Making Dias De Los Muertos Meaningful

Ceramic Calaveras

Making Dias De Los Muertos Meaningful

(ROUGH DRAFT___ Feel like I will read this tomorrow and say, what was I thinking?!?)

Ok, so I'm a member of an art teacher Facebook page.... and of course I have to keep up with all 11k AWESOME art teachers there. One day I saw that an art teacher had posted they were doing Calaveras.  They had found cookie cutters and were stamping them on slabs.  I really wish I could remember who this was to give credit, as it was years ago.  Of course I had to keep up with them!  If someone is doing something amazing my kids have to do it too!  Thus began the hunt for the cookie cutters.  They are made by FRED.  And at the time were being sold at Francesca's.  So I called every Francesca's in my area... sold out.... finally found one and the sales person was sweet enough to hold it for me.  Now you can order off AMAZON... 

https://www.amazon.com/Fred-Friends-SPIRITS-Cookie-Stampers/dp/B00B5EE1IM

I wasn't Amazon savvy then.  (And Amazon prime is a blessed curse!) Then I get this idea... I should invite all the Spanish classes in for this... Totally reasonable... 100+ kids in my classroom.... And a math teacher I'm buddies with too just because his Calculus kids deserve a break and he hates missing out on fun.

About my community.  I teach in a very diverse community. It used to be mainly Hispanic and I had many kids of migrant families.  As our area began to grow, suburbs popped up.  After Hurricane Katrina we had another influx of people. I also have quite a few kids whose families are from Africa, Iraq, Albania, the Philippines to name a few.  Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons and Hispanic Catholics are dominant religious beliefs. (Last year I actually had a kid say to me after he asked about my religious beliefs; "I never met a white Catholic before." After saying it he said he didn't mean it offensively.)  It is a conservative community but a truly American Melting pot if there was one.  And it is beautiful. In doing this for the last... 3 years?  I have never had a problem... One kid choose to sit out because of their beliefs, and I will respect that.  My grandmother was raised Jehovah Witness.  I try to be sensitive to my kids feelings as they navigate high school.  Why am I giving you all this cultural context?  Because I think that if this is addressed respectfully you can create an amazing learning opportunity that is not offensive to anyone. And I'm not doing this for "fun". But I will admit I do have a coveted pair of leggings to wear the day of glazing....  Not really Dia de los Muertos... but multi functional for Anatomy drawing too!

One thing I really try to emphasize is that this is NOT Halloween.  It is a way to honor those who have passed before us, to remember them, to celebrate them.  And many cultures do this... Look at Greek Vase Painting... Egyptian tombs...  the vinyl "In Loving Memory of...." that people put on the back windows of their cars.

The prep work: Roll out tons of slabs and stamp them with the skulls.  Cut and punch holes.  I will enlist the help of kids if I can get them, but I will punch the holes.  Sometimes they get them in the very center of the forehead and the skull looks as if it was executed, and then other times too close to the top and it won't hold.  Smooth the sides so they are not sharp after bisque firing.  Let dry.  If I can I like them to dry on a light grate.  I think I found mine for $14 at Lowe's.  

       

Prep your kids:  Here are a ton of resources I have not compiled yet... But I will do 4 centers... they have 25 minutes for each activity.  I want them to learn about the History and purpose of Calaveras.  Make a symmetrical paper flag, learn about Veronica Castillo and Trees of Life, and then evaluate the image.  In the end I would also like the kids to be able to define Cultural Appropriation and be able to evaluate how it is or is not okay in their work....  Post Assessment could be a Frida Dia De Los Muertos skull image where I ask my students to evaluate the validity of the work... maybe we could move on to tattooed Marilyn Monroe?

http://exhibitionofthedayofthedead.blogspot.com/2011/11/drafted-up-kids-fact-sheet-tonight-to.html

http://archive.azcentral.com/ent/dead/teachers/teacherpacket_edited.pdf

https://www.tes.com/us/teacher-lessons/day-of-the-dead-powerpoint-11288244

http://nationalgeographic.org/media/dia-de-los-muertos/

http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/1972-november-2-the-day-of-the-dead

http://www.mexic-artemuseum.org/images/uploads/education/Day_of_Dead_Guide.pdf

http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/chngmexico/210

http://www.fridakahlostory.com/frida-blog/frida-and-dia-de-los-muertos

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwi7gs6E6_fPAhXHlFQKHQxkCrsQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.anothermag.com%2Fdesign-living%2F1467%2Ffrida-kahlos-monkeys-dogs-birds&bvm=bv.136593572,d.cGw&psig=AFQjCNEs6eMGiIGzf6I8b5d4ViZTXV8Ing&ust=1477549455861540

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-cubias/dia-de-los-muertos-is-not_b_6056734.html?

Tree of Life

http://www.treeoflife.net.au/Tree-of-Life-Craft-(Mexico)-from-Tree-Of-Life.net.au.html

http://folklorebazaar.com/the-magic-of-mexican-tree-of-life/

https://www.arts.gov/honors/heritage/fellows/ver%C3%B3nica-castillo

http://www.mastersoftraditionalarts.org/artists/385?selected_facets=

Veronica Castillo video https://docarts-cms.s3.amazonaws.com/asset/video/video-000385-1415386785.mp4

http://www.treesoflifeexhibit.com/veronica-castillo/

http://www.kpbs.org/photos/2013/dec/06/33011/

http://lakeshorepublicmedia.org/stories/craft-america-veronica-castillo-builds-tree-life-poinsettia/

The day of the gazing... have lots of glaze (or acrylic paint if you choose) palettes all ready made.  You can cover with saran wrap to prevent from drying if you need.  I like to use Mayco Stroke and Coat Underglaze for this....  It is stable low and mid range firing.  Colors don't change much, light can go over dark.... But they are $$$$...  Right now I am mostly using Duncan Concepts, well because years ago I ordered a lot for a lesson and still have them.  Yes I do mix them with the Stroke and coat.  Turns out fine.  Choose 5-6 colors.  Do not over complicate the color thing.   Concepts do need a coat of clear.  I will have clear glaze also laid out in containers and have instructions at the tables for each kid.  Brushes will also be at the tables.  I and a few students will have an under-gaze pencil for the kids to put their initials and the first initial of their teacher and period.  (R.T.   B3)  When you have four different teachers this is a help to ensure everyone gets their work back.  Kids apply underglaze.  Small brushes are helpful.  Then they let it dry for a few minutes... and put on a coat of clear.  Teacher make sure everyone has their name on back.  I generally have the kids bring the skulls directly to the kiln and I load them in from there checking the back of each one.  If I have a TA or good student this becomes their job.  Send one or two kids around to refill glaze and make sure all brushes are washed. 

  

Make sure you go home and relax.  Have a good dinner and go to bed early.  This is exhausting.  And I imagine what it feels like everyday to teach elementary, except you have what 8 different lessons?

When you unload enlist a few kids to tie some yarn on these so they hang.  If I have kids that did not want their or were in more than one class I have them put a dot on the back.  The dotted ones become gifts for the support staff, maintenance.... everyone that makes our job possible.  You could get a little frame from the $ store and out it in with a nicely written Thank you....  Just an idea...  

  

Honestly I was thinking about not doing it this year... I am tired, I have no TA's.  My classes are 40, 39, 38....  my sons need a lot of help on their homework... one has Latin and is studying Medea (That's a joyful story...) But my husband delivers for a big company and saw one in someone's window... he told me about it because he wanted me to know the impact I make on the daily life in my community.  There it is folks.  We make an impact. Everyday.  Even though we don't see it in the hundreds of pounds of clay to pug, or the hours of kiln loading, the paper towels left on the floor... we are there peeking out of windows as a reminder of the amazing times school held for these amazing people.  IMPACT. )  And I remember pulling into parking lots and seeing them hang from car windows. Ok, ok.... now one of my former student teacher is in my district and is doing these, so I guess I can no longer assume in the near future they are all from my kiln.  But this impact is why I spent two hours last night making 41 and why I am spending the time right now to share what I have learned with everyone else.... it is worth it.  Do it. Many kids will never have the opportunity to take Ceramics or to decorate a sugar skull.  But because of this lesson... they had it and maybe, just maybe it will bring us together rather than pull us apart.  In the long run kids will not remember what we taught them, but how we made them feel.  

Empty Bowls

   

Empty Bowls Project 

It's not as difficult as it sounds.  But takes some planning.

     WOW!  It has been a while since my last post.  I have been super busy.  People keep asking me how I did Empty Bowls... the logistics of it all.  So here is the past, failures and tips.

2013 Empty Bowls Promo Video

Past:  Ceramics Club began doing Empty Bowls in 2008.  I had a Club president that was a go-getter.  He would come with a typed agenda and copies for everyone.  This kid pushed me to be better. (It is amazing when we have one of those kids.)  We began by doing it at our school; one evening a year.  Then our district began to do district art shows.  This was a natural transition as I was trying to get the other three high schools involved in Empty Bowls as well.  For several years it became the tradition to do Empty Bowls at the District Art Show.  The last year of the district show (we no longer have district art shows) happened to be a year that my club kids were really non- committal and Art Show day was my moving day.  (Alas after 10 years of teaching we bought a house!!!) So I didn't do it.  Sometimes you just can't care more than the kids.  The year after that was another year of uncommitted kids and our override failed so I was going back to school becoming Adobe Photoshop Certified in case I needed to talk an alternate path.

Things that work:

1. Get your kids to understand the importance.  I had someone form St. Mary's Food Bank some talk about food insecurity with my Club kids.  That gave them purpose for the activity. Last I checked that program no longer exists where a speaker will come in and teach about food insecurity.  Now I do a mini lesson.  One activity I do is number the kids 1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4..... all the 4's stand.  This is the average number of kids in each class that does not get enough to eat in each day.  I explain that hunger is a silent poverty.  You can't judge a persons skin, hair, clothes, shoes, grades... to know if they are hungry or not.  Hunger does not discriminate.  There can be a number of reasons why a kid doesn't get enough to eat each day...  this is a lively conversation because kids hold so many false ideas. (Be prepared to handle many stereotypes and false ideas respectfully.)

2.  If your kids cannot wheel throw (or you don't have wheels), use plaster hump molds to make bowls.  There are many cool ways to make bowls.

3. Start working on bowls way ahead of time.  Like WAYYYYY... it will take so much longer than you think.  Get a production line going.

4.  Cereal Bars ( similar to a salad bar is my preference) Students can bring in a variety of cereals, canned fruit... for toppings.  I keep a box with plastic serving bowls and spoons, paper towels, for the day of the event.  Some events love to do soups or pasta.  I did soup one year.  Due to all of our regulations I had to get the cafeteria manager to volunteer to heat the soup, then we had to find something to keep it warm.  We had to keep an eye on the temperature... on top of the people serving all had to have food handlers cards.  Afterwards there was a ton of soup left.  A ton.    While the soup was delicious it is harder and harder to get restaurants to donate.  The pick up is generally when I am teaching, refrigeration is key and maintaining proper temperature is huge.  With cereal; life is so much easier. If there are boxes left- donate them to the food bank.  In New York there are several poshy cereal places... like the Ramen trend.  It also beacons to the fact the sometime when money is tight dinner is a bowl of cereal as it is cheep an generally fortified.  Milk can be kept in a cooler with ice.  Please remember there is no one way...  You can do it anyway you want.  Cereal works best for me right now where I am.  I have been to them where pasta is served.  I have been to them at fancy restaurants where they don't even serve out of the bowl you pick.  They place a small soup cup in the bowl you picked but the soup doesn't actually touch the bowl you choose.  They bowls my kids make are sometime shallow or sculptural... so I also have some paper bowls  on hand if patrons would prefer to eat out of those.  Find the way that works best for you where you are right now and don't be afraid of change.

5. Advertise:  Make fliers to hang around the school.  Treat it like a campaign.  They do not need to be warm and fuzzy.  When I began this it was 1 out of every 5 kids did not get enough to eat a day.  Now it is 1 in 4.    "No bowl should go Empty".  It's all about the PROPAGANDA.

6. Turn it into a tradition.  My club kids looked forward every year to designing the Empty Bowls Shirts.  We would get them printed up.  ( Or your club could silk screen them themselves!) And give them to people that volunteered at the event.  Kids in Student Council, Key Club and ROTC loved to help out.

7.  Involve the Campus and Community.  We would make a ton a bowls.  And then invite clubs to come in and glaze the bowls.  If kids wanted to reserve the bowls they could.  ( Underglaze pencils work awesome for writing a tracking number on the bottom of the reserved bowls.  You can also have a form that you put the number on as well.  The form might include the person's name, phone number, e-mail... I would e-mail everyone that reserved a bowl to remind them about the event and to come pick up the bowl after firing.)  We also had a day care on campus.  I would send bowls and glaze ( Mayco Stroke and Coat is excellent for this... bright colors stable at 06 to 5...) along with a letter to parents describing what we were doing.  If the parents wanted to purchase the bowl they could.  ( We sold several bowls before the event this way.)  Invite other teachers to come in and glaze or to make a bowl.  I cannot tell you how much the other teachers think Ceramics is "play" time.  Pairing them up with a club kid put the kid in a leadership role and opened the staff member's eyes to the art.  Host parent workshops on the weekend.  This is awesome community building with your parents.  If you use slump molds and under glaze this activity is most successful. Also pre- roll out slabs the day before.  And these parents often end up volunteering for you later on.

8. Let the Food Bank you plan to donate know you are doing this.  Often they will send a representative with a banner to hang and other information.  Things that as a teacher you might not know the answer for.

9.  Know your district's money collection policy.  Every few years ours changes.  I have to keep up to date.  And stay flexible and creative.  We used to be able to deposit money into our club account and then write a check... 12 years ago.  Then we could not.... I would ask a Food Bank Representative to collect money at this point.  The whole "ask forgiveness later" motto is stupid in this case.  You do not want to have any shadow cast over your reputation when you are trying to teach kids how to use art to advocate for solutions in their community.  I handle money as little as possible. I do not get paid to host a club and I am certainly not going to risk my job.  So for that reason know all your districts rules.  Each district is different.  Go to your principal for problem solving and support.

10.  Have a variety of bowls.  They should look different.... be exciting and fun.

11.  Empower your kids.  Have them do research... Have them make signs, iMovie advertisements.... whatever.  Have them research how this all started.  (I believe it was started by a high school in Michigan.)

12.  Here is how I run the night...  After a location is determined, food is collected, advertised....  Set out tables of bowls... We sell for $10 each.  Patrons can look and choose a bowl.  Then they pay for their bowl.  ( I avoid taking money if at all possible- parent volunteers or Food Bank Representatives will take $)  Then the kids sanitize the bowls.  We have three plastic bins of hot water. One is soapy (dawn dish soap is the best) and two are just water.  We do a soapy scrub and two water rises.  Then the bowl is dried with paper towels.  The patron is given the bowl and may choose cereal and toppings.  We generally have 5-8 types of cereal and 10 toppings.  To finish a student will offer milk and a spoon.  I adapted this model from the AZ Clay Association which will host an even every October at the Arizona Center.  When field trips were easier to do, I'd take my kids there first to see what an Empty Bowls even was like before hosting our own.  Mesa Community College also hosts a pretty big one.

13. Take the next day to relax.  Your body will be sore.  If it is a work day... well I go to work... but don't plan this for the day before grades are due... or the day you are supposed to be moving or anything like that.  Start small.  Have fun.  Make sure your glazes are food safe.  Don't do all the work, if you do the kids don't learn.

Glaze Memes

I am always trying to make things fun and interesting to my kids. I also think of the most amazing things when I cannot do them, driving, shower, the day before I want to teach a lesson!  Today I came up with the idea of creating a Meme driven glazing lesson.... I decided that, why should I have to do all the work?  I gave the assignment to my Ceramics 3-6 kids.  They were given the task of brainstorming a list of reminders they'd give beginning kids about glazing.  Then they needed to turn these into a meme.  Their grade was based on ideas they generated in class discussion.  So I pulled up a meme generator on the front screen, and as a class we created these.  The memes were stronger because the kids had an opportunity to hash out ideas and build off what each other said.  Had I given them this assignment as individual, the ideas would not have been as strong or clear. 




Click on the link to see the presentation!  https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1lxLfwGcJLFNkr20EMn3q4ZGlXsIeOWgSuWRoLJPVXAY/edit?usp=sharing

Slab Boxes

Slab Boxes are by far one of the students favorite projects to hate.  While building they think it's really difficult.  And it is for them... after all this is their first year in Ceramics.  What they learn in this lesson, however, they appreciate. The physical product they take away they are even more excited about.  My main goal as an art teacher, or ceramics teacher, or in teaching any media/ topic; is that students of any age leave proud of themselves. "Wow! I really did / made this!"  Or that others say to them, "You didn't make that..." because it looks so good.  In trying to accomplish this I set up an environment where failure is okay.  (the first month of class I posted on the board... FAIL... First Attempts In Learning) Which is particularly applicable to learning how to work with ceramics.  I have also made it acceptable to ask for advice from others, seek opinions, ask for constructive criticism.  I also model for my students how I seek constructive criticism of my teaching practice.  As I only want to improve.  Second, set up lessons that are well planned out and provide supports for all learners. My attempt to make them as fail proof as possible.  Once a student is comfortable to explore a lessons that is planned out the success rate it much higher.

The power point was created by myself and two other amazing teachers a few years ago- hopefully you find this useful.  It's funny.  Kids used to hate long demos, then they loved power points, now they like demos.  In my class I do a mix of both.  I show the power point so they can see where we are going, but then I chunk each step and we work as a group.  Last year I actually didn't really get to teach the building of this lesson.  My kids had all the slabs created when my son was really sick and in the hospital.  My sub was able to teach it through the power point handout.  The boxes came out surprisingly good for a person with no ceramic experience teaching the lesson to high school kids right before winter break.  Amazing what can happen if lessons are mapped out like this...

A few weeks before teaching this lesson I do a stamp making lesson, where the kids make stamps that will be used on their boxes.  Make sure all names are read easily so you can return them after bisque firing.  I tried using hot glue one year on PVC pipe, but that was a bit of a mess, and the kids put the hot glue on so heavy that it poked holes in their slabs.  The years that we did bisque stamps, the designs came out a lot cleaner.  The hot glue was very round and visually read fuzzy.  It was a cool idea, but maybe for third year kids, not first year ceramics kids.

So here's where some kids will struggle...
- They will have large slabs and stamp directly onto the table sticking the whole slab on there... needing to restart... the kids will get discouraged from the get go.  Make sure you remind them to work on canvas, wood boards, or even paper towels, whatever you have.  Walk around and have the kids check each other and everyone else.  This is a time it is okay to get nosy.

- As you know many do not know how to use a ruler.  For high school, I joke about this and re-teach all of them how to use one and measure out templates on paper first.  For my MMR or Downs syndrome kids I have cardboard templates for them to trace as they cut directly on the clay.  The key is THEY are doing the cutting.  Just because they have a learning disability, does not mean that they cannot learn.  Some of the best boxes made have come from my extra spectacular kids.  Beware of aides that will try to do it for them. When I have an aide I set up from the get go, that if the aide wants to work alongside the kids making something they may.  The aide is there to coach the kids, not do it for them.  For some having them work along the kids is great, it keeps their hands busy while reinforcing the concepts being learned. For others, this is not a god thing, as they forget about the kids they are supposed to be helping.  Hopefully you can tell what kid of teacher/ learner your aide or assistant is.  This can be a difficult balance... but once figured out you and the aide can become an awesome co-teaching team.

- Most kids are fine with letting the walls dry to leather hard and then putting them together, however then they struggle with wrapping them up the for the next day if they are partially built... they either have them dry more going to bone dry or soak them  making them flop over. Be sure to stop and check everyone.

-I like the kids to have an extra rectangle and square because about 20% of the time they will have something break, hit it wrong, or let a corner out of a bag to dry- kids will have the craziest things happen.

-Undercuts and locking the box... For some reason the concept of cutting the box can be a challenge.  Some kids dive right in and cut the boxes open fine... Other, are super scared to touch it, while other were not scored but cut super crazy lines that will not open.  I find that making the kids have me check the boxes works well.  You might even need to hide all cutting tools.  I have a class this year that will need all cutting tools hidden until every line is approved.

- Once lids are cut off kids forget that they are not attached.  They will turn the box over  to write their name or check something and then the lid has plunged to it's death on the floor.  I'm not sure why their brains work this way... but it has been a consistent trend every year.

The lesson Plan Format here is weird, and I have left off standards.... our other administrators wanted my collaborating teachers to write in this format, so threat is why you see it in "I do, You do, We do" follow the numbers.  Feel free to take what you want and re-format for your own purposes.

Box Lesson Plan  https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByayVUBQWw2JQTY5RDRsTU1xNEU/edit?usp=sharing

Box Power Point- Teacher Version  https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByayVUBQWw2JbFUtcU8tN2dMLWs/edit?usp=sharing

Box Power Point- Student Version with fill in    https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByayVUBQWw2JTTVlZ01JRDRNdkk/edit?usp=sharing

Rubric  https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByayVUBQWw2JZmJOWGFMLTR4UVE/edit?usp=sharing

Thoughts on National Board Certification

National Board Certification was the Best Experience of any professional development ever- and it continues to this day!  I must say I went into it a little blind.  I was asked by a good friend and competitor... (ok, so at my high school we always have competitions... when I first started and was the newbie we did door decorating contests... it was Halloween and my kids did not only decorate the door, but pretty much the whole wall, we used all the Elements and Principles of Art and I thought I was cheating a little.  When I saw this other teacher's door... My. Jaw. Dropped.  White picket fence extending 1/3rd into the hall, fog machine, the works... awesomeness.  She won first.  I lost for several years after that, until I was fed up the year I was writing my National Board Entries when we did a Penny War... and war it was. She has since moved to another school, and completions are not the same... missing my buddy!)

Back to topic... so I was like, ok, well I wanted to get my Master's, but don't have the money...I work at a Title One school and can get scholarships... how bad can this be?  I asked the other art teacher if she would do it with me, and she agreed... we were buddies so we held hands and jumped. Mind you I'm pregnant with my second child at this time.

Our district offered a Precandidacy course... in which I missed the first class as I was on Maternity leave... but then Missy and I continued to go to the monthly classes and attempted to do the homework... We videotaped...and wrote the first two entries. Oh man were my tapes bad.  In one taping after giving instructions, I ask "Are there any questions?" A kid raises his hand. I turn around bend over and stick my butt in the camera's direction.  The kid, knowing he's on camera, slyly takes his raised arm and puts his hand in his hair to smooth it out, ending in a rest on arm position.  Rico suave... and I just filmed myself being the worst teacher ever.  At the time I was department chair, and played it as an example of what not to do- we all had an excellent time laughing so hard we cried.  I learned that taping my teaching practice is an extremely powerful tool.  How on earth do my kids ever make anything?  I was not clear... not consistent and certainly not convincing..... 

In Precandidacy I also learned what the prompts did not intend to ask.... there is a part about knowledge of students... I took this to mean I needed to interview each of them... really? And teach an engaging lesson every day? Amelia Bedilia I tell you!  I don't know why it didn't dawn on me, because I know this then... knowing our students is very important...it does not mean interviews... it does mean greeting them each day, getting a sense for their personality/ demeanor, mood... knowing when something is off.  Build that rapport with kids.  Know when they are not well, sick, hungry... ask them how they are doing.  They will tell you.  Sometimes things you wish you had not heard. (Because it breaks your heart, or you are a mandatory reporter, or you can't fix it- like their mom just died.) But you are the adult in their life that is happy they are in school, you are glad to see them, and they know it.  Even if you do turn around and ignore their questions- they will forgive you.

After I figured out that I knew nothing about what I was being asked to write about, and I had no clue what to do... yet at the same time I knew exactly what I should do and had every intention of doing it amazingly... (ever been there?) I signed up to be an assessor for entries.  Woah.  I had to wean my son, and drive for an hour each way... five days a week during the summer to do this.  But I wanted it bad, and they provided a good lunch. The training was intense, I felt at times like I was a failure, I had not a clue what to do... but I did well in my testing...then we scored... and had to retest every week to align ourselves to the rubric. This was the most helpful.  I was able to see what final products looked like... just how they were typed, presented, that type of thing.  I became really familiar with the rubric and the scoring process.  I was amazed by how many fantastic teachers submitted entries... amazing lessons... and I had the honor to touch their papers.  The scoring process was EYE OPENING- and really the first time that I truly understood the questions and the purpose of National Board Certification.  Plus I met amazing people that I am still in contact with and learning from.

"The Entry questions are so Vague. The are confusing, they are open, what do they want?" National Board wants to see YOU as a teacher.  What do YOU do? Since each of us is different the questions will be open, they will mean slightly different things in each classroom environment and for each student.  How do you impact each learner in your classroom though all four entries? And that is it.  If you think this blog is wordy- imagine my entries... each was like 22 pages... I cut and cut and cut.  I went through and highlighted parts that aligned with the rubrics to help me figure out where the rich juicy meat was in my writing. 

At this point, I feel it necessary to mention if you are a candidate and other people know this, it seems like they will remind you about how most don't make it their first year.  I cannot tell you how many times, I was told that.  It's like if you are trying to lose weight ( which I was, I had a baby) and people come up to you and say, oh you can't have this __________(insert whatever delicious item) because you are on a diet. Keep in mind that they THINK that they are being supportive, even though it does not come off this way. I am pretty sure that they don't want you to be totally crushed (which you probably will be- it is normal and okay- and no one's words will probably make you feel better) if you do not make it the first time.  It's really an odd situation- just needed to insert this warning for any potential candidates.... once I figured it out... instead of being offended by these people, I tried to end these conversations with a perspective of compassion.

I hate being filmed! My grandmother had a camcorder when I was a kid- so everything was filmed.  Pulling into her driveway, the dinner spread, eating, EVERYTHING. I was young and awkward... then we had to watch it.  She was proud and gleaming over her beautiful family while I wanted to sink into the carpet- so many potential tapes for America's Funniest Home Videos. Traumatized.  Because of this trauma I did not have a videographer at our wedding- something I am starting to regret now. (starting to, but not fully there yet)  So videotaping for NB was scary.  And really bad at first.  If the sound worked the lens cap was on.  Or if kids were having great conversations, they lined up and blocked the camera view with their backs... or the view was awesome, but no sound.... Or everything was great and several students are having a really off day. (Actually very enlightening for them to watch the tape.  Student says "I was on task the whole time." and believes this.  Show tape- "oh, I guess I thought I was, but now I see why I never finish anything.")  Equally as enlightening for me as the teacher to watch, for the same reasons.  I was able to see where I was vague, or inconsistent... did not follow up... As painful as it is, and while you may first think, that you will never wear that outfit again, really watch yourself.  Watch.  What did you do that was great? Why did you do it? Make those choices consistently.

I also had the benefit of support.  I attended workshops and retreats held by the AZ K 12 Center, I had a cohort group that met once a month in my district.  And most importantly the other art teacher right next door was doing it with me.  We cried together, celebrated together, went to workshops together, scored during the summer together.... we wrote practice test questions for the assessment center for each other and then timed ourselves answering them.  We did it by supporting each other.   On the advice of a good friend who did NB with her friend, never share your scores with each other.  That can destroy a friendship.  We have not shared our scores with each other, and never will.  We promised each other that if we did not achieve, we would bank what we could and re-do whatever was needed.  If one passed, and the other did not... the Passer would act like a cheerleader.  We actually met two friends like us who did not achieve their first year and were supporting each other through year two.  They were an inspiration.  Thankfully we both passed... however...no matter what we support the other one.

Assessment Center... What 6 more tests?  I wish I would have realized about these a little earlier.... like the summer before.... I would have been watching every art video I could get my hands on... Sister Wendy, PBS.... Annotated Mona Lisa I think it's called.... So you really just need to know everything about art. Simple as that. Method, technique, movement, theory, artists, history, region.... and be prepared to write on that topic for 30 minutes. (So that's not really a problem for me...)

Waiting... after you send it off and complete the Assessments find something to busy your hands.... the waiting has begun.  It's June, November will not be here soon enough... go practice yoga.

Not matter what the result, if you did or do this process you are stronger for it.  You are a better teacher.  Your are more systematic and reflective.  If you achieve after year one, awesome... if not... try again.  I actually missed the process. Crazy I know.  So Missy and I trained in the Pre-candidacy curriculum and also trained to become Candidate Support Providers.  We have run PDs at our site and supported candidates though their individual journeys.  No matter what though... you are an awesome amazing teacher... if you have not done this... look into it.....  This has changed my teaching profoundly.  And really it comes down to one simple phrase... (all this for one phrase? this girl is nuts!)  It's taken a lot to understand this phrase... and really I'm still deepening my understanding of it.... I have not reached educational nirvana...yet... maybe one day.

Because I know.... I do...... which impacts students by........

Architecture Tiles

Ok, so here goes, my first blog post... we shall see.  I was on Pinterest when I stumbled upon another teacher that was doing architecture tiles... and I thought, "Hey that is super awesome!"  I want to do that in my room... hence a summer of pinning architecture images, annoying my hubby with my hours of image hoarding and confusing my friends with my sudden interest in a wide variety of architecture begun.  And I must say the results of the hours of planning were pretty fair. 

Check out the iMovie... (next year this will be used as a trailer for the lesson)
Architecture Tile iMovie

At this point- I am unsure if I just insert the entire lesson plan here.... I will be deciding.  I'd like to share the PowerPoint's with anyone interested but there are 10 of them.... and because they are images they are huge....  Really not intending to sound rude I do not have time to e-mail them upon every request; but I would like to make them available for teachers to use so you don't have to go through the hours of copy and pasting images so you can print them as resources for students. (If you are a teacher and are reading this- I am sure you understand. Especially if you are and art teacher. )  Let's be realistic only teacher really understand that we have no extra time... ok and their spouses.  When I mentioned starting a blog.... my husband looked at me like I had gone nuts.... "Yeah hun, with what time?"  All the extra time it seems I have here on New Years Eve.   

Edit on 1/2/14: Let's see how this works- I've saved these to Google Docs, and embedded a link... Cheers!  If maybe one person out there could try to open these, and comment if it worked or not, that would be super helpful.  I can open them fine... but it that because I own the document?  Thank you.

Lesson Plan  https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByayVUBQWw2JVnRaQkFGX2szT2M/edit?usp=sharing

Student Work Samples for Day Two activity   https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByayVUBQWw2JT2hnZmtvSXY1MXc/edit?usp=sharing

Image File 1 https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByayVUBQWw2JWTdienFpc0JTWW8/edit?usp=sharing

Image File 2 https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByayVUBQWw2JdXRDN05KaVJpN2M/edit?usp=sharing

Image File 3 https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByayVUBQWw2JZnVJTEozc1Q5Y00/edit?usp=sharing

Image File 4 https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByayVUBQWw2JeGJvbVFvem1DUGM/edit?usp=sharing

Image File 5 https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByayVUBQWw2JVGMzYWVjaFlJQlE/edit?usp=sharing

Image File 6  https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByayVUBQWw2JOTMwWmdMRTg0Zkk/edit?usp=sharing

Image File 7  https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByayVUBQWw2JS0FvOTJ1aG1FelE/edit?usp=sharing

Image File 8  https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByayVUBQWw2JM1FLU0ltNk9OVVE/edit?usp=sharing

Image File 9 https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByayVUBQWw2JUXRsbEhjNGdQU2s/edit?usp=sharing

Image File 10  https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByayVUBQWw2JMlZHY3ExOTNWZGc/edit?usp=sharing

Family Critique  https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByayVUBQWw2JQmd5Y2pGNHBITTQ/edit?usp=sharing


Update 11/6/16 I'm getting ready to do this lesson again.. I have just made three copies of each image. When tracing the kids do rip the paper when it becomes wet from the clay.  I am also going to emphasize textures.  I hate say you must do at least... X number of textures.... the kids you are really motivated do not need a number and the ones who are ot motivated and who do just the minimum to get by do need this number.  I'm thinking that I will say 4 for an A, 3 B, 2 C. Obviously there will be some wiggle room.  The other key is to emphasize subtractive carving methods to create a low relief tile... this is not a sandwich.