art as a foreign language

the world has sped up but education hasn't...

2010-05-12T18:37:00.001-07:00

There is a difference between the people that grew up with technology and those who did not. Simple. Mark Prensky names these different groups of people Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants. In a multimedia world where young people communicate via text, twitter and facebook at the age of three, adjustments must be made. Again, this idea seems simple to me. Steve Maher of Chatnam High School says that students walking into a classroom with out technology is “like walking into a desert,” and Jason Levy, a middle-school principal in Brooklyn, NY, compares technology to oxygen, stating that there would never be a question of whether students should have access to oxygen. That said, why would we ever want to deprive our students of oxygen and make them sit in a desert? Jason Levy makes another valid argument that there are reasonably NO jobs that require one to sit in a chair and be quiet. How can we expect students to practice something that there is no practical use for? True, students are multi-tasking, in essence gulping in air at lightning speed in the information age, but are they choking?

Out of all the discussion back and forth on the subject, the most shocking thing that jumps out at me is the fact that some educators can ignore that the purpose of education for the students of today is different. Students do not necessarily need to retain loads of information to be able to regurgitate it at any given second, however, they need to be able to go and do. Students need to be able to problem solve and use the vast millions of resources, i.e. the internet, cell phones, social networks, and access to information in general, to find the answers and solutions to questions. The purpose of education today is to teach these people how to use the technology in question, to access the knowledge of the past present and future. The purpose is to prepare students for their future, which will include technology whether you like it or not.

Another argument against the advancement of technology is the observation that students are not able to carryout a complete linear thought process due to the access of instant gratification education, says James Paul Gee of ASU. Mark Prensky claims that the content of learning should remain but there need to be new ways of teaching; the nouns such as a chalkboard vs. a SmartBoard may change, but the meat is the same. We may lose some aspects attention span and concentration in the process, but that is the price of gain.

So…

How do we accomplish this? How do we balance the development of new technology and methods with the content that precedes legacy? As educators in a world that has sped up while education hasn’t, how can we find effective uses of technology to enhance instruction and student achievements, engaging them in cross-curricular, career and college preparatory activities and projects that provide our students with purpose?

Digital Natives vs. Digital Immigrants

2010-04-26T18:00:00.000-07:00

Having grown up in the in between space of the Digital Immigrants and the Digital Natives, I have advantages and disadvantages to be able to teach the future generations of students. While I have a pretty adapt knowledge of the Internet, gaming, social networking, software, and can use my cell phone to do just about anything my computer could, I am still light years behind my students. The entire reason that I chose to go through with the EdTech MA at APU was just that. I want to keep up and find ways to engage my students that seem to have the limited attention span that everyone in education is talking about.

I graduated from high school only seven years ago, just about when Marc Prensky was composing his writings Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants (DN,DI), parts one and two. Looking back, I had a combination of teachers; some which rose to the tech challenge, and some that did not. I am fortunate that I substitute at my high school and am able to see the progress that has been made. Not much. Not that there are not attempts, the school purchased 9 Promethean SmartBoards with a grant, but they cannot afford to train teachers to use them or afford the upkeep to replace projector bulbs and update software. In the small attempts made to create trainings, no one shows up. Why? Because they cannot afford to take time to learn this new material when they are struggling to stay afloat in the flurry of standardized testing. The new teachers with the energy and passion to teach themselves this information in order teach their Digital Native students more effectively are fighting for their jobs or are unemployed.

Ok with that said, onto the issue of these Digital Natives and how we should teach them. In Part 1 of DN,DI, Prensky states that “today’s students think and process information fundamentally differently from their predecessors.” And quoting Dr. Bruce D. Perry, Prensky says, “Different kinds of experiences lead to different brain structures.” That statement alone is inarguable to me. The idea that students learn differently now and education will continue to evolve is as black and white as the idea that technology has advanced over the last 200 years. We function different than we used to and therefore need to learn to function differently. “Digital Immigrants don’t believe their students can learn successfully learn while watching TV or listening to music, because they (the Immigrants) can’t.” Why should education be the only industry in the world exempt from technological advances, just because those working now did not “grow up” with technology? When in fact, they DID grow up with technology; it was just different than video games, texting, the Internet and recordable television. We need to cater to the capabilities of our students, not ourselves. The invention of the pencil or the slide-rule, were technologies of their times, and schools adapted to using them. We type assignments now thanks to the introduction of the typewriter way back when, because of its efficiency and ease. However, learning how to type was a process that took time, effort and the drive to advance, for both the students and the teachers. Part 2 of DN, DI states,

“Digital Native accustomed to the twitch-speed, multi-tasking, random-access, graphics-first, active, connected, fun, fantasy, quick-payoff world of their video games, MTV, and the Internet are bored by most of today’s education, well meaning as it may be. But worse, the many skills that new technologies have actually enhanced (e.g., parallel processing, graphics awareness, and random access)—which have profound implications for their learning—are almost totally ignored by educators.”

I guess what I do not understand about the technology struggle today, is WHY NOT? Why wouldn’t we want to create an environment that has proven to increase comprehension, skill level and educational capability? Technology is ever evolving and is going to continue to change and advance, with generations after generations that will be the new Natives to the new technologies. With learners so different today, and so different tomorrow, the balance of the “legacy” content (writing, reading, arithmetic, logical thinking, understanding the writings and ideas of the past, etc—all of the traditional curriculum) and the “future” content (digital and technological—software, hardware, robotics, nanotechnology, genomics, ethics, politics, sociology, languages) is the crucial element to make education current, productive and successful. If we need to use video games to make that happen, so be it, and teachers should be eager to oblige if it gets across the important stuff.

the parents

2010-01-24T19:55:00.000-08:00

The parents of our little lovelies play a huge role in just how lovely they really are. In a classroom where some parents do not even know what classes their son or daughter is enrolled in to the poor students whose parents walk them to each of theses classes, it is difficult to determine what to expect from parents. My students with the "it's just art" attitude usually do not have the parental support for succeeding in all classes including art. I have actually participated in the behavioral problem phone-call home and received this in an earful. Given that art is an elective, do the students accountability to be respectful and teachable go out the window? I think not. This parent did not understand by little Billy couldn't just draw all period and get an A. It's a CLASS!! And, a college prep one at that! He, just like the rest of the class needs to participate in all parts of the academia, not just what they deem necessary. On the brighter side, parents can be an amazing resource for the students and for the teachers. Making sure that their child is prepared everyday is a start, and makes a huge difference, especially in the art classroom, where unfortunately students must provide some of their own materials. Parents that ensure these materials are available on time, usually are the ones that encourage their students to take every class seriously and for all its worth! There is so much more to say about parents, both positive and negative... I will try to touch on their effect on the kids as much as possible.

the dreaded phone call home..

2010-01-20T20:24:00.000-08:00

First, I want to apologize to my readers. I feel like I mostly am ranting in this blog. I really am very happy as a teacher, but am responding to prompts sometimes from my school. They all seem to have a negative connotation though :( Again this week is about Rick. I have decided that we are now playing a game. Who can frustrate the other more, he or I? I am really, very upset by this fact, given that I still see a little bit of myslef in him. He's back in class, attitude and all. Finally at my wits end, Mom and Dad were called. After hours of phone tag, I finally reached Mom...to be cont...

1/2 failing...

2010-01-17T12:44:00.000-08:00

No one in my class is actually failing, but I really feel that they could be succeeding more. I just don't think that they "get it." This is by no fault of theirs, I am just still learning how to convey the lesson with meaningful instruction, useful demonstrations and practical application. It's not everyone, but enough to make me worry and second-guess myself. I guess I do not have an actual solution to this problem, but rather an action plan. I will continue to search for ways to engage my little lovelies, hopefully inspiring them to allow information to penetrate their brains. I thought I was stepping out of the box, but I guess I need to leap out of it!

what if?

2010-01-16T20:17:00.000-08:00

Rick has just stopped coming to school. I really do think that he hates me. :( What else can I do? I told him that I would like to "start over." He didn't care. He proceeded to ask the other art teacher if she had space in her sculpture class next semester right in front of me. My heart sank. Am I really that bad? Have I really made his semester so miserable that he feels he needs to switch out? I am still trying to find out exactly what it is that I did to make him feel this way. The only conclusion that I can come up with is that he was expecting an easy class that he has taken twice before, and I switched it up on him... which is hardly reason for the kind of disgust and disrespect that he displays daily. Still, it makes me sad that I have failed him at all. The idea of loosing even one student feels like fell short of my obligation as an educator. I am supposed to be the one to engage him no matter what, that little thing called "differentiation of instruction." My other students see his public displays of frustration and they know that he is the one out of line, but I still cannot let it go. I have failed...I am the worst teacher ever :(

manners? what happened to them?

2010-01-14T00:00:00.000-08:00

Is there no etiquette anymore? Seriously, what happened to some of these kids? They are great kids, really they are, but they have atrocious manners! Since when is it appropriate to talk when someone else is talking? Turn-taking? Yeah, right...me first, me first, me, first! Snacking in art class went from munching on cheese-its to preparing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches while simultaneously crinkling paper bags as much and as loud as possible during lecture. See the pattern? I am eliminating this horrendous pattern once and for all. Today my art students will be in charm school...

creative? or just getting by?

2010-01-09T13:14:00.000-08:00

Given that I teach art, one would think that all my students' assignments require creativity and individuality. In a perfect world this would be the case. However, some of the time I feel that my students are seeing how they can skate by faking creativity and individuality. Some students have mastered the art of pretending to be creative. So, I think to myself, "this is bad, right?" Is it though? Is it so bad to make up creativity? Or, is that just the point? I encourage creativity and individuality as much as humanly possible, but I plague myself with the question of what creativity and individuality really is... Someone once asked, "Does art imitate life, or does life imitate art?" Do I allow my students "fake" creativity by imitating what they have seen around them, given that they ARE problem solving, or do I expect so-called original ideas? Now, with that asked, do I myself even have these original ideas, of which I am expecting my students to produce?

see-saw of success

2010-01-07T23:25:00.000-08:00

Success is an interesting concept. I never could have imagined how much the definition of success would change according to those who gain it. What is successful in one class may be failure in another. I guess that's not such a foreign concept, just one that I have yet to experience, but encounter frequently now from the position I hold. How do I tell if my assignments are successful? How do I tell if my students are learning? It just changes so much from class to class that I found myself running around in circles trying to figure out just this! So, so far this is what I have got; success is a see-saw. The harder I work to life my students the higher they fly, thus springing me to success on the other side as well. Sounds pretty cut and dry, eh? Not so much :( But, at the very least, I can determine if a particular lesson was successful due to the assortment of frazzled look's on my students' faces. At that point, I either do mental somersaults and backflips for joy or I run screaming into the streets. It's a tossup!

happy belated new year...

2010-01-07T01:08:00.000-08:00

So, I am still catching up to life after being in the mountains relaxing and trying to not "internalize" my stress... just what the doctor ordered. It was amazing holiday season surrounded by all my favorite people, with all the sweet goodies in which I could indulge at the tips of my fingers, anytime. Sadly to say, it had come to an end... back to reality. I kinda missed my little rugrats :)
After walking away for two weeks, I analyzed some situations, gained some perspective and re-energized for my last month of student teaching. I can't believe I am almost finished... So, here goes. The students are in the middle of an interior design project that is supposed to bring together most of the skills and processes that they have learned thus far, as well as introduce a practical means for art, for those skeptical of its existence, of course. So far, so good. Then Rick decides to cop an attitude...again. It is so crazy to me how the "problem areas" of the other classes rotate and this one particular student remains constant. He hates me. I have an idea of why; because I make him do work. He has taken the class multiple times and thinks he knows how it should be run and that he can teach it. Why he has chosen to take art 3 times when he doesn't seem to have any particular interest in the subject, behooves me. I am assuming he thought he could take it again and expect an easy A. Sorry buddy, I run my class differently. You will think and produce work in my class. You will respect yourself, myself, the classroom in its entirety, including supplies, as well as your peer students. Rick does none of this. There have been student conferences, parent conferences, detentions, etc. Nothing. Nada. Ziltch. No go. Nothing gets to this kid. Today he received his first red card, coincidentally the first red card to be distributed by me. He cannot enter back into my class with our a conference with an administrator and a parent's John Hancock. He gave me some lip, asked if I "really wanted to do this to him," and proceeded to give the lamest attempt at talking me out of my decision. Word to the wise, you have to be nice, even if it means kissing up a bit, in order for people to show mercy upon you. Arguing and insulting my teaching is not, may I repeat not, the best way to accomplish this. He left the room and I cried. He's just a kid, and my heart breaks to do that, even if he was acting like jerk. What if? What if there is something that I don't know. What if there are no role models at home to teach him respect in the first place? What if I was the straw that broke the camels back and he goes home to a knuckle sandwich? All these questions are still running through my mind, even as I right this. I am scared. He must really hate me now :( I hope not. I really hope he respects me going through with my word. I like Rick. I see a little bit of myself in him, may I repeat a little bit. He has such a positive energy when he wants to... How do I get that back?

i yelled today :(

2009-12-17T18:27:00.000-08:00

I yelled a lot. I felt so bad afterword, I almost cried. I hate having to raise my voice solely to get my students to take me seriously. I know that I am so new to this process, but do students really want to work? Do they ever just do what they are instructed and freely participate? They are working on a project that I think is crazy fun, but apparently they do not feel the same way. Do all teachers struggle with finding educational and enjoyable ways fro students to learn. Fortunately, I do not have "the test" to teach to, but I do have standards to uphold. How do I sail here, and get all my students on board too?

Sharing is Caring!

2009-12-11T00:17:00.000-08:00

So, today I pretty much peeled my students off of the ceiling. I don't know what their other teachers fed them today, but whatever it was it was filled with sugar and caffeine. Chatty, chatty, chatty! I was so excited to introduce the next project, but I couldn't get their attention to save my life. The unit that we are moving into is a collaborative group project on Interior Design using the Elements of Art and Principles of Design. Although I encourage social interaction and working together in all their art-making to a certain extent, this project focuses on working together for a common goal. They are to work together to design a room for prospective clients. Hopefully they will gain sense of responsibility and accountability. They will have to depend on each other to complete the assignment, as their individual grade will reflect how they worked as a group. I will be choosing the groups, so the students will have to step out of their comfort zone for a bit in order to make the most of this collaborative project. Announcing this fact went a little differently than planned... they actually were ok with the fact that I am choosing the groups! OMG! i was expected ten minutes of justifying why they are not allowed to form their own. Cheers to that! I really think in the long run they will benefit much more from me strategically selecting who will work with who. I will be able to place struggling students with those that usually are high achievers, hopefully ensuring success for all. Wish me luck!

Again, this was supposed to be up last week... Week 3...

2009-12-09T10:07:00.000-08:00

... I just love formatting this thing! LATE students! Ah, what do I do with them? Well a quick overview of what is happening is necessary here. One Period has the idea that my class is unimportant and they waltz in up to ten minutes late. One student came to me in a moment of weakness stating that their class was "like so far away." In this moment of weakness, I replied, "Ok, Joey, Just hurry please. You better come in huffing and puffing like you RAN here!" This worked for about a week. He is back taking his sweet time, paying no regard that he disrupts the entire class when he noisily comes in ten minutes late. I have to repeat my directions to him after the rest of the class has started working. (I have tried not telling him, telling him to "figure it out," but then he does nothing. I would rather repeat myself than have him do nothing.) I have called off our deal. I informed Joey that I now mark him tardy every time he arrives after the bell. Again, this worked for about a week, and since that week Joey has established followers. Im stuck. I had other behavior problems with this students that have since become better, but I am afraid if I reprimand him too much for being tardy that I will lose the greater battle. I do not want to be "afraid" of my students or have to "pick my battles," but I feel that I have to at this point. I have ignored his tardiness on occasion and have focused on the greater battle of getting him to produce work in class. However, the lateness is getting worse...it is time for action. I have thought about comparing the classroom to a conference room; we cannot start the meeting without one of our committee members, therefore we all need to hold the meeting a bit longer when we start late. I do not want to punish the entire class, but he obviously does not respond to personal discipline. Maybe if the class holds him accountable, he may not want to let EVERYONE down. The students have lunch, so this will not interfere with any other class time. Just a thought. We'll see how this week goes...

This was supposed to be posted 2 weeks ago... Week 2...

2009-12-09T09:50:00.000-08:00

...but i was to consumed with putting the fishys on my blog. Why, I am not sure. Anyhoo, getting back to real life, do I have a set of rules in my classroom. The answer is Yes! Whether they are followed is a different story. I would love to say that all of my students are little angels; courteous, respectful to those around them, and always on task. Ha! Who am I kidding? They are kids! They have it running through their veins to break the rules and push the limits. I can deal with this to a certain extent, but I do draw the line at RESPECT. That is the ultimate rule in my classroom. Students were given a conduct contract at the beginning of the semester that they and their guardians were to sign. The rules are also posted to ensure daily absorption of the expectations. However, if I could go back in time I would have had my students write the contract! A sense of accountability would come with actually scripting the contract, furthering their responsibility to adhere to its conditions. I have thought about doing this now, mid-semester, but as a new teacher I feel like I just need to stick out what I have started in order to support consistency. Is this naive of me? Should I switch it up on them? MOST students do not have a problem behaving appropriately in class, but I worry that I am losing those that do not. And though they are in high school and really have no reason not to know how to behave and what is expected of them, in some cases my heart goes out to those who do not. For whatever reason, some students just do not know. Who really does not know and who is just paying me? There in lies my problems with authority. I am still struggling with establishing proper discipline without "feeling bad" about it.