In a message dated 4/7/01 9:52:15 AM Central Daylight Time,
smckenna@cc-amana.k12.ia.us writes:
> But I am
> not there to make them feel better about
> themselves. I am there to teach them
> visual skills. It is a perk if we have
> a lot of fun along the way. When did I
> miss the class on edu-tainment?
> Susan
>
>
>
>
Susan
Look at it this way-You are the last step for many of these kids who will
never go on to high school and take art. You must be able to look at the K-8
curriculum and do BOTH: teach them visual skills AND let them feel good about
themselves. Their elementary/middle school should be a positive experience
for these students.
I was a hard grader as well, in middle school, but I also marketed myself, my
program and my philosophy to the parents and faculty which made (I think) my
program a success.
My suggestion would be to reevaluate your objectives per age level. Art is
the only "breathable" time for 2nd thru 4th grade. You may also want to add
more rigid requirements slowly by grade level (the older they get the more
responsible they must be) I had a required sketchbook for 6,7,8 but my
requirements were much greater for the 8th graders than the sixth graders.
This time should be fun for you as well as them. They do need to know that
art will be with them for the rest of their life and many will only learn its
value thru you so cherish that thought. Make the grading easy for yourself-
write rubrics and teach the kids to check those requirements so they CAN get
the "A". Guide your students thru the design process and design your
projects for success. *I remember doing a lesson where we studied Chagall's
stained glass windows and I designed a painting project to go along with it
that had very rigid requirements. It was to be a reference to themselves- a
kind of medieval crest if you will. They were to include: Their Initial of
their last name (Large) and 5 images that represent them (footballs, phones,
lipstick, etc); They were to organize the objects in a way where at least 3
of them overlaped the initial; The initial and background were to be painted
with values of warm colors and the objects with values of cool colors or
vise-versa; all objects were to be outlined in black marker and the paint was
not to invade the marker areas. (I had cut the paper into "Paladeum [sp?]
Windows" and we grided the paper into stain glass divisions together as a
group) The rubric was simple and very specific- where the children could
actually grade themselves.
3 items overlap +3, 2 items overlap +2, 1 item overlaps +1, No items
overlap = 0
Anyway -I'm rambling and its getting late....
You know how to do this.
I now teach High School and I am a fanatic on deadlines, craftsmanship and
presentation especially with my Art 2 thru Art 6 students. By the time they
are in Art 2 with me they must have the love for art instilled in them
already in order to comand the self disipline that is needed to succeed in
the field. I truly enjoyed the middle school age but prefer to look at art
more seriously which is why I took the position at the high school. You have
7 great years of experience behind you and another 27 years ahead. Enjoy it!
Kathy in Kalamazoo
