I make a difference!

I love this speech by Taylor Mali! He does a great job communicating the passion most teachers share and the outrage at  corporate workers who think that being an educator is a step down. Breaking down the ways that teachers make a difference is a great motivation to keep striving to be better and to educate the public about all of the things we do.

Writing a Unit

As a student, I had three classes that required me to write a complete unit: two art-specific methods classes and one general curriculum class. Each professor had a different approach that required different outcomes. One professor shared readings on several approaches to teaching art such as Disciple-Based Art Education (DBAE), Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS), Visual Culture, etc. He then asked us to select one and write our unit based on our choice. Another professor was a devotee of Sydney Walker's big ideas so we were asked to select a big idea (e.g., identity or change) and write two units based on the same idea: one for elementary school and one for high school. Davis Art created text books (Explorations in Art) that support this approach and we were allowed to draw from those lessons. My curriculum class unit was less focused on approaches to teaching and instead focused on planning -- outlining the unit, writing the parents a an overview letter, breaking the unit down into lessons, writing a calendar, scheduling work/readings/assessment, etc. It was very practical. . . and then you get in the classroom to student teach.

The units I wrote in college were nothing like the units I wrote while student teaching. Instead of a binder, the units were one page documenting desired outcomes, lesson overview, assessment, and sometimes a section on how-to. The content was mostly the same, except it was heavily edited to fit into one sheet. I was grateful for the break in writing and even more grateful that I had so much experience writing these much larger units because I knew what I needed to include and automatically thought about state standards, procedures, assessment, visual aides, and all of the other nuances that go into planning a complete lesson.


As a first year art educator, I ask you -- how do you plan out your first year? how do you write your units? I can see a combination of a calendar, a list of state standards, research material, visual aides, etc. Another idea is one I learned in my corporate life where you put everything on index cards or post-it notes and lay it out that way. Things are always changing in the classroom, so my future plans need to be well thought out (including trying to think preemptively about could happen), comprehensive, and flexible. Since I don't currently have a job, I'm currently just trying to build on the materials I built up during my student teaching so that I can walk into any job with some options while fleshing out a better plan.


If you have any tips, tricks, web sites, organizational ideas, or anything else that might help, please send them my way! My mind is open and I'm ready to go!

Art Heroes Radio

A friend of mine just introduced me to Art Heroes Thought Radio, "Conversations about living + working in the arts." The show airs Thursday evenings and the web site has posted tons of great stories on marketing, getting work exhibited, the advantages of hiring artists, public art, and so much more. Here's what the web site says it's about:

Art Heroes Radio features conversations every Thursday evening with established and upcoming artists, creative professionals and experts in related fields. Go behind the scenes with guests like Austin Kleon, Hugh MacLeod, and others to see how a successful creative career feels, how they got where they are, and how they stay on track even when success turns out differently than they imagined.

The focus of the show is advice for artists and creative entrepreneurs presented in a conversational format. Learn what works (and what doesn't) from artists and creatives who have pioneered new ways to build an arts career. The stories and ideas presented add up to an ongoing guide put together by and for people living and working in the arts. From business and marketing ideas, to discussions on how to cope with fame, fans or family, the show will cover all aspects of the artists' life. Learn how to grow, manage and maintain your arts career from those who've done it the hard way.

 I highly recommend checking it out - as an artist, as an art educator, as an art student. There are a lot of really interesting conversations packed into one site.

Dali + Disney = Destino

Did you know that Salvadore Dali and Walt Disney knew each other. Yep. Here they are, checking out a train:

Salvadore Dali and Walt Disney

They also made a movie together, Destino. It's a stunning surrealist movie that combines Disney's animation brilliance with Sali's surrealist point of view. I like to use it as an introduction to surrealism when teaching it in middle and high school. It helps kids understand the idea before they start looking at images of melting clocks. Surrealism is one of the student's favorite units and I love it when I can kick it off with strong visual aids.