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scheduling
Sat, 25 Apr 1998 01:00:46 -0400
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Sherry, although there are many art teachers who share your problem, it
doesn't seem to make it any easier when it is you. I have been there
with 7-8 classes a day runnng from room to room. You might get some
suggested guidelines for scheduling from your supervisor(if you have
one), state dept. of ed. or from the NAEA, but with site-based
management it is really up to your local administration and I've been
told that in NC they can do about what they want to with "special"
classes. If you are not already doing it, form a network of art
teachers in yor LEA and meet regularly to discuss things like
scheduling. There is strength in numbers and you might be able to share
some strategies that have worked. Before you meet with your
administrator or whoever makes the gosh awful schedules you describe,
get all your information/facts together and approach the needed changes
with how it will benefit the children. Also, try to get involved with
the leadership team at your school where your voice will be heard so
you can have some input when scheduling comes around.
This year I became involved with peer coaching for the first time and my
peer coach happens to be a second grade teacher. After observing a few
of my classes her comments were things I've been saying for years: 1.
The kids seem to be frustrated because they have to stop and clean up
just when they are really getting involved in a project(this was fifth
grade). 2. "They" don't give you enough time between classes to get
ready for the next one. 3. You mean "they" send 28 kindergartners in
here without the teacher assistant to help you?! ( Our kindergarten
teachers(and I love 'em, really) would fall apart if they thought they
had to work with 28 kids painting at once - you know they only allow 1
or 2 kids to paint at any one time in their classrooms and then the
teacher assistants have to help. Most classroom teachers have no clue
as to what we go through(and then again most of us haven't walked in
their shoes), so the "schedule makers" probably don't know either.
Some don't care, but many are simply ignorant of what we need to be the
best teachers that we can be. It is distressing to be put in a position
where you have to compromise what you know you should be doing. I well
remember one principal who told me not to worry about any of that, just
have the kids do a little picture so they would have something to take
home to mama. Guess he thought I was the babysitter. I also remember
how in awe he was of what I was doing in that dinky, dark basement room
when he first observed me and I was doing a lesson that involved
discussion of artwork by several different artists and the application
of the information derived from that discussion. It was one of those
surprise observations, but the children were really involved(thank
goodness) and my principal learned a lot more than art that day.
Anyway hang in there and keep trying to improve your situation instead
of waiting for "them" to do something else to you. You gotta lotta
friends out here. It's 2:00am and I probably haven't made much sense,
but I do care what is happening to you. ann in nc
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