Reflective
Summary
"For the artist communication with nature remains the most essential condition. The artist is human; himself nature; part of nature within natural space."
Paul Klee, 1923
Paul Klee, 1923
“Look at every path closely and deliberately, then ask this crucial question: Does this path have a heart? If it does, then the path is good. If it doesn’t then it is of no use to us.”
– Carlos Castaneda
Educational theories continually make circles. Changes in education come and go some are thrown out only to come back in a few years; others are strong and form the backbone of our educational centers. Often, governments and people seemingly hidden in boardrooms or by people never having worked in a classroom, are the driving force behind the regulations educators have to follow. Yet, still we have dedicated and happy teachers who look forward to sharing and exploring and wakeup in the morning with a sense of purpose and a joy of going to work. The CoAT program offered workshops to help balance the rules and testing obligations all educators are faced with having to follow, with ideas for incorporating current research into the curriculum and creating a positive learning environment.
The CoAT program introduced me to rooms full of people ready to step into the roll of educator and researcher. People who knew they were planning for long days, meetings, students who did not what to be in the class, and underfunded universities and colleges. These graduate students were excited and interested, and wanted to collaborate and most were anxious to face roomfuls of students armed with all the tools the PFL programs would share. Looking back at my own teaching experiences and looking at my own early years of teaching, for the good of the students and the teacher I believe the CoAT program should be a prerequisite to teach.
Twenty years ago, I completed a full-time teaching program at Sonoma State University in California in preparation to teach in a multi-subject K-8 classroom, with an emphasis on Early Childhood Education (ECD K-3) and in a K-12 art classroom. My studies included using Bloom’s Taxonomy, curriculum development, classroom management, student teaching, teaching reading, etc. All the basics a child needs to know to grow into an intelligent, well-rounded, well-adjusted adult. Had I participated in the PFL workshops before my first position as a teacher I would have been better prepared and more interested in continuing teaching in an elementary or secondary school.
The Beginning Teacher workshop was so full of new information I was taken aback – I was expecting a rerun of my teaching credential program. I expected some things would be new and update, as everything changes as new ideas are tried and succeed or fail. What I did not expect were all the important ideas that seem so logical yet were not taught in my previous program. Some things change as the world changes, but many things I learned apply to all ages.
I intend to teach workshops rather than a full-time university job. Short classes work well with my style of teaching and I would rather teach one expanded idea for an intense workshop than over a semester. I also enjoy working with all ages and workshops allow for teaching groups of different abilities and ages in varying situations and places, having the advantage of allowing me to indulge in my love of travel with working.
Taking the Teacher Inventory test, I predicted exactly the way I teach and how I want to teach – very balanced. I learned most about communicating and continue to break into conversations to tell every teacher I know about the “ten minute lecture” and share the ideas of how to break up long speeches and demonstrations. I remember falling asleep in early morning classes to a professor’s voice reading for an hour or two. The idea of utilizing “flipping classes” and having students pre-read the lectures and presentations before coming to class has (finally) come back into vogue and frees up time for actual teaching.
Of all the workshops I participated in, I think the most exciting was the Service Learning Project. Bringing education into the “real” world is so important and so exciting for both the student and the community; it should be started as early as possible in a child’s education. I believe the earlier a person learns to be a part of their community and participate; the more they care about the world around them and the better the chance we have for living together. My artwork reflects this thinking – it reflects creating peace through education and caring, starting in a very small way. The more ways to reach our students with information, the more tools we have, the better the systems will work. In the giant picture of a world healing, all children and adults will receive a good and equal education.
The PFL program has provided me with tools for both my art and my teaching and reinvigorated the idea of teaching for me. The workshops were both interesting and gave me a refreshing look at familiar subjects. Ideas have become seeds for further research and to incorporate my many areas of interest. Education holds a serious place in societies; most people understand and appreciate the value of an education, although some fear learning because it will diminish their power. Too much education can lead to making real, thoughtful decisions and there are many places in the world where the leaders do not want the population knowing enough to understand how to make changes. Part of my work as an artist and an educator is to participate in finding a way to educate those who are oppressed. Sometimes this work is through my art and other times it is through direct teaching. All the ways I learn to better understand how others learn is a direct benefit to my personal commitment to Tikkun Alum (healing the world in Hebrew).
Armed with my new methods of teaching I am looking for a project to incorporate art into the STEM curriculum. STEM + Art = STEAM. Especially in the United States, the majority of education focuses on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math – the STEM subjects. Art + Design are the missing pieces to stimulate and humanize our students to participate in transforming our economy in the 21st century just as science and technology did in the last century. Recognizing that to be successful in technical fields, individuals must also embrace creativity and learn to use critical thinking skills, which are best developed through exposure to the arts. These important elements should not be overlooked when planning curriculum. Recently, in an article by Henry Doss in Forbes magazine, he suggested yet another acronym: SEA: Science, Economics and Arts. What we call it does not matter, what is important is to add the arts back into our lives. I want to be participate in the transformation of STEM to STEAM.
The workshops I was a part of taught me so much, all of which I brought home and shared. PFL not only taught me, the program has now indirectly taught educators who never attended NCSU or any of the workshops. The lessons and examples are being adapted and successfully used and I will continue to share them. Susanna, thank you for the opportunity and the guidance, you have made a difference in so many ways.
– Carlos Castaneda
Educational theories continually make circles. Changes in education come and go some are thrown out only to come back in a few years; others are strong and form the backbone of our educational centers. Often, governments and people seemingly hidden in boardrooms or by people never having worked in a classroom, are the driving force behind the regulations educators have to follow. Yet, still we have dedicated and happy teachers who look forward to sharing and exploring and wakeup in the morning with a sense of purpose and a joy of going to work. The CoAT program offered workshops to help balance the rules and testing obligations all educators are faced with having to follow, with ideas for incorporating current research into the curriculum and creating a positive learning environment.
The CoAT program introduced me to rooms full of people ready to step into the roll of educator and researcher. People who knew they were planning for long days, meetings, students who did not what to be in the class, and underfunded universities and colleges. These graduate students were excited and interested, and wanted to collaborate and most were anxious to face roomfuls of students armed with all the tools the PFL programs would share. Looking back at my own teaching experiences and looking at my own early years of teaching, for the good of the students and the teacher I believe the CoAT program should be a prerequisite to teach.
Twenty years ago, I completed a full-time teaching program at Sonoma State University in California in preparation to teach in a multi-subject K-8 classroom, with an emphasis on Early Childhood Education (ECD K-3) and in a K-12 art classroom. My studies included using Bloom’s Taxonomy, curriculum development, classroom management, student teaching, teaching reading, etc. All the basics a child needs to know to grow into an intelligent, well-rounded, well-adjusted adult. Had I participated in the PFL workshops before my first position as a teacher I would have been better prepared and more interested in continuing teaching in an elementary or secondary school.
The Beginning Teacher workshop was so full of new information I was taken aback – I was expecting a rerun of my teaching credential program. I expected some things would be new and update, as everything changes as new ideas are tried and succeed or fail. What I did not expect were all the important ideas that seem so logical yet were not taught in my previous program. Some things change as the world changes, but many things I learned apply to all ages.
I intend to teach workshops rather than a full-time university job. Short classes work well with my style of teaching and I would rather teach one expanded idea for an intense workshop than over a semester. I also enjoy working with all ages and workshops allow for teaching groups of different abilities and ages in varying situations and places, having the advantage of allowing me to indulge in my love of travel with working.
Taking the Teacher Inventory test, I predicted exactly the way I teach and how I want to teach – very balanced. I learned most about communicating and continue to break into conversations to tell every teacher I know about the “ten minute lecture” and share the ideas of how to break up long speeches and demonstrations. I remember falling asleep in early morning classes to a professor’s voice reading for an hour or two. The idea of utilizing “flipping classes” and having students pre-read the lectures and presentations before coming to class has (finally) come back into vogue and frees up time for actual teaching.
Of all the workshops I participated in, I think the most exciting was the Service Learning Project. Bringing education into the “real” world is so important and so exciting for both the student and the community; it should be started as early as possible in a child’s education. I believe the earlier a person learns to be a part of their community and participate; the more they care about the world around them and the better the chance we have for living together. My artwork reflects this thinking – it reflects creating peace through education and caring, starting in a very small way. The more ways to reach our students with information, the more tools we have, the better the systems will work. In the giant picture of a world healing, all children and adults will receive a good and equal education.
The PFL program has provided me with tools for both my art and my teaching and reinvigorated the idea of teaching for me. The workshops were both interesting and gave me a refreshing look at familiar subjects. Ideas have become seeds for further research and to incorporate my many areas of interest. Education holds a serious place in societies; most people understand and appreciate the value of an education, although some fear learning because it will diminish their power. Too much education can lead to making real, thoughtful decisions and there are many places in the world where the leaders do not want the population knowing enough to understand how to make changes. Part of my work as an artist and an educator is to participate in finding a way to educate those who are oppressed. Sometimes this work is through my art and other times it is through direct teaching. All the ways I learn to better understand how others learn is a direct benefit to my personal commitment to Tikkun Alum (healing the world in Hebrew).
Armed with my new methods of teaching I am looking for a project to incorporate art into the STEM curriculum. STEM + Art = STEAM. Especially in the United States, the majority of education focuses on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math – the STEM subjects. Art + Design are the missing pieces to stimulate and humanize our students to participate in transforming our economy in the 21st century just as science and technology did in the last century. Recognizing that to be successful in technical fields, individuals must also embrace creativity and learn to use critical thinking skills, which are best developed through exposure to the arts. These important elements should not be overlooked when planning curriculum. Recently, in an article by Henry Doss in Forbes magazine, he suggested yet another acronym: SEA: Science, Economics and Arts. What we call it does not matter, what is important is to add the arts back into our lives. I want to be participate in the transformation of STEM to STEAM.
The workshops I was a part of taught me so much, all of which I brought home and shared. PFL not only taught me, the program has now indirectly taught educators who never attended NCSU or any of the workshops. The lessons and examples are being adapted and successfully used and I will continue to share them. Susanna, thank you for the opportunity and the guidance, you have made a difference in so many ways.