I think we all loathe seeing and hearing ourselves in video!
Yet, your response is very honest and observant. I was reading your account,
thinking “sounds good, me too,” and then I got to the part where you mention
only having students for 30 minutes twice a week. I’ve only ever had that
little amount of time and it was with kindergarten. Oh my goodness! By the time
they are seated, and you’ve conducted VTS, and instruction / discussion is
there any time at all left over for students to work? It would make me feel
very frustrated and rushed I am certain. Is your administration supportive of
the arts? Would they be able to change or modify your schedule for next year?
There’s a lot of research which clearly defines the amount of time it takes for
the brain to focus and refocus. Sheesh, your sarcasm might stem from the fact
that you have to teach in such short chunks of time!
What are you required to assess? As I have complained time
and time again, my assessments are all skill based. I don’t document it, but
just walking around the room, viewing work in progress gives me a good idea of
how well they are retaining the technical stuff. You mention that you use a lot
of VTS. That’s where I see the most evidence of what I consider the juicy stuff…critical
thought, collaboration, flexible thinking, evidential reasoning. In my opinion,
written tests fall short when it comes to measuring the things that the arts
teach. If I remember correctly, this is your second year of teaching. Your
lesson sounds interesting and engaging. My advice would be to b-r-e-a-t-h-e,
relax, and enjoy your kiddos - both you and they deserve as much.
PS I have always hated teaching positive and negative space
too, it’s super confusing!
My reflectionOne year, three or four years into teaching, I had kindergarten for 25 minutes at a time and, as if that wasn't bad enough, I had a class and a half of them at once. It frustrated me to no end. Every time they came to my room it was just crowd control, I accomplished very little in the way of teaching. I complained long and loud to my administrator, but it was only when I got the 36th student and had not one single amount of space to squeeze another student in, that the schedule was changed. I would hate being an administrator, hate having to figure out scheduling which best accommodates everyone and is most conducive to learning, I think it would be a very difficult job. I like to give them the benefit of a doubt, but sometimes such as in Adair's case, it seems as though specials teachers are sometimes regarded as highly paid babysitters. It sends out a clear message to the building and has the potential to seriously impact school climate. It's difficult to want to collaborate when you feel like you are the stepchild of the building. Of course, I am making a lot of assumptions here, and for Adair and her student's benefit, I seriously hope that I am wrong!
Thinking back over my past few weeks and my stress and struggle to work all of the extra stuff in, I think I would do well to practice my own advice to breathe, relax, and enjoy. It's easy to get so caught up in all of the extra stuff, that you lose sight of the big picture.
Katie,
Is your administration aware that students are being withheld from class by the classroom teacher? According to DESE " Each elementary student will receive instruction in art, music, and physical education for a minimum of 50 minutes in each area each week." It doesn't bother me if a teacher needs a student to complete a test once in awhile, but sometimes if you give them an inch, they will take a mile. Last year I had a first year teacher who was always keeping back students, or worse, keeping them long enough so that they missed the instructional part of my lesson. I went to my administrator and he was the one who brought up the DESE requirement. Something to think about. It's a clear case of an educational system that values, as Sir Ken points out, one type of intelligence.
My reflection
I should point out that before going to my administrator,
I first tried approaching the teacher, to no avail. Additionally, the same
administrator, when pointed out that I was teaching more than the DESE limit of
750 students per week told me that it was out of his hands. If I recall
correctly, it had something to do with the state not fully funding CSIP
(Comprehensive School Improvement Plan).
I seem to be on a theme this week, but with MU suspending
the undergraduate art ed program, this blatant devaluing of the arts is like
having a sore spot in your mouth where you just keep sticking your tongue and
every time you do, OUCH, it still
hurts! It’s something I have struggled with for years. It’s always seemed to be
a huge uphill battle to prove the importance of the visual arts. As I said in
my post this week, “We have the potential be an expert representation of the
way 21st Century education could
and should look!” How do we best demonstrate that to the rest of the
educational world before it’s too late? On a side note, how do we eliminate or
change the deadweight amongst our profession who are dragging us down? We can
no longer justify, as if we ever could, cookie cutter art…another story for
another day.
Wow, I didn't realize I could really fight this. I'm afraid to anger anyone. It's not the classroom teacher; it's the special services teacher, and I already get the impression that she's not a big fan of me. I talked to her about it by explaining that this student gets frustrated when he is always behind in art. Things have gotten better, but she still sends him late quite often. She claims that during art is the only time she can take him because of library. I understand she is helping him catch up in all the other subjects, but he misses needed instruction. In addition, he has less time to work on his projects; he already works very slowly. Also, many other teachers often send their students to me late because they are finishing up work. These students are not late enough to be neglected from their 50 minutes a week, but it is a huge inconvenience to have them miss instruction. The teachers don't even tell me they have students coming in late. I would rather have them leave a little early if it's needed. Do you have any suggestions on how I can advocate for my instructional time without angering the other teachers? Thanks for the help!
ReplyDeleteKatie,
DeleteTo the best of my knowledge, students don't have a minimum number of hours for library. I'll check with my library media specialist friends. If a student has an IEP, the special services teacher is probably trying to meet the time requirements for her students, but this should not come at the expense of their time in your class. I would say that it likely depends on the support of your administration. When teachers send students to you late it is extremely disrespectful of your time. They would be furious if they had to repeat their instruction over and over due to students trickling in late from art! If a teacher asks me for extra time with a student I usually say that I would be happy to release them a little early and I mention the fact that the beginning of class is when I instruct. I know you don't want to anger anyone, I taught my entire first year with no lunch break. I had an office duty and was expected to eat at the secretary's desk. The music and gym teacher had the entire hour and a half as an extra plan period and there I was every single day, afraid to advocate for the chance to eat! If you have a mentor teacher I would talk to them first. Then, if you have a supportive administration, explain the situation to them. I'm going to think about it some more and maybe I can come up with something better, or maybe one of our other classmates has an idea.