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.