Olympics: part 2
Unlike the events of the first week, which weren’t nearly as good as my description leads you to believe; the events of week two will be placed in my permanent file to be used again in four years. We participated in ski jumping, curling, and biathlon. These events brought the Olympic Winter Games to life […]
The Olympics
The Olympic ideals of fair play, good sportsmanship, and friendly competition were on display in the gym and for a few moments the students had Olympic dreams. Today we will be participating in the Olympic Winter Games, I announced to student cheering, applause, and general merriment. I never get tired of announcing the day’s activities […]
uncovering the real mission statement behind education
No one goes into teaching because they’re excited to teach to the test. They start because they love kids They’ve been told that they’re gifted at teaching They had a great teacher that changed their life and they want to do the same Teachers go into teaching to touch lives, they are then pushed, pulled, […]
My child wants to be an artist, now what?
Parents schedule a meeting, enter my room, sit down and say : My child wants to major in art, they want to work in a creative field and while I want to support them, I’m worried that they aren’t going to be able to get a job, or they aren’t going to be able to […]
The day the bird flew in
Students enter the gym with whoops and hollers, and immediately break into a run. Entering the large empty space must be more then they can bear. No matter how many times we go over that they are to walk in and sit on the circle, at least one class per day will completely lose their […]
don’t fight for arts education
warning. this may seem like an odd message coming from an art teacher fighting for the arts in schools might be a bad idea and it’s likely a waste of your time. don’t get me wrong. i’m not saying that art shouldn’t be in schools. i’m a high school art teacher. i’m saying that you […]
Hats … gloves… and walking down the hall
I am treated to a daily highlight first thing every morning. At 9 o’clock, I walk the kindergarten students back to their classrooms. Now – I say walk, but that does no justice to the actual adventure. In order to fully explain things we must retreat to about 20 minutes earlier, this is when the […]
Confessions of a teacher who doesn’t believe in public education
i became a teacher, because the desire and ability to break concepts down into tiny bits of information was born into me. i became a teacher because everyone told me that i was good at it. as a teenager there was a waiting list to have me as a swim lesson instructor. i became a […]
Make an impact and a FREE workbook
If you’re keeping your creativity a secret from the world, maybe even a secret from yourself… ie, you’re not making anything, you’re hiding the best part of yourself. That seems a little harsh I know, so let’s flip it, and get off on a better foot. If you’re sharing your creativity with the world and […]
color outside of the lines please
While I”ve been a maker my entire life, it was not until I began teaching creativity that I began to understand it. And it was not until I studied my own creative process that I was set free to truly create. in school we learn how not to be creative, we get in trouble […]