Why you need to embrace your strengths and forget your weakness
“The artist who aims at perfection in everything achieves it in nothing.” – Eugene Delacroix We spend a lot of time… too much time actually… talking and thinking about what we’re not good at, and we do the same with kids and students. When talking to parents I often hear, my child isn’t good […]
No creative ideas in the art room
Near the end of the school year when my brain wasn’t firing at it’s highest powers, my boss somehow got me agree to go to a 5 day AP art teacher training on my summer vacation. Two weeks before leaving for this training, I couldn’t seem to imagine how I’d agreed to such a […]
A teacher’s journey to falling back in love with teaching
I’ve never been known to have a great ability to think before I speak, I open my mouth and words just start flowing. This is likely one of the qualities about me that my high school students find entertaining. Sometimes it’s a lack of a filter and others it’s blatant honesty, something that often is […]
Dear Students, What school forgot to teach you, a letter from your teacher
Dear Students, the things that we forgot to tell you while you were in school. Your test score does not define you…. in fact no one cares what you scored on the PSSA’s, Keystone, SAT, or ACT. Really after filling out your college application (if you choose to do so) no one will ask you […]
How to talk to kids about art
“Kids are not little adults. But they are professionals. Their job is to play, their job is to experiment, their job is to try different things.” Chuck Jones (the guy who drew Bugs Bunny) On a regular basis students walk up to me holding a project, drawing, or photograph in their hand and ask if […]
Do Ducks have a Penis?
Recently I read Daily Rituals: How Artists Work, it’s an interesting book that goes through the life and process of creatives. The 3 most common themes were the consumption of alcohol , caffeine, and taking walks. I’m not advocating that you start drinking heavily, instead we’re going to focus on the movement part of the […]
Secret teacher skills, bladder of steel
Over the weekend I was camping with my husband, brother, dad, and one other guy. It was noted several times that I must have a bladder of steel, as they were getting up in the middle of the night, and practically leaping out of the canoe at lunch to head to the bathroom. My teaching […]
We need to stop punishing kids for daydreaming
I spend a lot of time daydreaming, in fact I often go to bed early in order to get some solid daydreaming time in, and hit my alarm a good 3-5 times in the morning, as during this time my mind goes on wonderful adventures, but with the snooze going off every 10 minutes I’m […]
10 steps to help your child stay creative
In this TED talk by Ken Robinson you’ll learn: – ” All kids have tremendous talents and we squander them.” – Creativity is as important as literacy – Be sure to at least listen to 4:15 mins so that you can find out what God looks like. – Kids will take a chance, they’re not […]
5 myths about teaching 1 truth
When it comes to teaching, there can be many things that distract or take away from our most important objective, which is to facilitate student learning. It’s important to stand up for your beliefs and fight to make changes to improve the educational process; however, problems arise when we as educators allow these distractions to […]