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Lesson Plans


Re: artsednet-digest V2 #1753

[ Thread ][ Subject ][ Author ][ Date ]
Rick (rlarson)
Fri, 08 Oct 1999 16:09:09 -0500

I feel for you. I know what you mean about having supplies to do the teaching
you were hired to do. I did ask my parents for donations and it does work. They
give me sharpies, masking tape, cotton balls, yarn, etc. I would usually sent a
note home saying that I wanted the kids to have such and such art experience and
that I was asking children to bring in yarn, etc. I also used the newsletter to
request items. There is alot you can do with donated wallpaper books. Our city
recycling center opened an area for teachers to get things that were thrown out,
but usable, old magazines, postal sacks(great for covering tables while working
with clay). .I think you should contact ASU art ed dept and let them at least be
aware of your dilemma. Some of the edu students will be the future
administrators and board members. I'm sure the kids are still excited to come
to your room. betsy

DRITTART wrote:

> Budget: First of all, let me say that I love having the opportunity of being
> an art teacher. It is the best. I really feel that what we are giving our
> students cannot be obtained by them in any of the other disciplines. I feel
> that what we do for our students is very, very important.
> However, my budget is the worst I have had in 36 years. I teach for the
> Scottsdale School District, here in Arizona, a district where the majority of
> the parents are wealthy and who support the arts in their homes and leisure
> time. They are great, the district is one of the best in the support of
> strong education, etc. However, I think that this community, the
> administration, and the parents are really concerned about having very high
> test scores and getting their children in to the best colleges, and just
> don't see the arts as the answer. In the highschools they are allowed to
> charge an optional fee, but at the elementary level there is, of course, no
> such fee. Elementary art teachers are at the mercy of whoever does the
> budget at the individual schools. Elementary art teachers are usually
> isolated members of the faculty, not a part of the grade level teacher
> groups, and so therefore, do not have very powerful voices when everyone
> else is looking out for themselves.
> My budget this year is less than $1.00 per student per year, or $685.00. (By
> the way, I heard of a new teacher in the district who was given only $150.00
> for the year. She was trying to teach with broken crayons and newsprint). It
> is awful and I am put in the position of always begging, which gets "old"
> very quickly for me and for those I am forced to beg from. Being in such an
> affluent area, with very few special needs or minority students makes it
> almost impossible to apply for grants. I also, simply do not have the time
> to write one. I spend my lunch period setting up for the afternoon classes.
> I am tired of teaching lessons with donated discards. I want to teach a
> sequential curriculum based on the National Standards. The budget or lack of
> a reasonable budget should not be what drives your lesson choices!!! Any
> suggestions from you all would be welcome. It does, however, feel good to at
> least share this information with a group of teachers who can understand and
> relate to my situation. I am thankful for this forum.
>
> I also think it would be interesting to hear what kind of lesson loads we all
> have. I have 30 classes a week of 45 minute periods. I also have 6
> different preps a day. What about the rest of you?