Week 10 Loving the Questions

Contemporary pedagogy does little to foster, much less nurture, natural human curiosity. Social conditioning, to some degree, tends to discourage an innate desire for knowledge. However, it is through the process of asking the right questions that learning becomes personal and therefore meaningful.

Six Explorations designed to cultivate “question-based learning.” (p 62)
Questions to Create Community:
Collaborative questioning which leads to the development of group identity.

Observation as the Foundation for Questions - Spending sustained time engaged in mindful observation of one’s environment, noting any and all questions that might arise and then analyzing and critiquing the questions. This process hones the ability to ask quality questions.

The Power of Why / AKA - the Annoying Child practice (p 66) - The simple practice of continually asking why leads to introspection and is a valuable means to uncover the thinking behind one’s thinking.

Using Questions to Promote Critical Thinking - Explores Plus - Minus - Interesting Points questioning. This form of questioning invites participants to suspend all judgment in thoughtful consideration of all aspects of a question.

Lectio Divina: Using Questions in the Context of Contemplation - The process of deeply and openly contemplating the innermost working and feelings of the mind with the idea that everything has a lesson to teach.

Going Public With Questions: Strategic Questioning - Involves the process of inviting participants to answer deliberate and open questions and carefully and openly listening to the response. This type of questioning promotes listening skills in the questioner, and leads the respondent to a deeper understanding of themselves.

The author concludes with the notion that all students are inherently filled with a vast wealth of significant questions. When educators truly value and invite those questions, students are free to become the facilitators of their own learning.

My Reflection
This chapter is deep beyond measure. I feel as though I could read it over and over, uncovering new and momentous meaning each time. During the course of summary, I could not help but notice that each of the six explorations requires attentiveness, contemplation, openness, and a true desire to explore the thinking behind the thinking. On paper, or in this case, in the blogosphere, those sound simple enough, but in actuality, doesn’t social conditioning propagate numbness, blindness, and a fear to even acknowledge that thinking behind thinking exists? It’s scary what thoughts might be lurking around inside little heads and oh-so-much easier to turn to a canned curriculum than to invite true thinking and true exploration.

“Questions are catalyst for learning; they provoke movement; they yield change.”(p75) I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, proponents of 21^st Century Learning call for change, but school policies and standardized testing doesn’t readily facilitate the process. Makes me wonder what questions I need to be asking and to whom I should be listening…or, is the answer already there and I’m too afraid to see it?

Pre thinking on lesson with “Why questioning”

Rough Lesson Plan
How do images influence our views of the world? Students will consider the ways that images have the power to influence thought. The first activity will be a VTS discussion of the Jenny Holzer piece, Protect Me From What I Want. I have selected the pre-thinking for this image selection / lesson for my self-interview why questioning. The unit would further explore a variety of images such as advertising, public service announcements, propaganda, and pop culture. It could include art making designed to influence thought / evoke specific emotion.

Question the teacher
Amy,
  I have no real burning questions to ask you, but over the course of time I have come to recognize you as an expert questioner. How did this book influence your questioning expertise? What other influences would you credit with developing your inquisitive genius?

Reflecting on Reflections Week 9

Beth,

Your historical social restrictions comments made me laugh. I clearly recall the list of restrictions that my advanced methods teacher gave us right before student teaching, 100 million years ago. He stood before the class and delivered this sage advice:     

      Join a church immediately.           

      Never step foot into an establishment that sells liquor, be seen purchasing alcohol, or with a drink in your hand.           

      Never, ever, should an unmarried female, allow the vehicle belonging to a male, remain parked at your home for any extended amount of time, and most especially overnight!

Fast-forward to the future, and it seems that many of these restrictions are still in place, though perhaps not as overtly as before. I don’t worry that I jeopardize my job, but I still cringe whenever I run into parents, students, or school board members at Wal-Mart, and I have a cart full of booze!  I wonder how my own perceptions perpetuate social restrictions. 
Reflection

The more I read of this book, the greater my interest in social conditioning, perceptions, and social structure overall. Sometimes I become so overwhelmed by the day-to-day demands on my life / time that I forget to step back and take a look at the big picture. 

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Ginia,

Let me begin by saying that middle school students frighten me! Consequently, I have great admiration for those of you who are brave enough to jump in there and wrangle those little souls amidst their transition from child to young adult! I always enjoy hearing the stories that come from another teacher’s classroom. It really lets you step into that persons shoes, just for a moment. Who knows the profound effect your truth speaking to the child (and her parents) may have on her life in the long run.

 The past few days I’ve had several students profess that they are bad at art, bad at drawing or whatever skill or technique they are working on. I’ve been questioning why they feel that way and assure them that I too struggle with the same skills and techniques. Thanks to you and Beth, I think I’ll work on my self-talk skills!

Reflection

This week more and more of my students have complained that they aren't good at whatever they are working on. I found myself wondering if it was due to the fact that I have been away from the classroom for awhile attending both the state and national conferences. Some students have had subs for as many as four class periods in a row. One of my sweetest little girls told me that the sub kept telling her that she "Wasn't doing the assignment the right way!" and made her begin over and over again. (Grrrr!!! Kinda makes you just want to show movies when you have to be gone!) Then, I also realized that state-wide testing is rapidly approaching and students are taking the practice test and doing other test taking prep in the classroom. I think this generates a lot of anxiety for kids. I want the skills learned in my class to be like a suit of armor, or a layer of Scotchgard...insulation from the negativity!

Week 9 - Teaching as if Life Matters

Developing a Mission Statement 

Researching the how-to's of writing a mission statement, it became clear that conciseness and brevity are key.  Neither of these being my exact strong points, I created a word cloud to analyze as many of my blog posts as I could squeeze in. After filtering out a few common words, here's what stands out the most: for, have, with, students, them, they, you and are. Seems like a good foundation...here's what I have for now:

Facilitating art experiences for students in order that they can both relate to AND find their place in the world.

Cultivating Classroom Kinship – Relationship With the Human Other

 Summary – The perception one holds of themselves as teacher has a direct correlation to their relationship with students. The authors propose that all living things are interrelated, that social conditioning leads to division and perpetuation of viewing oneself as separate and disconnected.  To be very concise, the lens through which the world is viewed critically affects the way one connects and relates to the world. The ability to see this interconnectedness is the first step in transforming not only education, but also the world as a whole.

Consider the word "teacher". This is long, sorry, I started relating to the concept with a story that just kept growing…The earliest memories I have of the word teacher are associated with my aunt. (Who, incidentally, I believe I omitted from my genealogy tree.) My aunt started her career in a one room school house, and progressed to retire from the district I attended, after a career spanning over 40 years. As a child I recall that, unlike my homemaker mother, my aunt dressed in professional attire and had a huge collection of accessories. She spent summers attending classes, and had a glamorous profession in my eyes. I loved, admired, and aspired to be just like her. When I actually started school I remember having a reverence for my teachers. I was so anxious to please them that I was the model student. Through all of my k-12 education I would have to say that there was a distinct separation between "us" and "them". When I became a teacher I was proud to have reached that pinnacle. Naively, I envisioned myself in that revered position, complete with the snappy wardrobe, an abundance of costume jewelry, and many pair of cute, but sensible, shoes. Those things seemed to serve me well during those days of student teaching. However, when it came right down to it, once in the actual trenches, this business of education was a whole lot messier than it ever appeared outside looking in. I think the experience of being a parent prepared me a tremendous more about interacting with children than any of my pre-service experiences.  During the past five to seven years I have heard much talk about the role of teacher changing from that of Sage on the Stage to that of Guide on the Side. The new definition makes sense of me, I don't want to be the Sage, it carries too much responsibility. Instead of reverence, I'd rather be treated with the type of respect you afford your parents… or at least something along those lines. I'd rather be seen as the person who introduces new ideas for consideration, and provides a safe place for the exploration of those ideas. I enjoy being a nurturer. I love the role of being a VTS facilitator, and completely embrace the idea that I can take in the observations of my students and not have to be the all-wise, all knowing "teacher". I learn both from and with my students.

Truth-speak - I believe that truth speaking has evolved as a natural manifestation of my experience in this program. That's not to say that I have completely adopted the practice, there are many times when I just react to the situation, whatever the case may be. I really dislike when students are talking when I am demonstrating a technique, or giving the parameters for a project. Lately I have found myself looking directly at the offending student and telling them that it frustrates me when they talk while I am talking because it makes me feel disrespected, and I worry they won't have time to do their studio work. When I have a student who is having a bad day I usually pull them outside the classroom door and ask them what's going on. Sometimes it's lack of sleep, or worrying about a parent (remember, these are military dependents), frequently, it's about something that happened in the hallway, or in their classroom. For the 'trouble-makers' or those kids from hell, as the author describes, sometimes they are surprised and oftentimes sullen. I just talk to them like I would my own kids, "What's going on, I'm concerned?" They are completely honest and more often than not, one, the other, or both of us end up in tears. I'm pretty sure this is truthspeak!

How has my consciousness about teaching expanded since the start of this course? How does it relate to my goals? Teaching nearly 450 students on a three-day rotation, and having an active role in several different building committees, it is easy to get wrapped up in the process of just getting through the day. Easy to lose sight of the real reason you are there. There were portions of this weeks reading that I had to read repeatedly, and some of it is still a bit “out there” to me. However, when I read, “ What if we viewed each young person as whole, complete, brilliant, - each a manifestation of the love and life force that animates existence?” (p 113) It reminded me that every student is someone’s baby, something I always try to keep in the back of my mind. I think this course has caused me to value that one-on-one relationship with students. I think it makes my goals for changing the district art curriculum from E & P based to one of meaningful making even more important than before. This newly deepened relationship makes me want the best for them even more than before! 

Anything else - Like I mentioned, I found some of this book to be a little "out there", however, I'm pretty open minded. I read this chapter on a layover in major airport. I love the sport of people watching and mentally practiced being at one with the individuals I encountered walking to my gate. I was the man with the handle-bar mustache, the father with the young infant, the obese woman in the wheelchair...I set aside the 'otherness', as best I could. It was a little staggering, and certainly a different way of looking at the world. This book makes want to know more about the power of social conditioning.

Week 8 - Reflection on Responses

Erika,
During one of Juan Carlos Castro's presentations at MAEA Spring Conference he mentioned having to leave his class of AP art kids to sub briefly in an Art I class. Thirty minutes later, when he returned to class, his students were actively engaged in the task he left them with. It was then that he realized that he had realized his goal. So, for a first year teacher, I think your observation is incredibly astute! Although our student populations are very different, I can identify with the sense of urgency you feel. Our time with them is so short and our content is so critical! Well done!!!

My Reflection
As an elementary teacher, I think I hover a little more closely, my fly eyes attuned to the scissor wielding kindergartener, the water cup bearing first grader, or the heart-broken fifth grader. My initial observation of Dr. Kathy Unrath was of how Mother Hen-like she was, how proud she was of her students and how protected they were under her wing. It's a fine line we walk, finding that balance between hovering and helping. It changes from class to class and student to student, day to day and moment by moment. I envy the teachers who get to see their students grow, mature, and make their way into the world.

Afterthought
I posted this in the morning and then this afternoon, a parent of three of my former students who moved away several years ago made this post to my facebook page:
Driving home from Sunday School morning, Rourke all of a sudden started yelling.. "THERE IS MRS LAMME!!!!!!" I hated to break his heart and tell him that you were still in MO. He looked at me and with those eyes of his....he then said " I miss Slamme Lamme"

Reading those words seriously brought ears to my eyes. My students move on at such a rapid pace, and there's always new ones to take their place. It's easy to get so caught up in the turnover that you forget the ways you impact developing lives, even in a short space of time. What a precious reminder! (PS It also made me wonder if I have a doppelgänger out there someplace!)

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To Ginia,
I'm a big fan of steampunk. This past Halloween I had a blast crafting steampunk costumes for my husband and I. The idea of an 'alternate history' is fun to imagine and there's something so appealing about the way gears the way they mesh and interact. I found myself wanting to see the back of your figure, wondering about the mechanics of your wings. Your noticing that you have included an aspect of nature in each of your art works makes me want to review my own to see if I have any consistent themes. I agree with Katie, you've done a great job. I too, want to see the finished piece. PS You can order bags of real gears from Amazon if you would like to incorporate some mixed media.

My Reflection

Upon initial comparison, I noticed that there was a common theme of "ways" running through my pieces, but then as I continued to look I made the following observations:
      There is no representation of my head in any of these portraits. I think this is consistent with my belief that what I do is not about me, but more about ways of thinking.
       Each piece places some emphasis on hands, or as in the case of the formalist teaching represented on the outer frame of my lineage tree, a lack of hands. The hands represented are extended and offering.
      This may be a stretch, but my most recent portrait contains a circle of focus from which the beams radiate, the center image contains a repetition of circles, focusing on the lessons I teach and the world to which they connect, and last, my lineage tree shows my torso covered in the knitted rows encircling me, a representation of the people who have touched my life. I see this repetition as symbolic of a desire for unity and connection.
     Now I'm wondering the responses I would get if I were to VTS these three images side-by-side. What's happening in this image my classmates???

      

Post Modern Portrait

Post Modern Portrait – the process

Last spring I attended the MU Art Ed Symposium and participated in the Dirty Pictures Workshop Olivia Gude presented. I wanted to capture the play and spontaneity similar to that I experienced that day, but decided to give the experience a digital spin. So, I grabbed a pair of dice from my desk drawer, opened my computer’s picture library and invented an image selection game. Starting with the most recent images I selected whatever number I rolled, and then proceeded selecting images which I placed in a folder. My age was the determining amount for the total number of pictures. If I got stuck in the middle of a chunk of the same type of images I skipped forward and I reserved the right to roll again if I landed on an image that I just didn’t want to use. (My game, my rules!)

I ended up with a folder of images that I didn’t know exactly how I was going to use, but they were a pretty good representation of family, friends, projects, places, events, and me.

Then I ran across this magazine cover and loved the look of the mosaic of images.

I downloaded AndreaMosaic, http://www.andreaplanet.com/andreamosaic/ a free photo mosaic generator and began to play. The program is a little clunky, and I’m definitely a digital immigrant…took me a while to figure it out.

This was my first attempt, all of those little squares are my pictures…

Then I read through my blog, reflecting on my thinking thus far. That motivated me to experiment using my paper doll self-portrait.

I searched, Gudesque, for familiar shapes, and noted a number that resembled hands. I printed a copy and outlined them in black chalk and tried coming up with some text, but I just couldn’t seem to sum up everything I wanted to say in a few brief words. So, I headed back to my blog and there, early on, in my “tree”, I came across this description “I am also greatly influenced by random people with whom I feel a special connection. I’m struggling with how to put this into words, but when I find one of them it feels as though we were molded from the same mold or as if I’ve encountered one of my people. This connection transcends age, and gender, and involves more than them just being a creative individual. Even if they are very different from me I value and treasure their thoughts, this hard to describe link encourages me to broaden my perspectives.” AHA! This is the exact vision of myself I want to reflect in my teaching! I want my students to become my people, or at least expose them to our ways! 

Wanting to tweak the image a bit more and to add the text digitally, I turned to http://www.picmonkey.com . I played and played, using up three days worth of valuable plan period. I didn’t do much work with students in the room, I just couldn’t concentrate. I did, however, manage to work under the observation of fellow staff members. I left the hands as suggestions, and if you look closely, you can make out “I’M HAPPY” buried in the layers. I really like that!

I loved the colors in this version, but could never replicate them, sometimes that happens. 

This was my final version, but I'm still drawn more to the first. Any suggestions?