Category Archives: Uncategorized

Jun21

2 Philosophies, 1 Program

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I wanted to take a moment to talk about my program. As many of you know, I am a TAB (Teaching for Artistic Behavior) teacher and have been for the majority of my 15-year career. What I am not sure people know is that my partner is not a TAB teacher. Yes, he sometimes gives choices to his students, our students, but for the most part, he is a traditional art teacher who assigns whole-class projects.

We have been working together for 15 years, and it has taken us 14 of those years to finally get our act together and create a program that not only allows cohesiveness for our students, but also allows for each us to teach to our own philosophy and to our strengths.

What does this look like? We were fortunate to have had a principal who trusted us as experts and allowed us to choose which class levels we wanted to teach. We both teach Art 1 classes due to the sheer number of class sections we have. (Texas requires one fine art credit for graduation, and the majority of students pick art as that FA credit.) We split the Art 1 sections as evenly as we can. The experiences for the students in our respective classes is different, but we are okay with that. The students get to know us as teachers and people, they get to learn about our program, they get to make some art, they have fun, and for about half, they get that credit they need so they can move to the pathway they are really interested in.

It’s when the students decide to continue in the art pathway that things really start to make sense for how we have structured the Duck Art Program. We have split the remaining sections of courses by levels between us. My partner teaches all sections of art 2, I teach all art 3, then the seniors return to him for art 4 and AP Studio. He teaches both AP 2D sections. I teach AP 3D, but I am also the ceramics teacher, so that is what makes sense for us.

Splitting the classes this way works to our strengths. He is really good at teaching techniques and materials, so the art 2 students benefit from all having this shared experience where they get to focus on skills and learning new materials. They come to back to me in art 3. We focus more on the ATP (Artistic Thinking Process), studio habits, and creating original art. My class helps them to really consider content and finding what media they like to work with, what types of subjects they like, and what they want to explore. AND they really start to find and develop their voice. So…..when they return to Art 4/AP, they have a well-rounded background and can create amazing art. It was hard in the past to have kids that were all over the map because we taught the same level in totally different styles. I understand that as a TAB teacher, I always meet students where they are, but this isn’t about meeting students at their artistic level, this is about the students have a common base knowledge that allows both teachers to better meet the students needs.

It took us forever to learn to play together, and play together well, but better late than never I say. I am excited for this coming year because we will be able to really see how well this will benefit our students and our program. It was time to stop being an island in a department of 2 and instead come together as 1. It is possible to work with those that don’t follow a TAB philosophy like you do. You just need to check your ego and remember what is really important and the focus of your art program–the students and helping them in their journeys to becoming artists.

May15

Meaningful Grading? An oxymoronic dilemma.

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At the end of the year, I start to think about the next year. I like to have some ideas written down so I can leisurely work out details over the summer so I am ready for the year in August when I return. This coming year, one thing I really want to work on is my grading system. I have been using a “Level of Engagement” system for some years now, but I’ve become disillusioned with it because I feel it is too much like a participation grade and doesn’t really show any sort of progress towards mastery or whatever it is grades are “supposed” to show.

Before I go any further, I want to say that if you are reading this post with the anticipation of some kind of answer to the meaningful grading question, I’m not sure you’re going to find it. In fact, you might end up walking away with more questions. Also, I am writing with high school grading in mind, which is a huge beast that is often wrong in what it represents.

If you Google “purpose of grading in education”, you will find that basically grades are meant to communicate learning progress and achievements. But, as we all know, grades don’t really show that at all…meaning that final number doesn’t actually show progress in learning. Because, if you get a 70 in the first marking period because you are still developing a skill/studio habit, and then you get a 100 in the final marking period because you finally mastered the skill/studio habit, you won’t receive a 100 for the year. Your grade will appear as if you just were average or proficient, even though you did what the point of learning is–you progressed and eventually mastered. Who goes to look at all the grades over the course of the year to see that your grade steadily improved? Only that final number is looked at.

As I have written about in the past, and it has be talked about over and over, grading =/= assessment. And perhaps that is why grading becomes such the dilemma. Should we, under the system we have to use, try to have our grades match our assessments that show actual progress over time, or should we just give out grades for participation? I know this is my dilemma. It’s something I’ve dealt with for years of being a TAB teacher. When I was DBAE, I used rubrics and based grades on students’ artworks having certain elements and principles, depending upon the project, as well as “good” craftsmanship and effort. But now, those things are not as important to me because of the current purpose of my teaching. I am trying to teach my students a way of thinking, a way of behaving, and having a variety of lines in an artwork shouldn’t be up to me, but up to the students. I know that some students will understand the artistic process faster than others. I know that some will demonstrate Studio Habits of Mind easily and others will need more time to develop those habits. I know that all of my student will grow artistically, both in behaviors and skills from where they were when they stepped into the classroom. I know each journey is different. What I don’t know is how to show that in our society’s “beloved” grading hierarchy.

Image credit Katherine Douglas and Clark Fralick

I feel like I am digressing a little here. I was talking about moving on from engagement grading to something more meaningful. I feel like I have figured out what I want to assess my non-first level students on this coming year and beyond. Katherine Douglas shared with me a poster about the things that artists can do in art class. I am in the process of creating an assessment chart for my artists based on this image. I know it was originally meant for elementary, but the behaviors truly span through to any artist at any stage/age. Where I get stuck is the grading part. The chart is easily used as a rubric for assessing students’ artistic thinking processes, but translating that to a numerical grade sucks. There is no other way to say that. I mean, I figured out a point system that makes sense and correlates to emerging, proficient, and mastery levels. But, it does not work well with our antiquated grading system. Their report card just shows some average number that doesn’t accurately show anything meaningful to their learning.

I know that some schools have changed their grading systems, but not mine. And mine isn’t going to change for the foreseeable future. And probably, most schools won’t either. So, in the end, how do we deal with this? How do we use our grading system to truly show growth? I am unsure if it is possible in a system where high school students rely on GPAs for things like scholarships and top % for automatic admission to state schools. Do I just give in and grade on participation, continue with engagement and add in conferences with each student to talk about their growth assessment?

I think this is the hardest part of being a teacher for me. And, the hardest part of being a TAB teacher since I am teaching a way of thinking and not just something that has right/wrong answers. I told you I wasn’t going to make things any clearer in this post. And, I didn’t get any closer to solving my dilemma of how to create a point system for my assessments of artistic growth, thinking, and understanding. But hopefully this post gave you something to think about and discuss. And perhaps, the more we discuss it with each other, the discussion will start to move to those above us teachers that make decisions and we can begin to change the face of education.

I thought I was done, but I think I want to add here that I wrote this post over a week ago, but haven’t published until now because I’ve been going over and over in my head what the purpose of my grading is, and grading in general. At my school, fine arts is a required class to graduate (1 credit worth), but it is not counted towards GPA–something I felt strongly against, but now am not so sure anymore if I want it to count towards GPA. Above you read what Google says the purpose is supposed to be, but that’s not reality. And after reading several posts/conversations this week in both TAB groups and non-TAB groups, the dilemma for me is even worse. I don’t want grades to be punitive. I want my grades to reflect learning and growth, but I can’t figure out a way to where they show growth that isn’t punitive. Assigning lower grade numbers for developing habits/skills and higher grades for mastered skills averages to some number that can seem “negative”. A student that grows over the course of the class should have a 100 for their final grade, right?

Mar15

TAB: A Philosophy with a Choice Continuum

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Lately, I’ve been seeing the phrase “I’m not full TAB”, or something similar to that.  And to be honest, at first I would kind of roll my eyes and move on. But then as I started to see it more and more, I thought that maybe some people don’t quite know or understand that TAB is a philosophy with a choice continuum. 

What do artists do? You are the artist. This room is your studio.
Signage from Clyde Gaw’s TAB classroom.

Over the years, there have been many conversations about TAB vs modified TAB / “not full TAB”. And, in the end, the same conclusion ensued–there isn’t really modified/not-full TAB. That would infer that not all 3 core tenets are followed when setting up the program. And asking, which one(s) are you leaving out?

What do I mean by that? Well, TAB (Teaching for Artistic Behavior) is a philosophy that follows 3 core tenants. It asks What do artists do? It believes the child is the artist. And it believes the classroom is their studio.  To put it more simply, as Ian Sands would say, it’s about Making Artists.  The end goal should be helping/teaching our students to behave and think like artists. Obviously there is much more to it, I mean there are many books written about it and have been several theses written about TAB as well. But that would be a longer post for a different day.

How you achieve the end goal of “Making Artists” is the methodology.  And that is where the continuum comes in. TAB teachers offer levels of choice for this.  Good TAB teachers will vary the level of choice on a number of factors, including the individual needs of the students is one of those factors. In fact, there may be varying levels of choice within the same class period, and it can fluctuate over time going from more choice to less choice and back again.  TAB is student-centered after all. I wrote another blog post that includes some reasons why you would vary the level of choice. Below is an image that displays the continuum of choice that can be offered, and there is a time for each level, including teacher directed, although that should probably be employed the least in a TAB practice.

continuum of choice chart by Diane Jaquith
Douglas, K. and Jaquith, D., 2018. Engaging Learners Through Artmaking. 2nd ed. New York: Teachers College Press, p.21.

In the end, if you believe in the philosophy and you arrange your program with the goal of making artists/teaching to think and behave like artists, you are a TAB teacher. What you modify is the amount of choice. And that will change as you learn about your student population and their needs, and it will vary from class to class, and student to student. At some point, students will be 100% self-directed, and that’s a beautiful thing.

Aug18

Remote Asychronous TAB

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On Thursday, I will start my 14th year of teaching. It is a bag of mixed emotions. It is one of the hardest starts to a school year to date. And, it appears as it will be one of the most complicated. My district, as many other districts in central Texas, has decided to start the year off remotely. We will definitely teach the first 4 weeks this way. At week 2, the board will meet, go over the data, and decide if we will continue all remotely at week 5 or if we will go to the option of both remote and in-person. In my mind, I’m not there yet. I want to concentrate on getting remote up and running, then I will think about how do deal with 2 types of learning. I assume (and yes I now what happens when we assume…) that we will have some kind of guidance about equity with in-person and remote simultaneously.

Speaking of equity, my school has decided that we will be 100% asynchronous. Our goal is to meet ALL students, not just most like we did in the spring. Our community is one where not all have internet and some are out in the country where a hot spot won’t work. I know some students have to work during the day to help with household budgets and other students need to watch younger siblings and help with their work. I have been told that some businesses in the local community are setting up ways for students to come in and do their school work using the business’ wifi, keeping local covid mandates in mind. So, asynchronous really does seem to be best for the community.

Now that I have given a bit of info about my teaching situation, I thought I would speak to what I am going to do in my remote teaching and with trying to stay true to the 3 guiding principals of TAB–What do artists do? The child is the artist. The classroom is their studio. And in this case, where they are is their studio. I am also trying to stay true as much as I can to the TAB program I have built over the years.

It may not seem like remote is the best for building relationships/community with our classes as a whole group, but that doesn’t mean teachers can’t build one-on-one relationships with their students through our LMS, Google Classroom. I plan on using flipgrid to help learn more about my students. I will include my face in all my videos–I’ve learned to float my video recording of me speaking over my screen recording using quicktime. Or I will use a program I discovered called Loom, it also allows the computer camera to hover in front of a screen record. (It’s not perfect, but my students will get to see all the fabulous facial gestures and hand waving I do as I talk–and that is such a huge part of who I am, lol.) I also plan on utilizing an “autobiographical artwork” activity that Melissa Purtee so graciously shared. Lastly, in the spring I found in the that replying or leaving comments with on students submissions is really helpful in growing and keeping relationships and communication.

This year I have 7 classes–art 1, art 2, art 3, art 4, beginning, intermediate, and advanced ceramics. Every year, my students in art 1, art 2, and beginning ceramics create sketchbooks together at the beginning of the year. I think this helps my students that can’t afford sketchbooks, and students tend to have more ownership of the sketchbook because they made it. This is an activity I am continuing. I have spent many hours building sketchbook kits that students can come pick up from school. I think it will also be good for them to have something hands-on to do for remote school and to have a place to continue with learning to think like an artist. And, when we hopefully return, all that wonderful information and inspiration they added to their sketchbooks will be easily found and not all over in google classroom and drive folders.

Once we finish the sketchbooks, we will start learning about the ATP (Artistic Thinking Process). This is also something I do at the start of each year. This will also help me to learn more about the students and their interests. Like in person, each stage of the process will be looked at individually to help the students really stop to think about what they are doing, why they are doing it, and various way how to be inspired and develop ideas. When we get to the create stage, the students will be limited to their sketchbook and a pencil (and any supplies they have at home), but I think that is okay because artists often have limitations. I plan on making clay kits for my intermediate and advanced students, so they can create small ceramic pieces at home. (I can write more about how my ceramic classes will work in another post at some point.)

I know this post isn’t covering everything I will be doing with all my classes. My art 3 and art 4 (which are stacked) will be doing a book study of “Steal Like an Artist” with lots of activities on how to get their ideas flowing (hopefully). I am excited about that. I was given a grant for a class set of the book. I love the book, and I think as the students in those 2 classes are trying to start finding their voices and their influences, the book study will be a good thing. Also, it gives them time away from the screen. I figured I would wait until after the book study to blog about it.

I know there are many more things I will have to deal with as the year goes on. I have “how to deal with in-person and social distancing and no sharing” in the back of my mind at all times. But, for now, I am comfortable in how I am translating my in-person TAB classes into virtual TAB classes. I feel that even though there may be limitations in materials and the sizes of artworks, I can still help my students to learn to think and behave like artists, and, as usual, I keep that at the forefront of my mind as I plan.

Apr10

Corona and Remote Teaching

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I see it has been over 2 months since my last post. And, quite frankly, I’m not surprised. I had some ideas in the works for new posts on the exciting stuff and things happening in the Duck Art Room since January, but then Corona hit, and my spirits plummeted.

I tried with all I had in me to look the “new normal” in the eye and take it on. And by new normal, I mean remote teaching or distance learning or “homeschooling” 🙄🙄🙄. (Don’t get me started on how none of this is homeschooling. I know people that homeschool for a living, and this is not it folks. But I digress.) It was hard. I wanted to be the best teacher I could be, but in truth, I wanted to just paint and drink coffee and play with clay. And I’ve done all that. In fact, by the end of this, I will have a full kiln load of just stuff I made.

One week away from school turned to two weeks; then to three weeks. And now, I’m pretty sure we won’t be back this school year. And at this point, while I want to see all my kids more than anything, I don’t know how we could make the switch one more time with 7 weeks (in my district anyway) of school left — 3 of which we are definitely out for Shelter-In-Place orders.

My district has been remote teaching/distance learning for 3 weeks now. I feel it has all been one big trial and error session. My district finally came to a decision about grading and GPA and class rank–which for those of you who teach high school know that these things are currently important in the world of education and higher education. I won’t go into everything, but we are going to a pass/fail system for the second marking period of the 2019-20 school year. Grades will be assigned with “prominent emphasis on completion and effort”. So, that sounds good right. It sounds as about as equitable as they can get. We are trying very hard to make sure we can meet accommodations and reach students without internet and give grace to those struggling with home issues (siblings, work, etc.) that affect them being able to do school work. Could more be done? Probably. But I know we are trying.

What does this all have to do with Art and Teaching for Artistic Behavior and Duck Art? A lot actually. I said that my spirits had plummeted, and that included my spirit for facilitating meaningful art making situations for my students. Instead, I assigned what I felt was going to be the easiest thing for me to do. Currently, I have about 50-65% participation from my students–some do all of it, most pick and choose and turn in a thing here or a thing there. It made me sad to say the least. I was missing seeing my kids make and create and all those other things that go with being artists.

Earlier this week, I was looking at Facebook, like all who are at home do, and I finally clicked on my friend Melissa Purtee’s post about what she was doing remotely with her kids, and it sparked something in me. I was then reminded of a post another friend had put in the main TAB Facebook group about not forgetting our purpose as TAB teachers–those 3 main tenets of the philosophy. I knew I had to change what I was doing. I couldn’t sustain it anyway. So, I borrowed from Melissa, as she so graciously lets us do, and made a new website for my students–all of my students, no matter the level or the class type. It gives them choice. It lets them decided how to spend their time during the week–instead of a daily assignment, they know what they need to do for the week on Monday and can plan their schedule to meet their needs. It makes them think and decide and research and plan and all those behaviors we have been talking and learning about for months or years. I have full belief in my students and I am hoping that it is what is right for them, and for their situations. I hope they can see art making not as a thing they have to do, but they want to do–because the freedom is in their hands now.

I’ll leave you with this. I’m not sure how I feel about our “New Normal”. I just hope I am bringing a sense of comfort to my students thru art and choice as we navigate this together.

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Click image for website

Jan24

Restoration of a Practice

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As we enter the third week of the new semester, I thought I would update on my “restoration” of the school year. (Confused? See this post for some clarity.) I know it has been a short time, but I am starting to really feel like I am getting a hold of the school year. Maybe I should say it’s been a long time. I mean, it is January, and we’ve been in school for about 4 months already.

img_20200123_183235_2816965594421370195777.jpg       img_20200122_110002_4556652781830567087963.jpgI came into this semester in a different frame of mind. I realized in December that I needed to change what was happening in my art studio, what was happening with my students. I felt they weren’t getting the best out of our TAB studio. And, I knew it wasn’t really them, but it was me. I was doing what felt right last school year…what worked for last year’s students. I was doing what I thought I should be doing. I wasn’t really seeing what my kids were missing.

So, over winter break I sat down with notebooks and made lots of notes. I figured out what my students were needing, and got to planning.

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We started off with an exploration of the human face. It was very teacher-led, but it was a good way to start off the new semester. It got them engaged because teens love drawing eyes and lips. It helped to build their skills, and it was a nice ease back into art after 2+ weeks of sitting around.

But, it was what I decided to do after that I think is really making the difference. In art 1, we had been working through “The 9”, packets designed by Ian Sands that offer a lot of choice, but on a more basic, general subject matter (landscape, nature, architecture, etc.) These have been helpful, but I felt my art 1 students

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needed more. At one point in my TAB journey, we worked with themes. I felt it was time to incorporate themes again. What I ultimately decided was that students would have a choice of a new packet (this time portraits due to the exploration we did), any previous packet we have visited this year, and a theme. And, so far, so good. Students are much more engaged with the larger choice, and because everyone isn’t doing the same packet, there is much more delving into the ATP (Artistic Thinking Process). Also, the required student-teacher meeting between development and creation has really helped them as well.

I20200116_1003544689872620955959336.jpg am finally fully engaged this school year, and all it took was some deep reflection and a few tweaks to restore my passion for TAB and teaching.

Dec3

“Lucky” Number 13?

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This year marks my 13th year as a high school art teacher.  I have spent all 13 years in the same district, at the same school.  I have had 3 principals, 3 superintendents, countless colleagues, and over 1000 students.  Lots of things have changed over the years–some sad, some bad, but mostly good.  I have been lucky to have found a teaching philosophy, TAB, that really resonated with me and kept me from giving up on teaching all together.

Through the years I have seen amazing growth and creativity.  I have watched students eyes get wide as they discovered clay or when they were told they could choose whatever material they wanted.  I couldn’t have asked for a better journey.

As anyone who has gone on a journey knows, it’s not all puppies and rainbows.  And, this year has really demonstrated that for me.  I am having one of the hardest years I have had since my first year teaching.  I’ve had one of the hardest groups of students to come through my program.  I’ve written more referrals in 3 months than I did in 10 years of teaching; and if you know me at all, I’m pretty lax when it comes to discipline.  I just don’t write referrals.  Cell phones drive me up the walls, and kids doing homework in my class instead of arting gives me agita.

But, what really gives me pause this year, is the level of thought being put into the work.  And it’s mostly in my Art 1 classes.  Unfortunately, it isn’t a very deep level of thought.  It’s like they feel thinking is the hardest thing they have ever been asked to do. (Perhaps it is, who knows?) Now, I have always met students where they are in their artistic journey, but this is so different that what I am used to. We’ve normally had to work more on skill and less on concept.  This year it is a lot of column A and a lot a column B.  It has made me question how I am facilitating my TAB studio.  I feel like what I am doing isn’t enough to help them grow during their time in my class.

I have been taking notes and reflecting on years past to see what I can introduce to help them snap out of this lazy thing they call high school.  I know it is in there somewhere.  I know I can find a way to challenge them.  I think it’s a combination of the packets, themes, and explorations.  I’m not 100%, and I have more planning to do.

Aug18

Seeing the Art of Children

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Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.

~Pablo Picasso

This is the ultimate challenge to artists, isn’t it–to hold onto that wild abandon and curiosity when making art.  As we grow up, for some reason that changes.  How we make and view art as adults does a complete 180, and I believe this issue needs to be addressed.  In this day and age as we talk about creativity and how this new generation lacks creativity, we must ask ourselves how did we get here?  Then, we need to figure out how we can change that.

Somewhere along the line, we are taught that the skill to make things realistic is equal to beautiful/good art.  That coloring in the lines is a goal.  That creation comes with a set of directions that needs to be followed.  Things like expression through messiness and exploration through process go to the wayside.  Does this stem from an unconscious connection to the development of fine motor skills (FMS)?  Perhaps somewhere we think that as we develop our FMS, our art should follow suit–that it needs to look sharp and be realistic.  But, I think that is taking away what art could and should be.

Work by a student with autism describing who she is
Beginning ceramics student self portrait.
Art 2 student exploring an eating disorder she once had.

The old adage that says “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” comes to mind.   Art could be defined by this, and many people do define art this way.  But, should it be defined by this?  I think this minimizes what art is.  I think children get it right.  For children, art is about the process.  It’s not defined by skill.  It’s not about correctness.  It’s about telling a story.  It’s about making what is in their head a reality.

And, we as adults need to understand that.  We have been told for so long what to do and how to do it that we have lost track of our inner child.  And, as art teachers, we have an opportunity to help create the next generation of adults who can see art and make art as they did as children.

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Art 1 student in-progress work

You have to be in a state of play to design.

~Paula Scher

That is where Teaching for Artistic Behavior can come into play.  (See what I did there?)  Starting at the elementary level, we can not only teach kids how to behave like artists, but we can teach ourselves and our colleagues to see their, the children’s, work for what they intend it to be.  We can stop telling our students what to create and how to create it, and let them tell us what they want to create and how they want to create it.  Each student has her own story and voice to tell it.  We can stop pushing our adult agenda and aesthetics on students and listen to them.

This doesn’t mean we don’t help our students improve their skill.  This doesn’t mean we don’t teach them about composition or color theory or shading or foreshortening or art history.  Those things are important parts of art, and we should incorporate them into our lessons, but should they be the most important or central part about art?  We need to help guide our students on their journey and see their journey for what it is…and we need to look at it at their level.  We need to meet them where they are.  We need to stop telling them what art should look like, but instead ask them what they envision it could look like.

Art 1 student exploring what society says a man is supposed to be.
Part of a larger series by an art 2 student

Perhaps a bullet list will help… And remember, these lists are not mutually exclusive and they are not complete and can change with time

What art doesn’t have to be:

  • photorealistic
  • 24 of the “same” image (ie student created “Van Gogh sunflowers”)
  • polished
  • colored in the lines
  • a finished product

What art could be:

  • made of repurposed materials
  • messy
  • unfinished
  • a “failure”
  • a journey
  • outside the lines
  • unrealistic
  • in need of an explanation

What should be your takeaway from this blog post?  That children’s art is NOT adult art.  AND, we as adults need to recognize that and stop judging it like it is.  Does that sound harsh?  Maybe.  But, what if we did just that and helped to make a generation of artists instead of a generation of followers.

Part of AP student’s concentration.
Art 1 Non-representational work
Art 1 Non-representational work

 

 

Aug18

TAB Institute Part Deux

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About 2 years ago, I was told…not asked, but told that we (we being 4 of us that met and became fast friends at MassArt in Boston at the 2nd TAB institute) were going back in 2019. So, I put that kiln on hold I was starting to save for and instaed saved for my return to Bean Town. Fast forward to January 2019. 2 of us could not make it. I was sad. But, I put on my big girl pants and signed up as soon as registration opened. Andy was still going and so many of my friends were going to be there for faculty…I couldn’t not go. And besides, I had told everyone I was going. Lastly, I really needed some PD that was for me and that I was interested in. Come on art teachers–you know what I mean.

My experience this time was like a complete 180 from my first experience. The first time there was about 40+ attendees compared to 80 this time. Also, the HS section grew from about 4 of us (not including Ian and Clyde) to about 20. Gone were the excursions to Fenway Studios and the local museums. In their places were affinity groups, a mini-conference, ample studio time, and a pop-up art show. I was told we had a studio last time, but I couldn’t tell you where it was.

The week was full. Our time opened with Sunday dinner at The Squealing Pig before going over to the Kennedy to tour the student gallery–photos of work, along with artist statements, from a student carefully chosen by each attendee. Throughout the week, we often met with out grade levels, facilitated by a carefully selected group of amazing TAB teachers–Julie Toole, Clyde Gaw, Roni Rohr, Ian Sands, and Clark Fralick.

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On Wednesday we had a fabulous guest speaker, Ekua Holmes.She was pretty amazing. Her voice was so soothing as she talked about her life and her journey.

Thursday was our mini-conference. Experienced teachers were asked if they wanted to present. This was a great day of teachers teaching each other. I learned a lot about my friend Andy and the connection between being an artist/art teacher. Practice what you preach. I presented on TAB and the single media. I like to share, so here is my slide show. (Just know, TAB teachers like to share openly. We just ask, if you take anything, please credit me. Thanks.)

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On Friday early evening, we had our pop-up art show. It was amazing. I mentioned we had ample studio time this year. We had access to 3 studio rooms, which were set up as the wet room, the dry room, and the sculpture room. Clyde had made 3 very inviting spaces. It seemed every time I went in there 20-30 people were spread out in these rooms creating and sharing. It was a wonderful experience. New techniques were being explored. Art was being created–by many that have a hard time finding the time (unlike I fortunately am able to) to create daily or even weekly. On Friday, the student gallery was taken down, and the pop-up show went in. It was amazing to see what came from the explorations of the week. I loved getting the glimpses into the minds of the teachers I had been working with and learning from all week. I think it was a perfect way to end the week. And, it was a nice way for new to TAB teachers to experience what they will be asking of their students this year.

Learning happened all week long–not just in our classrooms, but in affinity groups at lunch and after dinner. It happened in the studios and through conversations held in the lobby, over breakfast, and in the dorms. It happened as Andy and I headed up the “Drink and Draw” excursions. Drinking isn’t a requirement, but bringing your sketchbook is. We sketched everywhere we went. We even did a 5-minute drawing of the street outside a pizza restaurant near the Paul Revere monument.

Being a veteran TAB teacher along side those who had either just gotten their toes wet in the past year or two and those who were completely new, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I didn’t know what I was going to learn about the philosophy that I wasn’t already aware of, or where I would find places to grow in my practice. I didn’t take many notes this time around. I did talk often though–hopefully Ian wasn’t too sad every time I had something to interject. I do wish there was something more for those of us that consider ourselves further along the journey. But, I’ve felt that way for a while, and I think that is why I focus on other aspects of my art teaching–taking care of me and continuing my arting journey.

What I did discover at the TAB Institute was that I figured out my place on this journey. I am at a place where I need to teach others. I need to keep moving forward and spreading the TAB word and helping to keep true to the philosophy. I need to keep looking at my practice and my population by challenging myself to always do what is best for their learning as they become artists and/or supporters of the arts. I know that seems like something I could have figured out at home without flying all the way across the country. But, I don’t think I would have found the answers I was looking for without being around my tribe. I got to be with old friends and strengthen my relationships with them. I got to make new friends. I got to have invaluable conversations–face to face–that don’t happen the same way on the interwebs. It was through the experience of the “hot as soup” air in Boston that gave me what I was searching for.

Do I recommend the TAB Institute to anyone who is on the TAB spectrum–from TAB curious to TAB Veteran? Absolutely. Would I attend again in 5 years? Oh Ya! You betcha! (said in my best Minnesotan accent.)

Jun18

The Re-Do: A Final Exam

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It appears as if I am not the only one to have students revisit an artwork made earlier in the year to re-work as a final exam for high school art.  (Melissa Purtee wrote about it here, and I did take the idea from Ian Sands.  Janine Campbell did it years ago.)

Anyway, for my art 1 and my art 2: p/d classes, the exam was to take a piece of artwork they had made sometime in their class that they created or started to create and re-do it in one of 3 ways–make it better, make it different, or rearrange it.  We looked at a slide show, I answered questions, and then kids had at it.  When they were finished, I had the students fill out a written reflection about the new artwork, why they chose that piece to redo, how they re-did it, and which was stronger/why.  There were a couple of other questions about the work they did this year as well.   The students had to turn in the original (or a photo of the original) with the new work so I could compare.

I thought it was a great way to finish the year.  Students were able to go back over everything they had created.  Some pieces they hadn’t seen since I put them back in their portfolios earlier in the year, some forgetting even having made the piece.  The reasons students gave for choosing specific pieces varied–from it was my favorite piece to I wanted to take it out of my sketchbook to I knew I could do better.   I am so proud of the work they put into the new pieces.  It really was a good way to show what they had learned over the year–art making skills, decision making skills, and reflection skills.  It’s a final exam I will continue to use in my classes.

I wish I had taken more photos, but I was so caught up in what they were doing and the end of the year, that I forgot.