Artistic Vision
Art Education. Straight Up.Archive for November, 2007
Parent Turnout
I would love to know some strategies for getting parents/guardians to come out for parent-teacher conferences. Out of my 75 students, I had ten parents. Pretty normative from last year, though I was hoping it would have been a higher turnout because it was early in the year (last year I filled in for half a year). I was particularly surprised by a couple of parents who didn’t show last night because their kid was failing. I’ll have to try to touch base with them.
Any recommendations on how to incent my students?
Frustration Has Come to An End!
Well, my students finally finished their school safety posters. Even though they were two weeks late, I presented the best of the bunch to my colleagues during a professional development workshop. They were a big hit and it helped me get over the long hours and frustration of having to be so hands-on with my students’ projects. The administration wants to put the posters into frames and feature them around the school. The elementary school wanted some of them, too, but there aren’t that many that are quality enough to spread out over the two schools. I’m going to look for a place to make large-scale color copies. It was nice to hear the other teachers’ feedback. I’ll have to pass it along to the students because many of the best posters were done with cut paper which took a lot of time.
Speaking of the students … what was rather funny was the fact that on the project assessment handout I gave them at the end of the project, a majority of the students put down that the project wasn’t that hard. That flies in the face of their complaining and dawdling during the project. Of course, I knew that much of their complaining was just laziness; however, it was refreshing to see them realistically reflect upon the difficulty level. And, it will make it easier for me to grade them. Since they didn’t consider it that difficult then they should have been able to get it done in the time. I don’t think they would agree though. LOL!
Lesson Learned
Of course, right after I commit to start posting more regularly, my kids get sick. Then my wife gets sick. Now, I’m sick. LOL!
Oh well. School has been interesting. I was asked to help out with a poster project to “celebrate” Safe Schools Week. Well, I thought it was a good idea but it has proven so much of a hassle. First off I wanted something more than the detritus the kids normally do for their posters (i.e., print stuff out on the Internet and slap it down on poster board with no thought). I decided to give a lesson on poster design that touched upon propaganda. I found websites featuring some WWII propaganda posters and the Armenian Genocide. Using these as a foundation, I also found information about poster design and we read an article detailing the key components of effective posters.
I felt confident that I gave my students a solid foundation. Unfortunately, what I hadn’t counted on was a) their laziness, b) their lack of experience thinking through problems such as this (despite being exposed to marketing messages everyday via magazines and TV), c) their inexperience doing relevant searches for photo resources, and d) their lack of experience working with projectors, cut paper, colored pencils and X-Acto knives.
In the end, I should have thought through the project more and just realized it was too early in the school year for me to introduce a project that pulled together so many advanced skills. At least it was advanced for my particular group of urban high schoolers. I know that many are getting something out of doing this project, but it has been draining because a two-week project has become a month-long project.
I guess the real lesson was for me!
What’s up with that?
Dancing with the Stars was so disappointing. They got rid of the wonderfully cheetahlicious Sabrina Bryan. Boy, if the women had a clear shot of winning the season Sabrina was it. I have to say that the decision really made me angry and want to not watch the show. In the end, though, I guess folks didn’t vote for her. Come to think of it, my wife and I haven’t voted this season at all. So, I guess we’re partly to blame.
This should certainly be a warning to the rest of the contestants. If the most promising person on the show gets voted off then no one is safe.
I’m back …
Ok, school has been beastly and the kids have been passing sickness back and forth to each other and my wife, but I hope to be posting somewhat more regularly.
Halloween was a blast. Friends brought their two little boys over to walk around with us. Everyone looked great in their respective costumes. My kids did an awesome job listening to us as we navigated the neighborhood going from door to door, and we didn’t get home too late. My son was Buzz Lightyear this year and my daughter was a pumpkin.
Kids are awesome; what a blessing! I’m really excited about the holidays this year. Both of the kids are at that wonderful age where everything is magical and exciting. Of course, I’m not thrilled about what my daughter might do to the Christmas tree. LOL!
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