Artistic Vision
It’s a right-brain kinda thing.Archive for September, 2007
Somewhere Over …
I have these thoughts at times.
I look at my kids–sometimes it’s just one, other times it’s both–and I feel the most profound sense of sorrow. They’re beautiful and I love them to death. But, I tell you, this aching loss wells up within me and I don’t know where it comes from.
And, I don’t know what to do with it.
And So It Starts …
I just finished up my first week at school. It was ok; not bad, not good. It always amazes me what kids choose to argue and complain about. In an effort to try to understand my students’ learning styles I gave them a 44-question survey to help me achieve that. Bad idea. It’s sad too because now I’m left with questioning if they took it seriously and if I can rely on it. So, that was one lesson learned. I won’t be doing that next year.
Overall, I spent far too many days going over guidelines and procedures. Now, before you say anything I have to say in my defense that the exercises I had laid out should have taken no more than two to two-and-a-half days to complete. But the incessant talking dragged it out for the rest of the week.
On the Verge
Well, the beginning of the new school year starts tomorrow. Yikes! While it’s only a half day, I’m still not sure of what to expect. The kids were rough last year. Albeit, I did start five months into the year and the kids had no continuity. They started with a sub for the first month and a half and then had a full-time teacher who gave notice after a little more than a month.
On Friday, I finished up days of orientation that proved pretty disappointing. It was great seeing friends, old and new. You see, there are changes going on at school this year involving small learning communities. The part I’m to play seems loose at best, but I’m keeping an open mind because I know my role as art teacher isn’t part of the usual suspects of a small learning community. Plus, the “normal” benefits — working with the same kids for two years straight, getting to know them as a result of that, having continuity within the curriculum, etc. — have more limited impact to me because I don’t see one or two grades during the year; I see all grade levels (though, not all students) in one year.
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