Middle School

Today was supposed to be my first day of daily Middle School classes, I came to school prepped and ready! Armed with my short list of classroom rules and plenty of energy to pumped these bored kids up. As I am setting out the materials for out first task in walks my boss, J, asking me to instead head to their classroom and help the sub with the math class (apparently neither J or the sub are very good at Pre-Algebra...odd!). So in I walk trying to switch sides of my brain and awaken the knowledge I had so desperately shoved away for fear of a return of the dreaded MATH CLASS FROM HELL...(yes, probably the reason I went into the arts). Well turns out I remember even less then I thoughts. HA. Oops. Thank goodness for the teacher's book. After a moment or two I managed to figure out how to add fractions again....actually not that difficult if you have the answers in front of you.

The best part of doing this was when I walked in and introduced myself, and told them that we would be starting an art class, not next year, but this week, they all perked up! Holy crap another class that actually likes to do art, I am way spoiled here! They are also a little less bold in their misbehaving, which will be a nice break from the mean high schoolers and the screaming lower schoolers.

I wish that the school hadn't put students in my art class who don't want to be there. It really does nothing productive for anyone (well maybe the teachers who are getting a break from them). But seriously they don't work, which makes more work for me, less time on the kids who actually want help, and they are just going to get crappy grades which won't help them graduate (which is why i think some of them are in the class...just for the credits), so they'll just be here for longer, causing trouble because they are bored, angry and stupid. I think it's a dumb idea all around. Arg!

All that being said, my classroom is getting filled with some really cool art work! Something is happening that is working. GO ME!!

just little guys

I had my first elementary school class today, 11 1-3rd graders......there is only one class, i'm not sure where the other grades went but I don't have them!

It was surprisingly fun. They are so easily entertained it's great! AND they actually like art! Wait, hold the phone, I have a class full of people who enjoy what I teach?! I'm not sure how to handle this. Sadly I only have them once a week....hmmm, maybe I could just swap the high schoolers for them?!?!?! Interesting idea, I don't think anyone would notice, right?! They're only 2 feet shorter, that's not much. I mean they listen, quiet down when I ask, and laugh because they are having fun not because someone just got insulted!! I think maybe high schoolers should be locked up in their own space for a few years while we pipe in things to make them grow up to be good, interesting members of society. None of this leaving them to their own devises and hoping....that's just dangerous!

Anyway I think I am going to have a blast with these kids, they are at a point where their creative minds haven't been completely shut down by society, there's still time to pull some fun things out of them!

cut it out.

How do you stop high school students from being mean to each other? I have these two kids who seem to be always at each other(we'll call them C and J), J,the younger one, getting the brunt of the insults. I feel bad for him, but he really is asking for it. J just always bugs the shit out of C and J tells him this without any thoughts of his feelings. The odd thing is despite J looking hurt he doesn't move or sit somewhere else. I tried putting people in assigned seats but somehow the insults and whispers still get to J. And that actually is the problem. These kids have no sense of how even joking about insulting someone is hurtful. Finally today I made all be quite and tried to put and end to it. No more jokin with insults! I don't want the easy-going nature of the class to become an unhappy place. Just because there are very few rules and talking is aloud that doesn't mean you can be mean to people. I don't think they took it in though....in one ear and out the other, or in some cases straight over the head missing the ears completly. Do you have to deposite your ears before entering this school? I mean for serious, get a grip kids.

After my class I told mom that I would take her class if she was late (she went to the dentist to have her mouth ripped apart). Turns out she was 2 whole classes late, leaving me with high schoolers for 2 hours longer then I like. Although I have to say substituting is so much better then actually having to teach something. I think I even got to the point where C is no longer mad at me, we actually have some things in common. So, not a total waste of a class period. And i discovered that not all the kids are as dumb as the ones in my art class....some actually have some interesting things to say and write with some skill. I mean not a huge number, but it gave me hope for the minds of tomorrow.

OH and tomorrow I get my first lower school class!!! ooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhh shhiiiiiiiiiiiiittttttttttttttttttt someone save me please. what do i do with them....finger painting?! but then there's clean up.

new week, same thing...?!

It's a brand new week, and I'm gearing up to face the kids again. Last week ended on kind of a nice note. We worked on the same still life all week, using 3 different mediums and surprisingly we got a nice little series from everyone. Now let me not get ahead of myself, some people took this much less serious then others, but from two or three of them I got some interesting art (there's my favorite overused Bennington word, every gosh darn thing was interesting at Bennington), and one even asked for my help in! He asked how his picture was and when I said, "hmm, that looks very nice." he said "NO. I don't want the nice answer, really tell me what you think.".....
WOW, pretty cool kid, way to be interested! Now, his picture was actually one of the best, but he asked for my thoughts and so I told him. We had a really nice conversation about how to use watercolor paint, and some helpful tips that I picked up last weekend....(seeing as watercolors have scared me since high school and i haven't used them since then I had to do a little last minute relearning. But to tell you the truth I really like them!). After we talked and I had shown him some examples of how to use the paints I had him try and he improved!! His work took a step away from where he started! I taught someone something they wanted to learn!!
Oh, look, our little Ms. Mollie is all growed up and teaching kids stuff!

SO! Let's hope this week is as productive as last week, I would say more but I don't want to push it....besides I think I am getting the Middle school class this week which means learn a whole new bunch of kids and that's SCARY AS SHIT!!!! Wish me luck!

Snow Day

Do you remember the days when your parent would come into your room and whisper, "there's no school today, you don't have to get up." and then you would have no choice but to get up and do something?! Snow days in elementary school were such a cool time, the one day you didn't have to drag yourself out of bed and face the freezing world, that was all you wanted to do. There were forts to be built, books to be read, snow to be played in, couches to be sat on. I think sometimes I didn't have anything really that I wanted to do, I just didn't want to miss an opportunity to do something other then be in school.
High school though, WHOLE different story. The minute I knew there wasn't school my face was back in my pillows. SLEEPING THE DAY AWAY!!! It would be nice to have the feeling of excitement of a whole day to do just whatever I want.
All of this comes from the fact that we have a snow day today! we got a whopping 2, inches of snow. Yes, hold the presses, stop the trains, alert the president, i repeat
TWO INCHES OF SNOW HAVE FALLEN IN THE NIGHT.
Do not be alarmed, do not panic, all will be well as long as you stay indoors, it will melt away soon, and life will return to normal.

I don't know, the South is crazy. It's just a little snow, really not even enough for a snowman or snowball fight, people really don't even have to shovel their driveways because once the sun hits it the snow melts away. Crazies!

high point of high school!

I remembered one of the perks of high school (well school in general)...SPRING BREAK! And not the Miami, Cancun crazy topless spring break (that would just result in a very uncomfortable burn), but a lovely, possibly chilly Vermont holiday! Yes I will be temporary leaving the South and heading North! I Cannot flipppin' wait!
Yeah, I know it's more then a month away, but really it's nice to have something to look forward to.

.....I wonder if I get paid for that week?! it's not like I have a choice to take that week off....hmmmmm, that could be really nice.

A full week of the wonderful Berkshires and southern Vermont and all that inhabit the area. No students to teach how to hold a pencil, no phones to answer in a calming "spa voice" while silently cringing, just sweet and lovely Vermont air to breath and gin & tonics to be ordered (attn: Mr. Auld).
But for now I must come up with art projects daily to keep these little buggers entertained and from revolting.

half days

Today was a half day, an 11am release, which normally would be cause for jumps of joy, plans with friends, lunch date outside the hideous cafeteria involving something more then a bagel and an iceburg salad. in a word lovely! Now that I am a teacher it means my class starts not at the reasonably timed 10:40 or 11:30, but 8AM! Do you know what that means?! That means getting up before the sun, before the birds and with the rest of the adult population. It means the usually high functioning students (HA) are still waking up and slightly less willing to glue shit together (take your teenage mornings and multiply the laziness by 10, add 1,000,000, divide by 2, add 1,000 and you are half way there).

All I can say is i was done by 9am and could go home....unlike the real teachers who had to stay for four hours of meetings, no thank you. If you want me in a meeting for that long there had better be some Pino Grigo and some damn good artichoke dip (extra dip and bread)! I'm serious, Kathy and I came up with some of our best ideas on the patio at the Freight Yard Pub. We didn't always remember them, and the ones we did maybe we would have been saner if we didn't. But DAMN we were just the most committed and creative partners, some days we'd be there till all hours of the night, working the whole time of course... And we did some pretty cool shit because of those meetings!
tangent over.... just thankful I'm not having to attend the uber boring meeting today (sorry Mom!)

oh, and we're almost all done with the sketch books. every day a new person finishes, although I am finding myself doing a lot of demonstrations on students book.
I'm not sure if they really don't get it, or if there weren't taught how to watch, listen and learn all in the same moment....maybe just one of those?! Whatever it is, some of these kids are like bricks dressed as high schoolers (a little harsh, yes maybe, but, wejfoeirhjfwerhjgsdfkjhbdfa). 'Yes I know the glue for the next step isn't in front of you, and the supply shelf is a whole 4 feet away, and goodness if you aren't so warn out from playing video games all night, oh please, let me just grab that for you, would you like me to feed you doughnuts too?!?!' AHHHHHHHHHHH, HOW THE FREAK DO YOU EXPECT TO FINISH ANYTHING IF YOU JUST SIT THERE AND DO NOTHING?!?!??!?!?!!?!!! ARRRRRGGGGGGG!

All right I feel better, off to my other job with it's own set of frustrating attributes! wish me luck!

maybe it's working?!

I think that I have figured it out. The last few days the students have been at very different points in their projects (very different points), and so when one finished I would just have them move on to something else. Makes sense right?! It Worked! I mean some kids are really behind, but it's art you can't confine them...right?! Really when it comes down to it there isn't any point in holding back kids who actually get work done, not half bad work either, because there are a few slow as molasses students. It's not as if those few even want to be in the class, it's true, I think they just had nowhere else to put them so the school thought "ART CLASS! Indeed, the best place to put apathetic students who have no interest or background in art! PERFECT!"

Anywho, having people at different stages and even different projects gives me more time, surprisingly, to move around and help them. I even had a student, all on his own mind you, help another student who was having trouble! they weren't even sitting next to each other! he got out of his seat walked around the table and helped another student! HOLY SHIT!!!

now I just have to figure out more projects for them to do. ah well, I guess I'll do my job!