Field trip

                                   

I thoroughly enjoyed our field trip and felt that it was really enriching  particularly to hear  Aimee Mullins discuss her life and the obstacles she had to face to get to where she is today. It was soooo mind blowing how many artist she worked with, I wondered whether she knew the magnitude  of talent that she's been surrounded by. When we broke up for the second session it was a smidge boring but I did enjoy the enthusiasm  of one of the main speakers. 

The only part that disappointed me is that we weren't able to go into the actual museum. I've never been and was really hoping to be able to explore and behold some amazing art. Cars didn't cut it for me even though they were cool...but I had a fun time and it was exciting to go on adventure of sorts with everyone.

I don't fit in boxes!

                  

Since the outward appearance was supposed to be how others perceive us I thought it would be acceptable to make my own  random trapezoidal shape since I honestly have never felt as if individuals other then my close family or friends have been able to quite know what to make of me...I am peculiar...I know this...I've always been the over-eccentric  art person and it suits me pretty well. But internally I'm pretty shy and suffer from anxiety and agoraphobia. To lessen this I usually try to have some small object of comfort with me at all times, like a scrap of fabric from an old quilt which I included here. Most of the other internal structure is personal but I did include some of my favorite colors. And also anatomical  elements since I've had to deal with chronic illness for a majority of my life, anatomy has been a fascination of mine since I was little and from seeing some of my own X-rays and ultrasound images...

               

If it wasn't okay for me make up my own "box" I sincerely apologize, I was raised with the belief that it is better  to ask for forgiveness then to ask for permission.

Journal #8: school observation #5

Throughout my observation all students were treated fairly, neither favoring more so to one specific race/gender or out rightly but she does interact differently towards some ESL students (but they were new so it was understandable). The classroom appears to be inclusive at least on my cooperating teachers part.
For the most part my cooperating teacher allows the students to sit where ever they choose but luckily there aren't many students  (if any) that are ostracized  because of this but you can still clearly see that small "clicks" influenced the feeling of the individual classes.  The one negative "race issue" that I observed was between students shouting various ethnic slurs at one another but it was addressed immediately.

Journal #5: School observation #2

"Art is for everyone" is the root of my cooperating teachers personal teaching philosophy. I was able to discuss this with her in depth and found that most of her beliefs correlated with my own. She treats all of her students as if they were her own children and always attempts to connect with them. Most students respond positively to this but there are a select few that try to either take advantage of her kind disposition or just completely act crazy....
But inclusive teaching is very important to her and it shows since she why such a popular teacher. I enjoy her passion and believe I will be able to maintain a similar kind of  rapport with my future students whoever they may be.

School observation #4

Overall my cooperating teacher is pretty lax with general discipline and classroom management. 

There is only one small sign posted in the whole room, of rules which are as follows: 

1. Respect others and their property/ artworks.

2. Respect all Art materials

3. Be prepared  for class and be on time.

4. Clean up after yourself and keep your workstation in a neat and orderly manor.

5. BE SAFE!

6. All other NEHS rules apply.

 The classes can get a bit loud and rowdy but as far as I have been able to observe nothing ever goes beyond just verbal warnings. One reward that I have observed is that if the students complete their assignment early and have good quality work my cooperating teacher will post photos of their work on her own artist account on Instagram if the student would like to share it.

Material distribution and basic organization are the students responsibility and the class room layout for the most part seems to be organized enough to where students can find what they need but it is still a bit chaotic for my taste. 

The back room that's used for storage of the remainder of materials is in complete disarray (I wasn't  permitted back there the first day because it was so bad) with posters, a mass of fabric, yarn, still life supplies, paint, etc. the only clear place on the floor is the little safety square that's around the small kiln the school has. 

 Since it is older students a vast majority of their work is done independently with slight assistance/guidance given when asked for. Materials do seem to vary between levels but I'm still getting adjusted to the odd class structures.

School observation #3: Visual journals

                    

                                                        My visual Journal 

The main goal was just to give a break after a large  project/critique and was used as a creative outlet for the students to experiment with new materials. In her class she does usually have "Visual journal Friday" the subject matter evolves but I believe the same premise of it being creative outlet remains the same.

 Requirements for this particular journal were to include: 3  circles properly  shaded to create depth, some kind of collage element, variety of color, and to try a new medium.  While the students were working, my cooperating teacher showed YouTube videos about  a variety of visual journals and also played music ( mainly folk or indie). 

She provided new materials of stencils, woodless graphite and higher quality acrylic paint (most of which she purchased with her own money since the budget for art supplies is small). So distribution of those materials actually depended on her and I. But the remainder of the class just consisted of completing the journals and "art chatter" amongst the students. 

School observation 1#

      

                 

  

                    

I am observing Mrs. Palmenteri who currently  oversees  63 students total, and is the head art teacher at Northeast Guilford High School.

 It is a lower middle class has nearly an even population of Caucasian and African American with as small percentage of Latino and Asian American students.  

The structure for each period of classes I'm able to observe consist of  three to four different class levels (art 3, art 4, honors art 4 and AP art) which was a little confusing and odd to me.

The classes were pretty loud and rowdy (which I completely didn't expect especially on my first day) but a majority of the student were doing their assignment of self portraits in charcoal or pastel.

 Each level had slight adjustments to their requirements and the higher levels had to incorporate more into the background of their drawings  and had a more difficult rubric when it came to critique.

I enjoy my cooperating teacher very much and her teaching philosophy seems to correlate with my own, she has been teaching for over 10 years and her experience and  the relationship she's able to create with her students is pretty inspiring. 

(The images of the student work were taken by my cooperating teacher and posted online with the students permission)