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Van Gogh in America

  • Posted on January 17, 2023 at 8:51 pm
This is the front of the Detroit Institute of Arts with the “Thinker” showcased.

Countless years ago when I was an art student at Michigan State University, I drove over to the Toledo Art Museum. I remember being mesmerized by a simple Van Gogh painting of wheat fields and crows. I stood there wondering how on earth he could possibly paint wind because it sure seemed like the wind was blowing the wheat. Since then, Vincent has always been my favorite artist. So, when I read about the Van Gogh in America exhibit I really wanted to go. I, the retired woman, who is still afraid of getting Covid and avoids crowded spaces. I told my sister in-law, Freda, about it, and she was all set to join me. All of my mental excuses were gone about traveling and Covid and we made out plans.

We went down on Sunday but purchased our tickets online which meant we were set for 1:30 on Sunday afternoon. We arrived on time and struggled with parking but lucked out in the end by getting the last close space. It only cost $15 which I count as a steal. Entering the Detroit Institute of Art made me realize that thousands of other people were feeling drawn to the exhibit just as I was. Most were unmasked. We masked up but we were definitely in the minority. The line was long as they counted people off and only let so many in at a time. I couldn’t believe the crowd. I am used to attending art museums in quieter settings where you don’t have to climb over people to see the exhibits. Many people seemed like sheep still staying in lines as we moved through the exhibit. We were told once we were in we could go through at our own pace and interests but, alas, people truly remained sheep.

I took many pictures. I was amazed at the breadth and even style changes of Vincent’s work. So many pieces reminded me of other artists as well. I wasn’t expecting that. Some would have been his contemporaries and others must have been influenced by Vincent in some small way.

I noticed that some paintings were larger than I expected them to be after viewing them in books and some were smaller as well. The chair painting seemed like a lonely self portrait of Vincent himself to me. As I was walking through the exhibit I found myself wondering what Vincent would do today with access to all of the different materials and sources available today. Vincent lived a simple life. He didn’t have access to the array of materials and sources we have today. If I want to see someone’s art I can simply Google it. Vincent had his mind and sometimes meager materials. There were times when he didn’t have oils to paint with but he drew. It makes me wonder about what and how he thought. How did he interpret things the way he did. He obviously had a love of the working poor. His paintings and drawings almost caress them as they toil at digging the soil or working at the loom. He sees in them more than the burden they may carry. He sees their humanity. He sees the beauty in the ugly. He caresses their toil as if they are somehow closer to God.

Strangely, the clog and shoe pieces really stood out for me. The shoes made me think about my father. Dad was a teacher and a farmer. He worked harder than any man I know and I respected him more as well. When he died in 2006, I saved his shoes. I don’t know why but I always thought I would draw or paint them. I even moved them with me to my new home. Now, I don’t know exactly where they are as I still have boxes to unpack in the garage. The shoes that Vincent created took me back to daddy. There he was back in my head putting on his shoes and getting ready to go work in his garden. I could feel the love I have for dad in Vincent’s artwork. My emotions were surfacing and it was powerful. Vincent made me think about dad. I wonder what Vincent was thinking when he drew this image that was so powerful in my mind.

Some of Vincent’s landscape scenes were gentle mixtures of a bouquet of colors. Swirling, lovely colors that were dreamy in many ways that made the eyes move gently through the painting. Olive trees that moved in the soft breeze of the day and flowers that swayed in a beautiful array of color. These are magical paintings. How could a man understand the subtle beauty of a bouquet of roses? Vincent painted beautiful flowers that somehow became more beautiful with his brushstrokes. He caressed the flowers and the background as well. My favorite flower painting at the exhibit were these roses. So lovely. I would have bought a mug with those roses on it. I had to settle for one with the master himself, but that’s okay.

There was a simple drawing called Sorrow of a woman who obviously appears to have lost it all. That piece reminded me of Kathe Kollwitz. I wondered if she was ever influenced by Vincent. Her work was from the time of war in Germany so she is way after the time of Vincent but, her drawings have some of the same feeling to me as some of Vincent’s drawings but especially this piece. She may have been influenced by many artists and of course Vincent influences many artists today, even myself. I love the swirly backgrounds and the emotion I feel from Vincent’s work. It moves me unlike other artist’s work. I somehow feel connected to it in ways I don’t always feel from other artists and I don’t always understand.

I saw in a few paintings a definite influence he must have picked up from Georges Seurat. I was surprised by this. Those paintings still had the contrasting colors of brushstrokes but they were very small, very much like the pointillism of Seurat. I was sure on viewing these that he must have respected and loved Seurat’s work. These pieces were more controlled with intense little brushstrokes that were mind boggling when thinking of this man who created over 900 pieces of art in his short life working for around 10 years. How long he must have worked to capture and achieve this affect I cannot imagine. There were some other pieces that reminded me of both Gauguin and Renoir. It must have been exciting for these artists to share their ideas together. Today we have many advantages but what fun it must have been to live amongst other artists and create art for art’s sake. To live, breathe, drink, and eat art. Today we are all wrapped up in our cellphones and social media. It is hard to imagine the life of an artist like Van Gogh living small and yet creating such beauty. It boggles my mind. It is wonderful to take in the rich colors and soft palette of many of his pieces or the bright ones and the wonderful contrast he creates with color. The movement he creates with brushstrokes creates a dreamy, mysterious quality. A still life of fruit suddenly becomes more about the ever moving and gyrating background. I forget the fruit and start lingering on the swirling lines. My eyes are captivated. I ended the show looking at a Starry Night piece. No. Not THE Starry Night as it was absent from the show, but one that is still very captivating none the less. I leave in the darkness of that night feeling like we have received a gift of light from one of the most gifted artists of all time.

We went to the little pop up Van Gogh restaurant where they were serving little French type sandwiches. Nothing really special as the baguette was much too hard for my liking, but the Chocolate mousse type dessert was divine and melted in my mouth. I bought a sketchbook and this mug in the gift shop for my little souvenirs of the day. The best part will be my memory of receiving the gift of love that is Van Gogh. I am hoping this will motivate me to start creating again. He is so inspirational and I hold him deep in my heart as I prepare my studio for more work to be created.

In a final note, the show will run through Sunday, January 22nd, until late into the night. If tickets are still available you can find them here.  https://dia.org/

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A Day in the Life of an Art Teacher

  • Posted on November 5, 2013 at 9:00 pm

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I was thinking this morning that most people would not have a clue of all of the different things I have to do on any given day as an art teacher.  Today I decided to give people a glimpse into my life as an art teacher.  I arrived at the school around 7:20.  On any typical day, I usually arrive anywhere between 7:15 and 7:25.  On Thursday mornings, we have a delayed start for the students, so I have to be in the library by 7:00 for our PLC (Professional Learning Community) meeting.

Today, I greeted my assistant principal, checked my mailbox, and headed down to my room.  I booted up my computer and got the other six started as well.  Next, I checked my email and loaded all of the programs I would be using during my classes.  These are Power School, Class Dojo, my web page, and a Word document with images of scratch art projects on it.  Next, I wrote on my whiteboard the agenda for the day for all of my classes.

By this time, my mentor students started arriving.  I immediately tell them to make sure they have any homework they need to complete and their reading book.  I assign students that are not finished with their blogs from art class to work on the computers.  The end of the marking period is Friday, so this is the last chance students have to complete any missing work in any of their classes.  I have told my students that most of this work needs to be completed by Wednesday, as all teachers must have their grades submitted by Monday morning.  During Mentor class, I check the grades of the students I am most concerned about failing.  I confer with them about what they need to be doing to get their work turned in.  I remind students to work and not talk.  I give class Dojo points to students for working.

Immediately after class a sixth grade student comes in to tell me an 8th grader had shown her some head phones that he just took from my class.  I thank her and tell her I will take care of it.  I look up the accused student’s schedule, and call his next teacher to explain the situation so she will send him back down.  As I am calling, a woman from the Service Production company peeks in at me to talk about their products and service.  She had called the day before to find out when my planning period was so she could talk with me.  I visit with her and the student shows up.  I tell him I want my headphones back and he tells me he found them.  I tell him I saw him wearing them but I didn’t take them away from him in class because I knew he was working.  He tries to lie some more about the headphones he has taken.  I tell him to stop lying and that I am disappointed that he would steal from my classroom and that I now find it difficult to trust him and he will have to earn my trust back.  I add that my mother always told me, “You lie, you cheat, and you steal.”  I told him I expect more from him and he should head back to class.   The Service Production rep says she used to teach years ago and she remembers times like that when you have to let the student know the jig is up.  I visit with the rep and she assures me that she can match Nasco’s prices.  I tell her I will look at the catalog she has left with me.  After she leaves, I get my scratch art materials ready for my classes and cut some paper that I know some of the students may need that are behind on other projects.  I organize my desk so I have all of my materials ready to go.  I notice it is almost the end of the hour so I quickly go use the restroom and fill my water bottle.

Third hour begins and I explain to the students that we have three things going on today.  First, students that are behind with their projects have to work on those.  Second, I will pick six students to use the computers to complete their blogs.  Third, students who have everything done will begin a scratch art project.  I show students scratch art projects on the computer and real samples that I have teaching them about composition, the use of pattern and texture with scratch art, and making good choices with my drawing books and pictures.  I also teach them each step to the process of creating a scratch art.  I make sure students understand the instructions, assign students to the computers, and get the rest working.  Some students want me to print a picture of something they can’t seem to find in my books.  As class goes on, I am helping students with their blogs, scratch art drawings, and trying to motivate the ones that are behind.  I talk with one girl about staying after school to be caught up.  I let her call home to see if she can stay.  One little boy has moved away from his assigned seat so I have to deal with his off task behavior.  He happens to be the most behind and I am not surprised, as he likes to talk more than work.  I move him by himself so he can get something done.  At the end of class, students have to clean up and organize the supplies.  They show me their pencils so I know they’re all put back in the boxes I provide for them.  Students are released and it all starts all over again.

This next group is a difficult class.  There are 25 boys and 6 girls in the class.  Most of the boys don’t want to be in art class and frankly would rather be home playing video games, if they had their choice.  They struggle in school and many are poor readers.    I begin the class by taking away a phone as one of the girls has her phone and has several students following her trying to see what is on it.  She lies to me and says she doesn’t have one.  Of course, I saw it and made her give it to me. … More wasted time.  She brings up her notebook and some boys have drawn some poor images of penises on it.  She says that is why she had her phone out.  More disruption!  Just know, if you are a middle school teacher, you will have witnessed crudely drawn penises in a book, on a wall, on a table, somewhere in the school.  Strangely enough, I have talked with the janitor and the boys are even smearing feces on the wall of some of the bathrooms.  Note to self, keep washing my hands because you just don’t know what the students have been doing.

I have had enough and I want to start class.  I assign six students to the computers and spend most of the next hour dealing with off task behavior in between helping students with their blogs, drawings, and cutting paper for those that are behind.  I send two students down to the interventionist so he can work with them on their behavior.  After the two boys are gone, things are better but I still have to deal with some students out of their seat and wasting time.  The last twenty minutes are uneventful until one table has a problem.  It’s right at the end of class.  One of them has spilled glue all over the table and on one of the student’s folders.  These students are friends and some are even cousins.  They continually like to pick on each other, just for fun.  I dismiss all of the students but the one table and make them do a thorough job of cleaning up the mess, that none of them of course, created.  This takes time away from my short lunch as they think I am going to give them a pass so they seem to be tasking their sweet time, until they realize the pass isn’t coming.  By the time I get my soup can and apple around, I have 17 minutes left for lunch.  Those 17 minutes are precious time.  I spend it with three other teachers that are hilarious and lighten the day for me.  I feel renewed in spirit because I know they understand what it is like to deal with off task middle school behavior.

I head to my next class of sixth graders with my apple in hand.  I get the students working and I have that one little boy that doesn’t want to do his project.  He isn’t going to do it and I can’t make him.  He is right.  I can lead a horse to water but I cannot make him drink.  He proceeds to take some pen on a string and starts flicking it at other students.  I tell him to sit down and get to work.  He tells me he doesn’t want to do that project.  The aide for another student makes some suggestions to him.  He doesn’t like her suggestions, as I knew he wouldn’t.  What he really wants to do is get on a computer, not necessarily to blog, but to do anything but what he is supposed to be doing.  This little boy has been a joy in class until the last couple of weeks.  I don’t know what is in his head but now he doesn’t want to do anything and it is frustrating.  I have tried reverse psychology, making suggestions, trying to get him to make it something special for his mom.  Nothing works.  He wants his way and that is all he will do.  In my mind, I am banging my head against a wall because I don’t know what else will work with this child.  I know he likes me but there is something making him not want to produce anything right now.  I try to ignore his protests because I am hoping he eventually will give up and work.  Class ends uneventfully.

My seventh graders come in and I repeat much of the same process.  I have one boy that is the class clown.  He interrupts my instruction many times and announces that he needs to go to the bathroom now.  I have a procedure for this and it is not when I am giving instructions.  After his many interruptions, I send him out to the interventionist.  The rest of the class is wonderfully uneventful.  I help students with their blogs and scratch art designs.  I print images for some of them and we have a good day.  I look at student blogs and give them feedback so they can improve them.  Clean up goes well and I move on to the last hour of the day.

In between classes, the girl that had her phone taken away earlier in another class tried to get me to give it back to her before the last hour.  Lessons need to be learned.  I wasn’t going to have her interrupting someone else’s class with her antics. She said she would miss the bus.  I told her she could take the short cut out of my exit doors.  She left feeling frustrated but came back at the end of the day.  She didn’t miss her bus.

My last hour is a class with all girls because it is my advanced art class.  These are students, which really love art.  I have both seventh and eighth graders in this class.  I assign some to the computers and a couple have to finish projects.  The rest are busy working on drawings for scratch art and scratching techniques with their scratch art projects.  One little girl has finished her scratch art and it is beautiful.  I suggest that she could make another if she likes as I have many different scratch art papers.  She seems thrilled by this and busily gets to work.  I make suggestions to students to improve their drawings.  Midway through class, the students prompt me to put on some music.  I put on Pandora.  This class is truly amazing.  I love the end of my day, as these students are very trustworthy, sweet as can be, and highly motivated.  It is a joy working with them.

After I dismiss my class, two sixth grade students come in to work on their projects after school.  I get a hug from the one that I had let call home earlier in the day.  She seems happy to be able to stay to work on her project.  I see a different side to her after school.  Shortly after her arrival, I hear my name over the loud speaker to come to the principal’s office.   I am wondering what is up with that and I think how funny it is because when a student is called to the office, all of the other students make  a “Ohhhhh” sound.  My principal has called a sudden meeting with some of the exploratory teachers.  The administration has started a program by pulling students out of our classes so they can go work on missing assignments for their core classes.  He tells us we have to make sure the students show up.  Evidently, two of the students on my list showed up only one day.  Many other students didn’t show up from other exploratory classes.  After some discussion and clarification of exactly what my principal wanted, I went back to my classroom to tie up the events of the day.

I answered all of my emails.  I made two referrals for the homework intervention program.  By now, it was nearly 4:00, so I told my two girls that they would have to clean up soon.  One girl got a phone call and left but the other one that had hugged me, cleaned up and stayed to chat a few minutes.  She told me her mom wants her to try out for the talent show.  I asked her what she wanted to do and I encouraged her to consider it, but if she was scared to try to get a friend to sing a duet with her.  I think she liked that idea.  She left and I finished shutting down all of the computers and finally left school around 4:15.

I know this day may sound boring to some people, but what I think is amazing, is how little time I actually spend on teaching.   I spend much more time on parenting, being a mentor, being a friend, encouraging, cajoling, and trying desperately to get students to care about themselves enough to do the right thing and try to do their best.  Teaching can be exasperating, frustrating, but also joyful.  Teaching art has moments that are just brilliant like watching a student grow and develop and yet heart breaking when I see a student give up on himself or herself.  When I go home, I am still thinking about the next day and what I have to do.  I am on the internet working on more plans for my classes.  I sometimes have to call parents.  The day never is really done and the students are often on my mind as I try to devise ways to motivate them and encourage them in art class.  Today I am thinking about an order I have to place and my budget.  I am looking at what I still need to buy for my classes.  As an art teacher, I have to work on everything from a budget, to organization, to discipline, to instructional strategies and delivery, and even time management.  There is a lot that has to be done by me that most people don’t probably realize.  I have to be able to speak to adults kindly about their children even when they are naughty.  I have to be a diplomat for the school and an advocate for my program.  I have to be a team member that works well with the other teachers and a leader in ways that I am able.  I have to be tech saavy and always aware of my surrounding and those of my students.  Teaching today seems to me to be ever changing.  The amount of technology I use in my classes is tremendous.  I consider myself to be far ahead of most teachers in the area of technology.  I am always learning and trying to share what I know with other teachers.  There is no time to be stagnant in my program.  I feel that art and technology go naturally together so it can be a great marriage of two diverse worlds.  Since my students are busy working on their blogs, I am going to share a link to them so you can see for yourselves how the two are married together.  I think most are doing a fabulous job on their blogs.  Some are still working on them but check them out, you may be surprised at the blogs they have created.  Of course, you will also witness the students that just don’t care.  Luckily, they are in the minority.  http://sturgisps.org/Page/4558

There are over a hundred blogs so just scroll down and look through them.

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Earth Without Art is Just “Eh”

  • Posted on September 8, 2013 at 4:48 pm

Sometime this last year, one of my previous art students, who is now in college, posted on Facebook:  Earth Without Art is Just “Eh”.  It made me laugh and think.  Ultimately, it became the inspiration for this painting, which I created for my art classroom this summer.

The "Earth" Without Art is Just "Eh"

With all of the emphasis on testing at my school and across the country, the arts tend to be ignored by educators and administrators trying to get students to pass a test.  However, art is an integral part of our world.  Art is all around us.  We cannot escape it.  We are constantly choosing the beauty we allow into our lives from the clothing we wear, to the home we live in, and to the car, we drive.  Color and beauty surrounds us and inspires us.  Life without some form of art, in my opinion, would be dull for most of us.  Most people are inspired by the performing arts, especially music.  We cannot wait to listen to music.  It can both soothe our soul on a tough day and motivate us to action on another.  We can view a painting and be mesmerized by both the detailed brushstroke or loose, fast, moving strokes.  I can remember seeing a Van Gogh painting back in my twenties that I swore the wheat was moving in.  Of course, it appeared as though the wind was blowing and it was just paint, but it was fascinating to me.

When I was young, I grew up in a very large family.  We really didn’t have time for art.  We worked hard and we just were not exposed to the arts in a way that many are today.  The fact that I became an art teacher is somewhat puzzling.  I didn’t have an art class all through my K-12 years.  I had a pencil and paper and I liked to draw.  I didn’t have room in my schedule in high school for an art class until my senior year because I was all college prep.  I didn’t take art.  I took choir.  I really like to sing but the truth is I figured I would be a failure in an art class.  I had never had art, so how could I possibly take art as a senior?  I knew I could sing a bit so I figured that was a safer bet.  However, during my senior year I remember staying up late and drawing.  One time I got out the encyclopedia and drew a picture of JFK.  Of course, I just happened to leave it on the kitchen table so my parents would see it in the morning.  I don’t remember their response but I did keep on drawing.  I went on to college as an undeclared major.  I loved college.  I took many different classes from psychology to philosophy and of course all of the other required courses and I kept on drawing.  Other students encouraged me to take an art course after seeing a drawing I did of Botticelli’s “Birth of Venus”.  I don’t even remember how I discovered that painting but I wanted to draw that beautiful girl.  I thought my friends were nuts, but somehow I found myself signing up for a drawing class.  I was scared to death.  When I went to my first class, the other students were talking about how stupid it was that they had to take this “dip shit” drawing course before they could take anything better.  I thought, “What the hell am I doing here?”  I talked to the professor after class and he asked me if I would faithfully come to class and do the assignments.  I told him I would.  He told me that I would be fine, not to drop out, and to watch as some of those students do drop out.  He was right.  When I took that first class, I knew I had found my home, my center, the place where I felt complete, like I never had before.  Art gave me courage.   Art gave me purpose.  Art made me feel I was part of something bigger in this world.

Even though I missed some early art training, I have never looked back.  I know I made the right choice for me.  I love making art and I love teaching art to my students.  I feel earth without art is just “eh” for sure.  After changing my major to art, I discovered clay.  Throwing on the wheel became a passion so I spent many years supporting myself with that passion.  I truthfully only went into teaching because of my parents.  My mom wanted me to have my teaching certificate to fall back on.  Both of my parents were teachers.  When I first graduated, I taught art at Fowler, Michigan and I loved it but I still wanted to make pottery.  When my husband took a job in Oklahoma, I gave up my job and focused on my pottery.  In a few years, he left and I had to make a living for my son and myself.  I did it with my pottery.  It was tough because I had to make a lot of pottery, not just the things that most inspired me.    However, I did well enough to move back to Michigan and buy a home.  When my son was in Kindergarten, I went up to the school with my pottery wheel and some clay for his class.  I had so much fun working with those little kids that I started thinking about going back to teaching.  It appeared that in order to do this I needed to update my teaching credentials, which meant more schooling.  I had taken courses in Oklahoma but they were all pottery courses with Montee Hoke.  They wouldn’t count towards that update.  It was going to cost about $6000, so I thought I can’t do that!  Of course, with parents like mine, that was not going to happen.  They said they would loan me the money.  When I told them, it had been awhile and I might not do well, my mom laughed and told me I was a good student and I would do fine.  Of course, she was right.  I went to Central Michigan University.  My son started second grade at Glen Lake and then went to CMU with me.  We lived in married housing, which he loved!  He loved it because it was a small apartment and other kids were there.  He ended the year back up at Glen Lake.  I’m lucky he was a smart kid and easily adjusted to the situation.  I remember telling him we were going on an adventure!

That was well over twenty years ago.  After CMU, I taught art at Manistee part time for a year.  Then I was hired at Sturgis.  I have taught twenty years at Sturgis.  What I find amazing is how excited the start of a new year remains for me.  I spent much of this summer working on classroom management, creating art for my classroom, and creating new lesson plans for my students.  I totally revamped my classroom and discipline plan.  I made art to inspire my students.  I have a passion for teaching art.  I want to inspire everyone I can with how important art is in our lives.  Art gives children an opportunity to express themselves.  It can make a child feel like a super star.  It can even do that for adults.  Art can transform people and even nations.  Art is a language that we all can understand.  It can speak to us in quiet ways or loud.  It can teach us to care.  It can help us understand each other.  The earth without art really is just “eh”.

 

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Happiness and Dreams

  • Posted on November 24, 2012 at 7:55 pm

I have a friend on Facebook that recently posted a video that I think everyone should watch so I am sharing it on my blog.  The second video is a video response to the first video.  With all of the trivial mass garbage that is posted on the Internet daily, it is not often that I come across videos that make me really think and want to think.

Are you doing what you want to do?  Are you afraid to do what you dream?  Are you like the hamster on a wheel that cannot get off?  If so, you will appreciate this first video.  What do you desire?  Lucky for me I have always been able to work with art my entire “adult” life.  I treasure getting my fingers dirty and stretching the boundaries of what I think I can do, but what really is exciting for me is teaching art.  I know deep down inside I love seeing what art does for young people.  How it encourages them and can help them feel good about themselves.  There is nothing more thrilling than watching the development of a young child’s mind and growth with art.  I see a spark and I feel the emotion that went into their artwork when they really care about what they are doing.

Here is the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siu6JYqOZ0g

I have worked several different jobs over my lifetime.  I had a summer at a factory in my hometown.  It hurt my fingers with the little metal shavings that would get into them.  I have waited tables, greeted people, sold cameras, and done many jobs as I was working my way through college.  I sold my pottery at art shows for many years and I loved it except for the fact that even with art there is always the problem of making money to live……so, sometimes you make mugs, many, many mugs, to survive!  However, even when I was doing other things I think in my heart I was always a teacher.  When I went to Central Michigan University to update my teaching certificate so I could teach again, I asked one of my professors to write me a letter of recommendation.  He went beyond my expectations.  He came up to visit me at my studio near Maple City.  I was in the middle of getting ready for yet another art show, so I very busy.  I stopped what I was doing and showed him how everything worked.  I explained the firing process.  I was excited that he had taken the time to stop in and see me.  When I received a copy of his letter, he wrote about how I am always teaching.  He knew I was busy but he learned so much from visiting me because I took the time to show him what I was doing.

Teaching in itself is an art form.  Not everyone has that gift.  Anyone that thinks it is easy to teach someone about anything just doesn’t really understand what it takes to be a good or great teacher.  Think about the last time you tried to give someone directions that has a hard time understanding the whole north, south, east, and west thing.  Some people can understand those directions quite easily while others are immediately lost when you open your mouth.  Teaching is the same way as some students come more prepared than others and some just lack understanding or perhaps confidence.  No two students are identical but we keep teaching them all the same ways.  It’s a bit confusing.  Like the video, we should be teaching students how to reach for their dreams.  School shouldn’t be about taking a series of standardized tests, but about learning, thinking, and even dreaming.  We should give students the opportunity to create in the arts, perform music and drama, build with their hands, and of course learn how to read, write, and do those complex math problems.  However, in school we should also be developing self awareness for each student, not to be future drones, but to be self sufficient, confident, and most of all we should teach them how to think independently!

The second video was a video response to the first video.  It is Charlie Chaplin giving his last speech in “The Great Dictator.”

I think as a society, we owe it to each other to be the best that we can be.  We should encourage each other to become the best that we can be.  We should not be greedy or hateful.  In this season of giving my gift to any of you that bother to read my blog is the gift of thought.  I hope each of these videos causes you to think about how you make an impact on the people you meet each day.  If you work with children, remember that they need strong people in their lives that truly care about them.  It is up to us, the people, to create the kind of world that we want it to be.  It is up to us to create our own bliss in whatever way we are able.  I challenge all of you to reach outside yourself and help someone else that needs it, but most of all find what will make you happy.  If you are happy, you just might make someone else happy as well!

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Garage Sale Find: Old Poem

  • Posted on July 30, 2012 at 1:18 am

Blue Angel Wings by Katherine Svoboda

Last weekend my son helped me set up for a garage sale.  Many of you know that I used to be a full time potter.  I would go to art shows and sell my pottery.  I have many little books or journals that I tend to jot things down in.  I have also written little poems on scrap paper as well.  Josh picked up an old Anne Geddes journal and tossed it in the trash.  I quickly captured it from its pit of death and exclaimed that there might be something profound in it.  My son just laughed because I tend to keep many things that seem worthless to him!  I just want to share something that I wrote in that journal and if you have a piece of my pottery please think about me.

You take a piece of me home with you

Do you feel my presence in each piece you touch?

I am not plastic or cold like steel

But molded with love and God’s holy seal

The earth is my family

The fire is my friend

Mixed with humility and God’s tempered hand

I feel close to my maker as I lovingly drink from the cup of benevolence

And a bowl of fine wine

Drink and be merry with my pots so strong

Feel each loving stroke of God’s holy hand

Keep each piece close to you year after year

Remember the maker that brought you such cheer

Yes, I know.  It is truly a bit sappy but it was a moment I remember long ago when I was watching someone in my booth picking up my pottery and caressing it, trying to make a decision.  Just know when you are in any potter’s booth, there is a bit of the individual in each piece you touch!

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Art Education and High Stakes Testing

  • Posted on July 16, 2012 at 9:07 pm

Above are artworks created by some of my middle school art students this year.  Keep all of this in mind as you read on about what I’m thinking about today!

It has been about a month since school was let out for the summer.  I have been busy working on curriculum for a new course I will be offering this year.  It is an animation/film class for seventh and eighth grade students.  I am very excited about the plans I am working on for the course and I have received much needed support from my principal.  However, as I sit here thinking about the excitement I will be creating and developing in this course, I wonder about all of the schools that have chosen to dismiss the arts in their curriculums to give more time for developing test taking strategies.  In the infinite wisdom of our federal and state legislators, the bottom line is how students perform  on a standards based test.  This test is basically a multiple choice test about information that the students will probably never use in the most important parts of their adult lives.  We have become a nation of test takers.

If we aren’t testing our children through these standardized tests then we are testing them for ADD and many other worrisome things to try and “fix” them.  Our children are being judged daily on their fitness.  They are told they are stupid and over weight.  The remedy seems to be to make school even more miserable for them!  In the high stakes environment of test taking our children are the human guinea pigs, chess pawns really, in the ever changing education system that tells them that they are failures on a continual basis.  With each test that tells them they are not proficient how does a child cope with this news?  Even in our adult lives we have become test takers.  For many adults this involves being urine tested in order to get a job.  Teachers take tests to prove that they are intelligent enough to become teachers even though they actually graduated from universities and colleges that gave their stamp  of approval.  We seem to be obsessed with testing.  Unfortunately, our adult compulsion is driving our children crazy.  What child wants to be stuck in a classroom where they are routinely told they are not measuring up?  It is a frustrating time in education.  I have said on many occasions that I am glad my child is not in school at this time.  I just want the insanity to stop!

What I know to be true is that creativity is very important for the development of the whole individual.  Frankly, if you are not able to think outside the box, you will not be able to invent and be innovative.  Our growth as a nation has depended on the innovation and inventiveness of its people.  If we teach our children that the only thing that is important is passing a test,  we do them a disservice.  I came across a document this past year called, “Critical Evidence…How the Arts Benefit Student Achievement”.  The document basically explains that testing has been done and there is proof that the arts, such as visual arts, music, dance, etc., help improve the SAT test scores of students that are consistently involved in them.  I just want to say, “Duh!”  However,  many people don’t understand the value of the arts in the thinking and learning process.  While the document stressed that No Child Left Behind treated the arts as important as the core subjects, the reality is that in order to achieve the adequate yearly progress required of NCLB many schools left the arts and made more time for drilling students to try and get them to “learn” the material.

We have been fortunate here in Sturgis as the arts have been an integral part of our students’ learning and have been supported by the administration, board members, teachers, and the community at large.  It doesn’t mean we aren’t feeling the pressure though.  I have had to become more than the visual arts teacher in recent years.  My evaluations will be based on student’s reading scores just like many core teachers’ evaluations.  It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me but after all I’m just one of those creative thinkers that tends to think outside the box of legislative opinion.  I do everything I can to help my students become better students, better people, and over all better equipped for their future but sadly what the legislative body wants to measure is what a student does on one particular day in one particular year of a student’s life to determine not only the student’s fitness and progress but also the teacher’s fitness and progress.  From my point of view I think this is just basically stupid.  I was at the 8th grade awards’ presentation last month.  I noticed that many students that I had taught that are very bright did not get an award for being proficient on the MEAP.  There has to be something wrong with this test when I see students that are top in their class walking away without that word “proficient” attached to their name.  They have been deemed not proficient.  How sad that we have labeled students in such a manner.  I think most people that are not in the education system might not be aware of everything that is going on in schools all across America.  Parents have been told that it’s the teachers fault that their child is doing poorly in school.  Teachers have targets on their backs and I feel it even on my back although I know how hard I work and how dedicated I am to my profession and my students.  From my point of view, the test making and test preparation companies are making a lot of money off education today.

I’m not saying that there aren’t problems in education today.  I just think that the future innovators and creatives in our community are at risk when we expect our children to just regurgitate information on a test without regard for the art and music of life’s challenges.  The divide I see in my classroom has more to do with the economic problems than anything else.  Let’s face facts; students that come from economically deprived families have a bigger struggle than students from the upper middle class and wealthy parts of society.  Over the past twenty years this has become even more apparent.  The answer to me seems to be in fixing the economy as well as always working to improve our education system.  Times have changed and with that change we should be embracing the technology of the 21st Century.  Teachers that do this will probably remain relevant.  Those that don’t may be kicked to the dustbins of the past.  In my own teaching, I have embraced technology in my classroom and in my life.  I think that living in today’s society is much more involved than just taking a state mandated test of proficiency.  We will not know what this grand experiment will reveal until the students of today are the adult citizens of tomorrow.  I do believe if we don’t change this high stakes testing we will create a world full of neurotic adults that will certainly keep the psychoanalyst’s sofa warmed up with their compulsions and obsessions and feelings of inadequacy.

Will all of these thoughts interrupt what I do in my classroom?  I will continue to work hard on my plans for all of my classes including my new animation/film course and I will remain fully engaged and thrilled to be working with the middle school students that I feel so privileged to teach.  However, this past year was extremely stressful for me.  It had nothing to do with the students and everything to do with this constant testing.  If I can feel it when I absolutely love being a teacher, think how the students are feeling when they are faced with stressed out teachers that are forced to jump through hoops to get their students to pass a test.  It is a sad state that we surely must change.

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The Toledo Museum of Art and Thoughts of My Sister

  • Posted on April 6, 2012 at 1:52 pm

Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful day, the 5th of April, my sister’s birthday, had she survived the deadly cancer that raged through her body.  I’m currently on spring break.  While many have found ways to escape the stresses of daily life, I have found myself reliving a spring break six years ago when I went to visit my cancer stricken sister.  We celebrated her birthday on Thursday and she died by the end of the week.  My father followed her in death shortly after.  Thankfully, I decided to do something that would delight my senses rather than dwell on what could have been.  However, I am mixed with emotions of loss, love, and a sense that our country truly has turned into the two Americas that John Edwards always talked about.  There are the privileged and everyone else.  There are those like Dick Cheney, who have wonderful health care, and those like my sister, that didn’t and don’t.

There is an “America” in Toledo, Ohio where everyone can participate because it is free.  I drove to Toledo to visit the Toledo Museum of Art.  I had only been there once before and it was back in my twenties.  I can’t understand why I haven’t sought this gem out in the past thirty years.  I just have to say that if you are from Toledo, or the surrounding area, you are a fool if you are not visiting this museum.  I didn’t have time to make it over to the glass museum, so I’ll be going back this summer and devote more quality time to both.  The museum has many galleries loaded with unusual pieces of art and there is absolutely no cost to attend.  Imagine a quality museum with wonderful art and it only cost me $5.00 for parking.  That, in itself, is amazing!  When I went to Chicago and parked underground it was nearly $30 so I was thrilled to think that anyone can attend this museum, any day, for free!  I’m just going to touch on a few artworks that really stood out for me.  Art inspires me and this seemed like the best of days to get inspired!

Morrison Triptych

I was drawn to the Morrison Triptych because of its beauty and clarity.  http://classes.toledomuseum.org:8080/emuseum/view/objects/asitem/96/30/invno-asc?t:state:flow=65b98ef0-38ed-4165-9fe8-8abf0503ce71

The artist is unknown.  Morrison was the person that owned it last.  In the painting one can see great effort at every little detail from the feet, to the rug, and even the background that gives a feeling that it could go on forever.  When I was looking at all of the Christian art in the museum, I had a sense of how inspiring it must have been for people to see this artwork at the time it was created.  I could see how spending time where the art was at, say in a church, could be the most beautiful part of your day.  I’m sure the art was used to control people in some form or another through story telling with strong moral meaning.  Whatever the case, it is easy to see how people would be drawn to places of worship just for the inspiration that would be provided.  Today, religion needs more than a beautiful picture to inspire people to want to participate in daily devotion!

Paul Signac, Entrance to the Grand Canal

Another piece that I was drawn to was an artwork by Paul Signac, Entrance to the Grand Canal, Venice, 1905.  I have never paid much attention to the artwork of Seurat or Signac as tiny little dots just doesn’t really appeal to me.  They almost seem too painstaking for me to find them interesting.  I can appreciate them but I have always liked art that is faster and more expressionistic with quick brush strokes.  However, my perception has been changed by this delightfully colorful piece by Signac.  It is made up of rectangular brushstrokes of wonderful bits of color.  From a distance it reminded me of some of Monet’s work but up close it is much more colorful and less subdued.  My pictures were taken on my cell phone so they lack quality.  My battery had died in my little camera and I didn’t check it before I left home so I snapped some shots off my phone.  Here is a link on Flickr to a better shot so you can see the wonderful color and brushstrokes that I am writing about.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/noctilux-mingqi/4658392020/lightbox/

Louise Nevelson, Sky Presence I

Another piece that I found inspirational for its composition is a piece made out of wood by Louise Nevelson, Sky Presence I.  I loved the fact that she took scrap wood and made something so magically beautiful from it.  Each box alone is a wonderful composition but seeing them altogether is like different chapters to a book.  They each tell a little story.  It really made me wonder where she found all of the different shapes.  The way she composed each piece is interesting as she put curvy lines next to straight lines and they work harmoniously together on the whole when you see them as this huge piece of art.  It’s quite dramatic due to the black color and the size of the piece.

Juan Schnabel, Portrait of a Freedom Fighter

I also really enjoyed “Portrait of a Freedom Fighter” by Juan Schnabel.  It is an artwork created from broken ceramic plates and oil paint.  I was drawn to the three dimensional aspect of the piece and the broken fragments that up close just looked like a mess, but when I stepped back came into focus.  It served to remind me that things are not always what they seem to be whether it is with art or in life.  Some things need a closer inspection to fully understand.

The artwork, “The Salutation of Beatrice” by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, was just beautiful in a romantic way.  It seems the artist was named after the poet, Dante.  This was a tribute to Dante and his unrequited love for Beatrice.  A portion of Dante’s poem is inscribed in both English and Italian on the frame.  It goes like this:

My lady looks so gentle and so pure / When yielding salutation by the way / That the tongue trembles and has naught to say / And the eyes, which fain would see, may not endure.

You can see the piece up close here.  http://classes.toledomuseum.org:8080/emuseum/view/objects/asitem/121/34/invno-asc?t:state:flow=adf30bba-874e-4a61-a6d3-f4c986b75cd8

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, The Salutation of Beatrice

The piece is beautiful but it is the look of longing in her eyes that really drew me into it.  I loved the softness of her pale skin and the way the fabric drapes around her almost as though she was an “angel”.  She just needs the wings and a halo.

An artwork by Paul Gauguin made me forgive him for leaving his family.  He really didn’t belong in the business world.  He had a gift for color and I am so pleased to have come across this image of a road that reminded me of the road he took which was so different from the road he was originally on!  The piece is called, “Street in Tahiti”.  It is full of color and a sense of a different world where people are at peace.  I loved the brushstrokes of the palm tree.  At the museum I could get right up to almost every painting.  There were no barrier lines around most of them.  You could breathe on them.  That was amazing for seeing the brushstrokes so closely.

Paul Gauguin, Street in Tahiti

Another artwork, or should I say artworks, that stood out for me was “The Party” by Marisol.  Here is a link to a Sotheby auction that says a bit about it. http://www.thecityreview.com/s05scon1.html

This piece made me smile.  There was an artist statement about feeling alone even at a party.  What I could see was the many looks of party goers.  Some are looks of boredom, some of thoughtful reflection, like how can I escape?  Some looks seemed to mock the haughty “elite”.  I found this piece to be sophisticated and humorous and I loved the fact that Marisol said they scared her when she was working on them.  I kept picturing waking up in the night to these crazy life size pieces!  This is one reason I love art.  I can be inspired, laugh, and take from it what I want.  Art allows me to make my own interpretations.  They may be what the artist was thinking but often art just makes me think!  If you have the opportunity to visit an art museum in the near future, it just might make you think as well!

I will close with pictures from other artworks that I enjoyed on this fine day in April when I was thinking about my beautiful sister and missing her deeply.

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The End of Summer Vacation

  • Posted on August 31, 2011 at 12:35 pm

Beautiful Duck Lake in Norhtern Michigan

This year has been challenging for me.  In addition to teaching my regular art classes at school, I chose to take some courses so I could move up on the pay scale.  Originally I was going to take my 20 credits over a period of two years.  However, with everything our governor was busy doing in Lansing, I decided to escalate my goal to be completed in one year.  The classes I took were online courses that were actually very involved and demanding of my time and effort.  This summer I took the final two courses, both involved with using technology in the classroom and developing 21st Century literacy skills.  Now that I have finished my original goal, I have some time for reflection before the students start coming into my classroom.  I am really proud of what I accomplished this year.  While I’m glad I was able to get a pay raise, I was actually surprised at what I have taken away from the courses I took.  I know that I am a better teacher today because of them.  I always thought I was a pretty good teacher.  I have always been very dedicated to my profession and to my students.  What I have learned over this past year were some very useful strategies for helping students to become more motivated in the classroom, better classroom management skills, a greater understanding of adolescent student behavior, and ways to develop and integrate 21st Century literacy skills into my art classes.  That sounds like a lot and trust me it was!

I finished my courses on July 18th and since I hadn’t had a moment from the time school was out until then to have any summer at all, I decided to see if I could find a cottage where I could spend a week on a lake just relaxing.  My online search led me to Traverse City Chalet which is a cottage on beautiful Duck Lake near Interlochen and Traverse City.  As the picture reflects, this decision gave me a peaceful summer retreat.  This was just what I needed to get ready for the next school year!  I even managed to spend some time drawing and painting.  I loved it so much I’m going back next summer.  Two of my brothers, Joe and Paul, reside in Leelanau County so I invited them over for a barbeque.  I really didn’t want to leave the lake but I wanted to see them.  My brother, Bob and his wife, Sue, were also visiting Michigan from Alaska.  The dinner party included Joe’s wife Karin and Paul’s ex-wife Bonnie as well.  I am so happy that I got to see everyone as I haven’t been up north in a couple of years.

Given my families love of politics and discussing political issues it didn’t take long before the conversation turned to politics.  What I noticed was the fact that I was surrounded by political conservatives.  I consider myself to be a liberal.  These of course are just words that we attach to ourselves and most people don’t really understand exactly what they mean so I’ll explain what I mean.  My parents were really FDR Democrats.  They were married in 1934 and lived during the Depression and their experiences were shaped in many ways by the Depression.   They were savers and they didn’t waste anything.  My mom and dad were both teachers and my mom was very involved in the union at her school in Kingston, Michigan.  They supported the Reese teachers during their strike.  I can remember going to Reese as a kid!  In my young life both as a Catholic and as a child of my parents, I learned about caring for other people.  So when I say I’m liberal, the policies I’m talking about are policies to help and lift up people so they can become productive citizens.  I believe in helping people that may not be in the best circumstance to be their own advocate.  This doesn’t mean that I think I know what is best for people.  It just means I believe in finding ways to level the playing field.  This can be done mostly through public school education in many ways because the truth is education is the big divider in most countries.  Those that have a good education can usually attain a more successful job and lifestyle than those that don’t.

So I’ll get back to the dinner I shared with my brothers.  What I came away with was how deeply divided politically my family really is.  My brothers grew up with the same teachings I did but we are a world apart in our views.  Bonnie and Sue both like Representative Michelle Bachmann because she is a tax attorney.  I was shocked because in my mind she has said some crazy things.  My brothers are over the top conservative.  Paul even talked about child labor laws and how they are detrimental to the work ethic for young people.  I said the laws are put in place to protect children.  Of course it made me think about the governor in Maine that is working on changing those child labor laws.  This divide that I witnessed at our dinner really seems to be all across our nation.  It isn’t just my family.  It may be your family as well.  The next day my brother Bob came back because he forgot his hat.  We chatted a little longer and I asked him how he could possibly have become so conservative given our parents and our upbringing.  He said he was a Mormon.  Several years ago Bob became a Mormon and that was his response.  I don’t personally know if all Mormons are politically conservative like Bob, but that was his response.  It felt like that was a standard answer.  I didn’t get an in depth response and of course religion choices are always very personal and I don’t think it’s my place to question him about his decisions any more than he should question me on mine.  This dinner party was relaxed and fun and nobody was fighting about politics.  Paul did bring up my hefty donation to John Edwards and made some snide remark about how I helped pay for John’s mistress.  Of course, I told my brothers that I don’t look to politicians of any type for my moral code of ethics and that I still believe in what John Edwards talked about.  He wanted to give a voice to the voiceless, you know the poor!  Of course Paul says John’s a big old phony and that’s the end of that.  Unfortunately, with Edwards being the constant poster child for scummy politicians that voice for the poor is silenced.  On both sides of the political arena politicians have been all too human.  I wouldn’t put any of them on some kind of moral pedestal.  Some of them have even been fairly good presidents though.  Everyone knows about FDR and his mistress or Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings.  Bob said FDR was a terrible president.  Bob said he read some books and I could feel hatred from him for FDR.  My parents loved FDR and they lived during the time.  I have to wonder if Bob’s feelings have more to do with the morality issue than the policies.  It doesn’t matter.  Our country is divided.  We can’t even agree on how to teach our kids.

The conversation moved on to education.  I personally think the push for constant testing is crazy.  Of course we have to meet certain standards but there is far too much emphasis on passing “The” test.  I told my brothers that a test isn’t what any of us remember from our days in K-12 education.  We may remember taking the ACT or SAT as those were memorable days because we were getting ready for college.  However, what most of us remember about our schooling is either some teacher that made us feel great or some teacher that made us feel lousy!  The rest is probably not that important to us today.  What is important for students today is still having great relationships with teachers.  Students need teachers that truly care about them, not how they perform on some test, but about them as children.  Teachers have a powerful position.  They can elevate dreams or crush them!  To me the No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top are both programs that have forgotten the key element to a quality education.  Money is tied in both of these programs to test scores.  This is ridiculous.  The push towards merit pay is not a true standard for teaching quality.  Ultimately, what will be retained by the students in the end after all the dust settles is whether a teacher cared about them or not.  Those students won’t remember the test as being important to them.  They will remember the teachers that treated them like an individual with a heart and a soul.

Monday and Tuesday of this week we had our first “teacher days” at Sturgis and our open house at Sturgis Middle School.  Of course I was in my room last week unpacking my supplies that were ordered for the coming school year and working on my room getting it ready for the open house.  Last Friday I invited a couple of seventh grade girl students to come in and help me and we had a lot of fun.  We took a break and ran to McDonald’s to get some lunch.  We brought it back to the room and those two girls had me laughing so hard I could hardly stop.  I know they are going to remember that silly day they spent with Ms. Svoboda and I will also remember it.  They felt special and I felt special to have some time alone with these two girls to get to know them even better.

Last night we had our open house.  I came away from that open house knowing how much so many of my students really do love me.  It is a wonderful feeling to know that I am having a positive influence on a child’s life.  I had a girl come back to see me.  I was astounded to realize that she is a senior this year.  I told her I wanted to show her something.  Back when she was at the middle school she gave me a student picture of herself.  I had taped it inside this swivel draw under my desk.  Whenever I open that swivel drawer, I see that picture and think of her.  I know she was blown away that I really do remember her and care about her.  She told me she is going to bring me a senior picture.  The point I’m trying to make is when these students are treated special by their teachers, they will remember those teachers.  I love teaching and I love middle school students, even the ones that on occasion drive me crazy!  I know they can have bad days but I also know that if I can reach them and develop a positive relationship they can accomplish great things.

I ended the night an hour after open house because I had a long conversation with a parent and a child that I really care about.  I gave them what I felt was some good advice so that this child will hopefully have greater success in her other classes this year.  As they were walking out the door the little girl had to come back to give me a hug!  I know she knows I care about her.  The point I’m trying to get at is not how wonderful I am but at how important it is for all of us teachers to remember that what is most important in our students’ lives today is not some test, but is still the relationship you create as a teacher.  As a teacher, I feel I wear many hats.  I have to teach, sometimes be a parent, sometimes a friend, and sometimes a counselor.  I have to know how to get a student back on track when their having a bad day, or had a fight with a friend, or seemingly doesn’t care about anything.  Anyone that thinks being a great math, science, art, music or any other type of teacher can be scored by a single test a student takes is just plain stupid!  The true measure of a teacher has more to do with what they have in their heart and their capacity to be persistent and patient and loving with the children they mentor and teach.  I don’t know exactly how this can be measured but I do know that when you can see it in action, you can recognize it!  Great teachers are those teachers we all remember in a positive way.  We hold them in our hearts and remember how special we felt because of them.  I have two teachers that I remember the most.  One gave me a briefcase for my books when I was moving away.  I was in second grade.  The other was a teacher that I remember paddling a boy almost daily when I was in fourth grade.  I know which one I have always aspired to be like.

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Testing, Matt Damon, and Imagination

  • Posted on August 4, 2011 at 2:57 pm

This was painted by Annalisa, one of my students....being allowed to express herself!

As the summer winds down and I am spending time preparing for the new school year, I find myself thinking about my own potential as a teacher.  I feel blessed to be able to teach art in this 21st Century where politicians seem to think the only thing of value is math and science.  It boggles my mind when I think about my own potential as a child.  I have always felt that I had a deprived childhood because I didn’t have any art classes in my K-12 education.  It is truly remarkable that I have spent much of my adult life as an art teacher.  I would never have pursued art in college, if it hadn’t been for the student friends that happened to see my drawings.  They kept asking me why I wasn’t taking any art classes.  I remember drawing pictures and putting them up on my bulletin board.  I had no training.  I just liked to draw with a simple pencil and paper.

I grew up in a large family with 14 kids.  I have always felt that when you grow up in large families with little money you learn to be creative.  Maybe you have to find new ways to play because you don’t have that fancy toy your friend has or maybe you have to fix something because you don’t have the money to buy a new one.  Regardless of the reasons, I feel my family circumstance contributed to my creativity.  In addition to that is the fact that I had good parents.  They both were teachers, but they also were devoted to their family.  The family came first.  My parents would go without many things to provide for the big brood they had.  I can remember my mom coming home from teaching at the end of a long day.  She would lie down on the couch with a cold compress on her head.  She did this almost daily, but then she would always get up and make the family meal.  Everything would be from scratch.  We never went out to eat!

From very early on, I knew I was going to college.  I’m not sure why I knew this as my two older sisters weren’t as fortunate.  Maybe because I’m the youngest, I had a better opportunity as a girl to go on to college.  My oldest brothers all went on to college.  The four oldest each went on for their doctorates.  The fact that both of my parents even had gone to college was quite remarkable.  They didn’t come from wealthy families and they were born in 1909 and 1911.  Education, obviously, has always been important in my family!  This is one the reasons I find the current turmoil in education about standardized testing so ridiculous.  As I grew up in a family of 14 children, we were as different as the day is long.  We weren’t clones of each other.  We all had remarkably different personalities and interests.  Some of us were probably better “test takers” than others, but taking a test could never really determine who we became as adults! Some of us might have even been considered “late bloomers”.   I don’t think any of us ever would want to remember our K-12 experience in school as being about testing!  However, today students are spending much valuable time preparing for “important” tests.  Much of the school day is designed and structured around that yearly test.  Each school has to make adequate yearly progress.  This test taking business is just going to get worse.  Recently, here in Michigan, the governor signed a new bill into law that will eventually require 49% of a teacher’s evaluation to be tied to student test scores.  As a parent there is no way I would want my child subjected to this kind of education.

My son is 27, so he isn’t part of this craziness.  I look at my students much like my child.  Since I had my son so many years ago, I have always felt that I should treat my students the way I would want my son to be treated by a teacher.  I always wanted my child to dream big and be creative.  I wanted him to see possibilities and use his imagination.  I worry for the students of today.  Are we doing everything we can to make them into compliant little test takers?  Is that really what a teacher is supposed to be doing?  As an art teacher, I know my job is a big one in this high stakes testing time.  I have to give my students wings so they can access their creativity and play with their imagination.  So much of time in school is spent with the constant pressure in the back of everyone’s mind to improve test scores.  Now, it will even be elevated as teachers discover that their jobs may be on the line, if they can’t get their students to pass the state test!  Now, most of you reading my blog probably have some reservations about all of this test taking and what it really means for the future.  However, some of you may think teachers are just not doing their jobs today, because you keep hearing about how we have fallen behind in the world!  Truthfully, politicians have chosen to go after teachers because many of us belong to the last strong union standing.   Do you really think it’s the fault of the teacher if a student can’t pass a state test?  There are a lot of reasons students don’t pass tests.  One thing we know for sure is poverty plays a part in test taking.  At our school and probably many others we make sure students have a snack before they take the “big” test!  There are many factors that can affect test scores.  These are everything from poor nutrition, to lack of sleep, to inadequate test taking strategies (Yes there is a strategy for this!), attention problems, distractions, to even daydreaming!  Some days are also better than other days.  Maybe you just had a bad day that day.  Who knows what’s going on in a student’s head on any given day?  I remember a young lady that came into my art room that seemed out of sorts to me.  I asked her what was wrong.  She first said nothing and then she told me that she had been in an accident that morning.  The point I’m trying to make here is that teaching shouldn’t be about just taking a test and yet it seems like that is all the politicians care about.

This was painted by another student of mine, Cleanna. Shouldn't we be opening the door to imagination and creativity in our schools?

If you think back to your favorite teacher, I bet you don’t think about the fact that he or she taught you how to take a great test!  You probably think about the day when you felt special, like your teacher really cared about you!  I hope I make students feel special when they come into my art room.  I really do care about them.  The other day I was at the Three Rivers’ Meijer store shopping and an older woman was so upset because of some “screaming brats” in the store.  She thought she had an ally in me.  She thought the parents were terrible that couldn’t control their children!  She also thought they didn’t care that other people were annoyed by them.  I told her I was a middle school teacher.  It was obvious she wouldn’t want that job!  She told me she likes dogs but not kids.  She could tolerate her own children but even her grand children had better behave or she’d give them the boot!   I let her know that I like all of my students even the ones that frustrate me.  So many people that criticize teachers would not ever want to be stuck with thirty middle school students themselves.  Most of the teachers I know really care about their students just like I do.  We realize that at the middle school level students can bounce around with their behavior.  They have good and bad days.  They need adults around them that really care about them and can help them transition into adulthood.  If teachers are left worrying about test taking it gives less time for teachers to really spend caring about their students’ individual needs.  We are not all clones of each other and the students we teach are as different as my brothers and sisters were from me when I was growing up.  At the middle school I always think it’s interesting because there is no one student that can show us what a middle school student is, as they come in all different shapes and sizes, and interests!  So, I’m left asking myself the question why we have a government that insists on a test where one size fits all.  Matt Damon gets it and I really hope you take the time to listen to his full speech from last weekend.  It’s not that long but at one point he says, “None of these qualities that make me who I am can be tested.”  Truthfully, none of the qualities that I bring to my art classroom as a teacher can be determined and evaluated by a student test score either.

I am so excited about this new school year, not because my students will be great test takers, but because I can’t wait to work with my students and push their imaginations and creativity.  Just like any other year, I have a thousand things racing through my mind.  I’m filled with ideas for lesson plans for the new school year.  I can’t wait to share my ideas with my students, so they can take the seed of an idea that I begin and create something totally new and different from any other person.  As the government has us all “race to the top”, I’ll have my students all chart a new path for their own creativity and learning.  They will learn from each other.  They won’t run over each other racing for some golden imaginary ring devoted to test taking.  My students, for the brief time they are with me, will hopefully have an opportunity to access their imagination, creativity, critical thinking, and problem solving skills.  These are skills that will serve them well in this 21st Century!

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Google, GAP and Art in My Life

  • Posted on February 4, 2011 at 4:46 pm

Google has partnered with some great art museums to create an online website where anyone can take a trip or tour around the world’s great art museums.  It’s called the “GAP” for short.  http://www.googleartproject.com/ It’s a wonderful site and I encourage everyone to check it out.

When I came across this website today I was taken back to my beginnings as an art student at Michigan State University.  It really is amazing that I even ended up remotely connected to the art world.  I never had an art class in all of my K-12 education experience.  This is one reason I so fervently believe in art education.  I feel like in many ways my young life was deprived because I missed out on the creative playfulness and unique perspective the arts provide in a world ruled by math and science.  The most interesting and intelligent people I have ever met are “creative” people.

I remember thinking I was going to college from around seventh grade on.  It seemed to be a “given” that I was planning on attending college, even though I came from such a large family.  My older sisters did not have that “given” in their minds but they were ten and twelve years older than me and times were tough.  I, being the youngest, had more opportunities than they did.  I think I probably knew I was going to college because many of my older brothers had gone to school.  I didn’t know what I wanted to do.  However, for a few years I wanted to be a veterinarian like my brother Joe.  I really looked up to him and I wanted to be like him I think.  Well, until I saw him go down to Ed and Jessie’s place up north and do something unspeakable to a cow.  That sure put a kibosh on the idea of becoming a veterinarian.  I never even thought about anything in the art world because I never even knew what it was.  Nobody in my family was connected to the arts.  You might be wondering how in the world I ended up involved in art.

Botticelli, The Birth of Venus

I liked to draw.  I didn’t obviously have any training and I simply used a pencil and whatever paper was around.  When I was a senior in high school I can remember not sleeping all that well and staying up late and drawing.  I remember drawing a picture of President John F. Kennedy from our “World Book” encyclopedia.  Of course I sort of left my pictures out for my parents to notice like any kid might do.  I remember them thinking they were nice.  There was no real encouragement to pursue art at any time in my life from anyone when I was young.  I took all college prep classes peppered with a lot of math and science.  I didn’t have any room in my course schedule for art until my senior year.  I had one free hour.  I chose choir because I like to sing and because I was afraid to take an art class.  I would have to take the beginning art class and be put in with freshman students which I didn’t want to do but really I was afraid that my secret would be out.  The secret was that I had never had an art course and felt inept!  Heaven forbid that I could take a course that I knew nothing about!  Isn’t that the point of an education?  To learn about things we don’t know?  Oh, well, I digress.

Botticelli, The Birth of Venus Detail

I moved on to college not knowing what I wanted to do.  I was an “undeclared major” college student.  I just wasn’t sure what I wanted to do possibly because I hadn’t been exposed to what my true passion would become.  Back in the seventies the first two years of most college education was liberal arts anyway, so I took a lot of different courses.  I took quite a few philosophy courses which is amazing because I don’t consider myself to be very logical in many ways.  You know the old “If, then phrases”?  They never made a lot of sense to me.  However, as time went on I continued to draw.  I remember putting up my drawings on my bulletin board in my dorm room.  One drawing I did I really remember well.  I don’t know how I was exposed to the picture, maybe it was through a humanities class.  However, I fell in love with the painting by Botticelli, the Birth of Venus.  I loved the face on Venus so I drew it on typing paper and put it up on my bulletin board.  That one drawing probably created a turning point in my mind to consider taking an art class.  Other students kept asking me why I wasn’t taking any art classes.  I started thinking maybe I should.  I still didn’t have the confidence to take an art course but it kept nagging at me.

During my sophomore year I finally got up enough nerve to take a beginning drawing class.  The first day of class I can remember sitting in the art room waiting for our instructor and listening to the other students.  Most of them were bemoaning the fact that they had to take this “dip shit” beginning drawing course before they could take anything good.  I was petrified.  I thought what have I got myself into.  I was looking for an exit.  The first class was just an introduction.  After class I went up and talked to the instructor and told him my dilemma and how the other students were obviously much more experienced and how maybe I thought I should drop the class.  He asked me if I was willing to do all the assignments and come to class.  I told him of course I would do that.  He encouraged me to stay in the class and he offered that some of those students would end up dropping out because they wouldn’t be willing to do the work.  His “pep talk” worked.  I stayed in the class and never looked back.  I went on to take many art courses, much more than I needed for my B.A. so I earned a B.F.A.

Most people that I know today in education don’t realize how precious I feel a well rounded education is to the development of the whole person.  I think art is crucial in my life and opened up my imagination in ways that never would have happened otherwise.  As a teacher I have high expectations and hopes for my students.  I want to share with them my love of art and creativity.  The feeling I get when I create something with my hands, brain and heart connected cannot be measured on a test.  The push to create something new and original is always in the back of my mind.  As a teacher, I try to help my students reach their full potential and hopefully see that there is more to life than just looking at things through the eyes of some test that they won’t remember thirty years later anyway.  I see the value of creativity.  In our world today people must be creative just to survive in the high stakes of unemployment.  The world of the future will depend on the innovation and creativity of our youth.

Technology today is a wonderful tool for art education.  There are so many resources online that it is amazing what can be learned about art.  Many people even openly share their knowledge on sites like YouTube.  You may have to watch a few bad videos to get to the good ones but it is all worth it.  Here is a man creating a Greek/Roman style vase on Youtube.  It really is exciting and educational to watch him work.

Art touches everyone.  Even people that profess to not care about art carefully pick out their car, clothes, jewelry and furniture.  We all live in a society where we want to be surrounded by some element of what we think is beautiful.  When I watch those “Hoarding” shows, I even see people collecting items that they think are beautiful.  The items may get lost in all the surrounding trash, but they are there.

I encourage everyone to get involved in the beauty of the world of art.  If you cannot leave your home, travel online all over the world and view art from your own private perspective.  If you have always wanted to take an art class but were afraid, go ahead and face that fear.  You might be surprised at how wonderful you catch yourself feeling when you create something with your own brain, hands and heart!  If you don’t have access to an art class, make your own class up.  Go on Youtube and learn something new.  Many people are sharing all of their wonderful artistic talents online.  You can learn about everything from drawing and painting to basket weaving.  The world we live in is amazing and shrinking in many ways.  FDR said the only thing to fear is fear itself.  Don’t be afraid to discover your creative side.  Your brain is more than willing to create new connections to learning as you discover the beauty of pushing your creativity beyond the scope of what you thought possible.  We are all creative beings even those people that profess to not be very creative.  Push yourself to discover all the beauty art has to offer.  You might be surprised to discover your hidden talents and when you do, it will be a wonderful feeling of mental self satisfaction and fulfillment.

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