#artedchat

October 28, 2013

We have a new show in our "I'll Be Art In A Minute Bathroom & Art Gallery":  "Chuck Pinson, Art with Meaning."

Pinson is the brother-in-law to Carrie Ann Pinson, one of the teachers at our school. He was kind enough to send us 5x7 photos of his work for us to display in our gallery.

For more information on Chuck Pinson and his artwork, click HERE. 

For more information on our bathroom/art gallery, click HERE. 

September 7, 2013

Now that the school year has started, teachers are setting annual goals – student achievement and personal goals.  PLC groups are establishing team goals.  Administrators are working with school leadership teams to develop goals for school improvement plans.  Our division’s school board recently updated their strategic plan and revised their goals and objectives.

In each case of goal setting, the process starts with self-reflection and self-analysis.

  Our school division’s teacher performance appraisal (TPA) system is a growth model, designed to meet the needs of individual teachers. Our TPA website notes that this model “attempts to provide more opportunities to elevate the discussion regarding best practices in education as well as the needs of the individual teacher in the professional development process.”

  The professional development process of our TPA begins with reflection and self-assessment.  Teachers review the seven domains of the TPA according to a rubric to reflect on where his or her current level of practice falls on a continuum.  Based upon the self-assessment, teachers develop annual goals that meet their needs in the professional development process.

  In some ways this process reminds me of the artistic tradition of the self-portrait. Self-portraits – where the artist reflects and depicts upon him/herself as the main character in a work of art – has been a practice of artists since the earliest times. What can be determined about an artist when viewing his or her self-portrait?  Is a self-portrait merely an exact representation of the artist or more of an abstract rendering? In either case, what can be inferred about the artist?  Are their clues in the likeness about the artist’s craft?  About the artist’s philosophy?  About the era of the portrait? 

  The school year is underway, and teachers are reflecting upon their practice as they complete self-assessments to guide them in developing annual goals.  They are looking in a mirror, so to speak, like an artist about to create a self-portrait – and in the tradition of the self-portrait, this is certainly a great opportunity for in-depth exploration into one’s practice. 

August 28, 2013

We're having the grand opening for our new "I'll Be Art In A Minute Bathroom and Art Gallery" on September 16th -- with a student "Dot Day" exhibit -- and you're invited!  

How did this project come about?

1. A Little Bit of Kantian Philosophy

In “Pearls Before Breakfast,” an article in Washington Post Magazine a few years ago, the author noted, "In his Critique of Aesthetic Judgment, Kant argued that one's ability to appreciate beauty is related to one's ability to make moral judgments."  Talk about an argument for a focus on the arts!

2. The Impact of the Environmental Artworks of Christo & Jeanne-Claude

The website for Christo and Jeanne-Claude's projects states that their artworks are "entire environments, whether they are urban or rural.  The artists temporarily use one part of the environment.  In doing so, we see and perceive the whole environment with new eyes and a new consciousness.  the effect last longer than the actual work of art."

3. A Focus on School and Classroom Environment

Our division has rolled out various pathways for teachers to follow for effective teaching in the 21st century.  One of the pathways expands the “4 Cs” (critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creative problem solving) to include “choice” (to increase student engagement) and “comfort” (to enhance student focus).

4. The High-Yield Instructional Strategies of Robert Marzano

The top-rated high-yield instructional strategy as identified by the research of Robert Marzano is “identifying similarities and differences” – particularly through the use of metaphor.  Therefore, the bathroom/art gallery stands as a visual metaphor to remind us that “environment matters,” and challenges teachers to consider ways they can transform their classroom environments.

5. A Focus on Creation vs. Destruction

Perhaps this idea can be summed up best with a  quote from Congresswoman Louise Slaughter:  “It is my firm belief that children who create do not destroy.  Arts are some of the greatest programs we can give to our children.”

August 18, 2013

If you have been following my blog, then you know that I am making connections to my work this year as a middle school principal to the world of art.  There are many reasons.  The first I wrote about is found HERE.

With the new school year starting this week, I recently equated a teacher’s “body of work” to the "product of process” (HERE), and that started me thinking about “meaning.”  Can “meaning” in regards to our work be compared to “meaning” of a work of art?  Our work, after all, is ongoing. 

I have drawn comparisons of our planning to the work of an artist (HERE), and I have likened our professional development to the work of artists (HERE).  I have made other analogies to the world of art as well, but since there is no “final” product in our work – like a finished painting or a published poem – is teaching more easily correlated to performance art?

In considering a comparison to the “meaning” of our work to the “meaning” of works of art, I thought I would consider a few areas related to the topic. I’ll start with a poem by E. E. Cummings, my favorite poem of his to get kids excited about poetry.

The poem is posted below.  Take a look – and see what “meaning” you take from it.  Then I’ll post “Part 2” tomorrow (or soon) to discuss “meaning” as related to this poem.

August 16, 2013

In 101 Things to Learn in Art School, author Kit White's fourth item is, "Art is the product of process."  White states, "the process you develop yields the image you produce....The process does not stop with each work completed.  It is ongoing.  The cumulative result of that process is a body of work."

Now, think of the "body of work" of a teacher -- the students he or she has taught (affected, motivated, inspired, shaped, changed, guided) over the course of one year, two years, five years, ten years, thirty or more years.  Does "process," in this case matter?  

Yes -- if, in fact, the teacher's process "yields the image" produced."  

So considering your "body of work" (or future "body of work"), what is your process?  

What does the arrangement of your classroom say about your process? What do your class protocols and procedures say about your process? What do your planning processes, your instructional methods, and your assessment and grading practices say about your process?  What about your contributions to your professional learning communities?  

If "the process you develop yields the image you produce," do you reflect on your practice and develop annual goals that help you produce a "body of work" of students who will master the lifelong-learning skills they will need to succeed as 21st century learners, workers, and citizens?

August 15, 2013

Teachers returned to school this week to prepare for a new school year.  They’ve been busy with faculty meetings, professional development sessions, and grade level and vertical team discussions.  Between the meetings, they’ve been arranging classrooms, planning curriculum, reviewing pacing guides, gathering books, ordering supplies, changing bulletin boards, and more.  There’s a lot of “stuff” that happens to prepare for a new year.

It’s an exciting time of year as we work toward “unleashing each student’s potential,” the focus of our division’s strategic plan (HERE), and during this busy time of year, teachers are also reflecting on their practice, contemplating and exploring new methods, and envisaging new pathways.

As I reflected on this work – the examination of effective contemporary practice as we investigate and undertake new directions – I saw a parallel to Kit White’s item #64 in his book 101 Things to Learn in Art School:  “Art is a form of experimentation.  But most experiments fail.  Do not be afraid of those failures. Embrace them.  Without courting the possibility of something miscarrying, you may not take the risks necessary to expand beyond habitual ways of thinking and working.” 

In reflecting upon White’s advice, I thought of the work of Jackson Pollack.

How did Jackson Pollock develop his distinctive style? He had studied classical drawing and composition, and he had even painted murals for the Works Progress Administration's Federal Art Project.  His unique style, though, might have grown out of an interest in Native American sand paintings, where colored sand is spread and arranged on the floor during a ritual.  Also,  in 1936, he was introduced to the use of liquid paint at an experimental workshop by muralist David Alfaro Siqueriros.  From his interests, experiences, and practices, Pollock began to explore and experiment with style. 

Pollock said, "Sometimes I use a brush but often prefer using a stick. Sometimes I pour the paint straight out of the can. I like to use a dripping, fluid paint. A method of painting is a natural growth out of a need. I want to express my feelings rather than illustrate them."

Pollock’s approach and vision are now acknowledged as “acceptable” (for lack of a better word) – maybe not conventional, but certainly recognized as a legitimate style in the standard mainstream repertoire.  Undoubtedly Pollock’s work has influenced and inspired artists who have come after him as they have reflected upon their own practice and have experimented with new directions.

Kit White noted, “Most great advances are the product of discovery, not premeditation.  Failed experiments lead to unexpected revelations.”

August 13, 2013

Teachers returned to work yesterday for a week and a half of faculty gatherings, professional development, PLC meetings and classroom work in preparation for the first day of school next Wednesday. 

I opened our first faculty meeting with a talk entitled “Sculpting A New Year” – it’s a theme I wrote about a few days ago (HERE).

Following a quick examination of famous sculptures – and how they can bring energy, excitement, delight, and more to an environment – we also examined how sculpture and the act of sculpting could stand as a metaphor for our work in preparing for the school year.

Next, we engaged in a twist on “Product Based Learning” where groups of teachers had to create a sculpture to reflect their outlook for the coming year – using pool noodles, bubble wrap, straws, multi-colored index cards, toothpicks and straws.

After 30-minutes, groups presented their works of art and explained how their statues reflected their outlooks for the coming year.  In no particular order, here are some of the words, phrases, ideas and beliefs that the figures represented:

Safety, scaffolding, multiple parts, diversity, support, lift, open flexible, vertically aligned, connecting, working together, providing opportunities, branching out, life-long learning, rocketing, new beginnings, starting from different spots, elevating our students, raising up, warmth, inter-connectedness, relationship building, moving toward the future, guidance, connectivity, gateway, global, multiple routes for students to reach the goals (which we will create as teachers), multiple supports,  multi-pronged scaffolding (which we will create as a school), safe space for students – and (about the process) a lot of folks working with hardly a clue, but creating something beautiful anyway and helping each other get there!