Artistic Vision
Art Education. Straight Up.Archive for Blogroll
500 years of self portraits …
For those of you who’ve seen the online (morphing) work of Phillip Scott Johnson, specifically last year’s 500 Years of Female Portraits in Western Art, you’ll probably enjoy his recent offering—500 Years of Male Self Portraits in Western Art. Enjoy!
Dinner at Beau Monde
We took a drive to Philadelphia to eat at a restaurant called Beau Monde. It’s a creperie meaning everything you order is stuffed into a crepe. It sounded interesting.
The lady at the door wasn’t kidding when she told us at 8:30 that we’d have a 30-45 minute wait. I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised this being a city establishment and it being Saturday night. Needless to say, 45 minutes later we were sitting down with a menu in hand.
Update about my sick days …
Ok, so here’s the skinny. I met with my Super and it went well. I had to be honest and tell her I’m not sure what I can do about the situation. In reality, this isn’t going to stop – my family comes first. She totally understood that; she actually finished my statement for me regarding me taking care of the fam so that was cool.
She commented that the letter was a form letter and needed to be rewritten because it sounded entirely too severe. It was sent because a report was run at the end of the month.
What was reassuring was that she believed she knew me and what I was trying to do with the art program. She knew that I was there late and not running out when the last bell rang. She knew that I was committed and not there merely for a paycheck. She said this wasn’t going to affect my performance evaluations because she felt confident that she knew what I was about as a professional which is a good thing to hear.
In the end, she thanked me for my conscientiousness in setting up the appointment on time and meeting with her. So, overall, a good (and reassuring) meeting.
Project Runway
Ok, call us losers BUT, my wife and I tuned in last night to the near-season finale of Project Runway. (The show reminds me of the art-school atmosphere that I had a taste of during college.) I can’t say I was amazed at the outcome. I figured Sweet P was going to be eliminated. As they said on the show, she does good design and is very practical; she just doesn’t do Fashion (with the capital “F”). I would agree with that. I have to say I was surprised by them sticking with Rami. I thought they would have punished him for his play-it-safe-mentality regarding the draping. We’ll see what happens. I think they’ll all put together interesting collections. Jillian has surprised us. My wife isn’t a fan, but I think she has shown me that she can come up with compelling pieces. Although Chris played it safe, we both like what he’s done in the past and he’s seemed very consistent.
(And, yes, we think Christian is a drama queen and arrogant, but talent can do that to you. One can only hope he matures with age.)
Next week will be interesting. I’m not sure who I think will win. Should be a fun hour.
Using sick days at school, oddities and dangers
I received a letter in my mailbox at school today informing me that I was to schedule an appointment with my superintendent because I had logged five sick days since September which was considered “excessive for any teacher or staff member to take.” I believe I used four last year and simply got a notice that my attendance issues need to be corrected on an end-of-year evaluation. This year, however, the specter of disciplinary action and possibly losing my job, or not getting renewed next year looms much larger. It was a rather sobering communication, really quite disturbing. This is one of those issues that you read in the handbook and gloss over because you’re excited to start your new job and don’t consider this as something that is “really” done.
Of course, this was a form letter and things could be fine once I speak with my superintendent. After all, I’m working hard and the administration knows that. I’ve been honored as teacher of the month and help out regularly when I see the need. However, I know that friends lost their jobs last year primarily because of this one factor. So, the specter remains.
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