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The title “Reckless Beginner” comes from a knitting blog I happened across. It conjures up a familiar enthusiasm and a willingness to “get in there”, experiment, try something new and learn from the experience. It also too often describes my practice in the classroom. I set in motion rich tasks and experiences that are exciting and rewarding for the students, but underpinned with a lack of planning that consistently doubles or triples my work. My default solution has always been to work harder and generally this has served me well, but for how long? Last year I was trying to teach myself to work smarter; there were small achievements but these did not exactly amount to a paradigm shift.
This year, I would like to be more elegant–hilarious, if you know me at all. If you don’t, you just need to know that I teach Visual Art in middle and high school.
“To me, elegance is not to pass unnoticed but to get to the very soul of what one is.” [Christian Lacroix]
I would like the dots of my practice to be better connected so the big picture is visible and accessible. I would like to create space to take more creative risks in the classroom that don’t require heroic amounts of work if the train derails.
How?
For starters, how might I invent, improve and communicate a basic, reliable procedure for three things that bedevil me constantly:
- set up
- clean up
- hand in
Right time – right place
- How might I get students to “buy in” and see these activities as a positive part of the process in visual art practice and not just one of those school or classroom rules that must be endured?
- How might I effectively leverage both analog and digital tools?
Next Step: Action research – questions for the users: staff and students
Constellation Image by: Alisa http://www.offthefenceart.co.uk/have-painting-will-travel/
Hi Robin,
This is a great post on a topic that applies to more of us than we may wish to admit….even if we don’t teach Visual Art! Getting students to buy in to those routines and components of the classroom environment that enable time for all of those other amazing & awesome experiences is a challenge, regardless of grade or subject area.
I love that you are focusing on making a meaningful change in this area by starting with some research. Asking students what obstacles exist and working with them to clarify the purpose and significance of these elements will help to build empathy and understanding on both sides of this situation. I am confident that this will be a productive step in your plans to make a meaningful change!
Have you considered touching base with some Visual Art teachers at other schools? There are a few teachers in this year’s Cohort 21 (and previous Cohorts too) who would likely have lots to share on this topic!
Looking forward to hearing about how the next steps unfold.
Christina
@rmichel You are in for a treat tomorrow. You will spend the day design thinking and really digging into the problem/challenge you want to address. Based on your last few posts I know you are going to enjoy it 🙂
See you tomorrow.
J
I did indeed enjoy it, but I am left wondering…is the problem I want to address the right one to help me make the most of this fantastic Cohort21 opportunity? Am I thinking big enough?
Hi Robin.
“Right Time – Right Place”– must just be tomorrow at Cohort21 in our deep dive session with Design Thinking!
Looking ‘connecting more dots’ as we go. See you tomorrow.
I can certainly relate to the feeling you describe here of jumping in but without the necessary planning in place. For me, teaching a brand new course this year feels a bit like running on a hamster wheel, trying just to keep up, and, on a good day, be more than one step ahead of the students! I am looking forward to following the rest of your journey!
Jen
Thanks Jennifer. It was strange to admit to committing dubious planning practices, especially considering my practice (previously) as an art director in film, was basically ALL planning in preparation for the shoot. Maybe there are some past practices that I have not thought about?
Robin I’m interested in hearing how your action plan has developed with these goals in mind, since our last F2F. I suffer from some of the same “big ideas = extra work” in my math lessons, and ask myself at the end whether it was worth it (hopefully the answer is yes more often than not!)
Streamlining the art of teaching is a science unto itself. I look forward to hearing what you try and what works for you!
I have drifted toward the goals and away from them like the tide. I have determined I am going to see my initial plan through to some fruition, so I’ve been working on clarification and refinement. See you Friday.