely inhibits the creative spirit inside us - or rather the societal expectations we have unconsciously subsumed about domesticity and our roles within it. Something I feel women feel in a much more spiteful way than men do and have a hard time resigning within themselves. I hear ya, sister. 3) (@Amy as well) Recently I was thrown a bone I've been chewing over...unless we have specifically taught a student something, why would we assess it? with the example being effort, craftsmanship (not an art person here), or creativity / originality. I'm going to share that with you all and would like to know your thoughts on it. I don't totally agree, but I also don't disagree. Leaning more towards the Hmmm.... Okay, and 4) what if you just let students assign their grades? Give them feedbacks, and scoring guides, and self-assessments, and critiques (and reserve the right to step in if it is going wildly off course) and see how they would grade themselves. That might be an interesting experiment. What if...