Reflecting on Relection to Katie

One of my favorites painting ever created in my room. That's me in the blue dress and my student is the "Giant heart, because I love art so much."

I think it takes an elementary art teacher to know an elementary art teacher. While I'm sure that every level of teaching has it's own special challenges, those of us at the elementary level deal with six different grade levels to plan and prep for, we struggle to learn, not only the names of hundreds of students, but we try to establish a personal relationship as well. Word come out of our mouths that we never dreamed we'd say to another human being. (Please remove: your hands from your pants, your finger from your nose, the paper you are chewing from your mouth. Etcetera ad nauseum.) I wouldn't have it any other way though, there's just something about elementary kids that make it worth your while.

You asked for suggestions on ways to effectively use group time more often. I'm not sure how long you have been in the program, or how much you know about Visual Thinking Strategies, but I frequently use VTS to launch new content. The format of VTS reinforces appropriate and respectful group behavior. It facilitates flexible thinking and can give the teacher a quick snapshot in terms of who knows what. Over time, I think it contributes to the formation of the classroom community. If you haven't yet taken the VTS classes, you might want to check into it. :-)

As far as managing movement without it getting out of control, I wish I had a magic answer. I think it's something that you work on continually and that no two groups of students are going to respond the same to any situation. I have long maintained that you can tell a great deal about the classroom management in the regular classroom from the behavior of the children at specials.

I can identify with the problems you describe at the end of your post, our job is not an easy one! Even with many years of experience I struggle with some of the same issues. Hang in there, it does get easier and it sounds like to me that you are already doing a WONDERFUL job.

Reflection
My district employs a total of eleven art teachers. Every few years the opportunity arises that I could move to a different elementary building or different grade level. I have spent quite a bit of time contemplating the challenges and growth potential of a change. I always come to the conclusion that I'll stay where I am. The bottom line is, I enjoy, as Parker Palmer describes, working with the blank slate. I have no aspirations to fill that slate, I want, instead, to instill in my students the tools to deflect their slate being filled by others...especially when it comes to art.

I mentioned Visual Thinking Strategies to Katie. As I assessed myself on Marzano's growth goals, VTS kept coming to mind. Looking back over those goals, VTS has the potential to put a lot of level 4 checks into the boxes: rules and procedures, interaction with new knowledge, practicing and deepening understanding of new knowledge, generating and testing hypotheses about new knowledge, establishing and maintaining student relationships, and communication of high expectations. It's all there, and it's all done with the blank slate in mind. Want more info, check out http://vtshome.org/.