Dream Job

It is hard to tell what my dream job would look like. I really enjoyed working with Becky Kobos at Coralville Central elementary for my practicum. It's hard to tell though what was her and what was the job itself and environment. I liked how the classes were small and the environment and scenes outside felt like we were close to nature. Basic elements of a dream job would include necessary benefits like health insurance etc and decent pay. I haven't put a whole lot of thought into my dream job since I don't think it makes a huge difference where I work or what it is like since it's more what I am willing to put into it that counts. Any job can be enjoyable if I put my whole heart into it and keep the kids first priority. It would be nice to have supportive and friendly people to work with and a principle who is not intimidating but supportive also. Next to that, I could possibly dream up some amazing environment where everything was absolutely perfect but what would that really benefit me in the long run? I think a great job would be one that challenges me in many ways and ends up making me a better person all around. The harder the kids and the co-workers, the more I would be challenged in the struggle of learning how to love, and the more I would benefit in the end.

Being a Successful Teacher

A successful teacher is one whom all students respect. The students enjoy going to the class and learning from that teacher. The teacher is nice but at the same time cares enough about the students to discipline them. The students know the teacher is sincere and cares about them and so they don't mind it when they are hard on them. This requires respect. A successful teacher is one who has earned their student's respect by being consistently kind. They don't have bad days and then good days but are reliable.
Secondly a successful teacher is one who is knowledgable and passionate about their subject matter. They have complete control of their classroom and are organized and prepared so students always have something to do. A successful teacher succeeds at educating and bettering students lives overall. They are the teachers that students always remember. They also aren't afraid to challenge students and they have the ability to bring the best out in them.

Support

For my first year of teaching, I expect support to come from fellow first year teachers. Also, support could come from the principle or other experienced teachers. If there is another art teacher in the school, then they would be an obvious form of support. Fellow first year teachers who have many of the same struggles and questions I have would be a good form of emotional support. They are going through the same things as me and would be helpful to communicate with. Other experienced teachers would be obvious forms of support since they have lots of knowledge they could share about classroom management and most importantly about the specific students. If I'm having trouble with a specific student, it would be nice to have a relationship with other teachers who could provide me more information about that student, like if they are having issues at home that I need to be aware of etc. A mentor is also someone who will provide necessary support as a first year teacher.

Technology

Example of cool digital art by Ryan Rhoades

I have used technology to enhance my teaching somewhat but I would like to learn more ways to incorporate it into the classroom. It has mainly been a tool in forming PowerPoint presentations before beginning a lesson. This worked well the high schoolers and it got them really excited to begin their painting project. I have used the computer lab once for a project with elementary in which they had to find images for a collage. I know many teachers have smart boards and these could be highly beneficial in the art room. I have also used Photoshop a little bit with the high schoolers to help them darken up some photo's for a print project and they really enjoyed that. Technology really excites me because I like to think where it will take teaching in the future. Some people think of it as this evil thing that is making our lives more impersonal, which could be true to some extent, but I like to look of it more positively, that it is opening new doors of opportunity. More specifically speaking, in my future classroom I would like to make use of programs like Photoshop for photography or any of the adobe products for that matter. Some of the digital art I have seen out there amazes me. It would be cool to teach a whole class on digital art alone! I have been able to use Adobe workshop and create amazing projects in no time at all. I would also like to see my students excited about technology and able to use a wide variety of programs in art.

Problem Solving

I think problem solving is so important in getting students to create original work. In the book Ordinary to Extraordinary, the author got his students to create amazing final projects by creating lessons that involved rigorous problem solving. I think the more you can get your students to take part in the process, the better their work is going to become! During student teaching, to get my students to be critical thinkers and problem solvers I added detailed criteria to the lessons that made them think about themes and ideas related to their work. Instead of just telling them to paint anything, I gave them a problem to solve. For example, for our painting project I taught the high school students about focal points and how they strengthen a composition. I then gave each student an index card with a small window cut in it and told them to use it as a "magnifying glass" to find a section of a magazine image that was interesting and involved a focal point. I then had them cut out the small magazine piece and use a copier to blow the image up so they could paint it. Making the students problem solve resulted in them creating highly abstract and interesting paintings. Another example of one way I got my students to problem solve was in elementary with our collage project. Instead of telling them to pick anything to collage, I gave them a card with a word on it and told them to find three images that related to that theme. By giving my students a "problem," no matter how small, made them think about the process and always resulted in more interesting final products.

Professional Development

As a teacher, I will make it my aim to be a continual learner. Even though I'm in the position of "teacher," I realize that my own passion for learning is what will make the students want to learn, and I also know that they will teach me some things! When it comes to professional development in terms of getting my masters or other degrees, this is anther aspect of being a continual learner. Knowledge of subject matter has been said to be one of the factors in successful classroom management. As a teacher, I want to bring a passion for art to the classroom which involves seeking ways to expand my knowledge of the subject matter. I can see how getting a masters, especially if the school I worked at funded it, would be a highly beneficial and rewarding endeavor.

The Power of Visual Media

For my extra blog I wanted to continue the discussion of the last blog concerning making an impact in the community. As I was writing I began to get really excited just thinking about the impact of art and it's role in the community and in the world we live in. Just think how powerful a single image is? The eye is the gateway to the soul; and what we look at immediately enters our minds and hearts, with our without our consent. To impact communities, we must impact the visual landscape. Many times it is the eye more than the other senses that makes all the difference. Just imagine this scenario... You are walking down the street and you smell cinnamon roles. You then hear someone calling out about them. You are hungry at the time and the smell is intoxicating. The sound of the vender selling them causes your mouth to water a little. Your thinking, I want one of those, but you are in a hurry and know you don't have time to stop. Your are thinking about all the things you have to get done today and also know you are running tight on cash. You ignore the smell and sound, until, suddenly, you come upon a huge sign right in front of your eyes of a giant cinnamon role! The image is no doubt photoshopped, the icing is way too perfect and creamy, but YOU'RE sold!! You turn into the shop and get yourself a role. This is a silly example, but it goes to show just how powerful visual media is. Anyone in advertising will agree with this. It's like shopping. If I don't have the money, I don't look, because I know that when I see something I love and can't live without, I have to buy it. I get really excited thinking about this since it is encouraging as an artist to realize that your art, and your students art, really CAN impact the world. Our television, film, media and clothing all contain art. DM News Magazine says that "each of us sees more ads alone in one year than people of 50 years ago saw in an entire lifetime." Just think how we could impact our school and communities by flooding them with beautiful art that speaks about hope and social change? If the statement "a picture is worth a thousand words" is true, we can speak volumes by being an advocate for the arts!