Chewing with our Mouths Closed and our Minds Open

9/29/24 11:27pm - Late night thoughts with Leah

I pay attention to art teacher Facebook groups. I like to have a pulse on what is going on in art classrooms around the United States, though I comment vary rarely. At times, I will chime in because I have a good idea or perspective and sometimes it is because I really feel like something needs to be said. During cultural celebration months (Latino/a/x/e, Indigenous, etc) I really have a hard time not chiming in about cultural appropriation, but I know my energy is best spent where I can make the most impact and a FB response it not usually it. When I see a post with sugar skulls for Dios de los Muertos or paper bag tipis for Indigenous peoples month, my heart hurts. I think, in the 21st century how is this still acceptable? But then I remember my favorite quote of all time by Maya Angelou "do the best you can until you know better. Then, when you know better, do better".

This! When you know better do better. This is where Abi and I can help. I was scrolling a little while ago, and I saw a post, one that I see often, an art teacher asking for a lesson that will "wow" an administrator for an observation. Now, having been on both sides of an observation (as a teacher and as an administrator), I can say its nerve wracking for most teachers and a lot of work for administrators. In my case, observations and evaluations are never a "got you" but a common way for the teacher and administrator to see eye to eye on how to improve on instruction to improve student outcomes. 

One of Abi's best quotes from the time she spent teaching the ASD team about curriculum design using the hamburger metaphor was "stop throwing meat at children" (and a very funny drawing accompanied this quote). What this quote boils down to is that when projects are taught in the art room for the sake of teaching the project because you like the project or the project is fun or maybe the project is something that was asked of you (oh the dreaded - "can you do this _________ art project in your class?" - sure let me just drop everything in my curriculum and make a set of holiday cards); it is making for making sake. Since projects should be designed with the end in mind, meaning the project should be designed to teach the learning outcome which should be designed based on the assessment given, which should be driven by the standard. If this process isn't happening, there is room for instructional improvement. 

Observations are meant to observe good teaching. Good teaching (based on the Danielson Framework for Teaching) include such criteria as: establishing a culture for learning, using questions and discussion techniques, engaging students in learning, and using assessment in instruction. These criteria should be happening all the time, every day, day in and day out in the art room. If you have to change what you had planned in a given day to a lesson that would showcase these criteria during an observation, it may be time to question what you are teaching and why you are teaching it? I will refer back again to the 4 driving questions for PLCs (mentioned many times on this site) "what do we want students to learn?", "how will we know they know it?", "what will we do when they don't?", "what will we do when they do?". 

Look teaching is hard. Designing curriculum is hard. Being observed and evaluated is hard. But there is a path forward to making the teaching and learning part a bit easier, when you understand the how and the why behind what you are actually asking students to know and do. So, take a journey around our website and try to stop just "throwing meat at kids!"