Lessons Learned

-
Today was the second day of my fourth week teaching summer school. When I got the job I was asked to stop by the office of the principal in charge of summer school in my district. I went in and got my "paperwork," which included a folder and my class list. I thought it was strange that I wasn't asked to fill out a W-2 form or any other kind of forms. I never signed a contract or found out how much I was making. I was so excited to get my first chance to teach on my own, that I didn't ask questions. I grabbed my folder, smiled and walked out of her office without asking any questions.
DON'T DO THIS.... EXCITING AS IT WAS, I STILL HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH I'M MAKING, AND I NEVER RECEIVED MY FIRST PAYCHECK!

This is the first lesson learned this week. Make sure you ask questions, and when you think something isn't right, chances are .......things are not right. So today I finished teaching and drove to the district headquarters to talk to the payroll department. After 10 minutes of filling out some basic job information, I was out the door and ready to get paid in two weeks.

Lesson two:

I always check and recheck my projects before I teach them to my students. Since I'm a first year teacher, I have been making a sample of each project two nights before I teach it, and then once again the morning of the lesson. The first time I make the art project I check to make sure I know how to make it, and have the materials to make it with the number of students. The second time I create the project, I try to think like the age of the students I'm teaching. At this point I'm thinking of ways to break down the project in steps to simplify its creation for the students.
Lesson learned.... Just because I have used a material in the past doesn't mean it will work like I think.
The first lesson I don't test ahead of time flopped on me today. The lesson involved using Shrinky Dinks which I bought the night before on a clearance rack (10 sheets for $1.99 ... I was so excited) at a local art supply store. I have used Shrinky Dinks in the past and was able to use colored pencils. Well, my clearance Shrinky Dinks were the transparent kind and had zero texture to grab the colored pencil. Without any sharpie markers for twenty students who were excited to create something that shrinks before their eyes, I had to give them the bad news that we were unable to make them. SUCH A DUMB MISTAKE!!!! So after I gave them the bad news we moved on to the next days project, which I luckily had tested and was ready to go.

Two lessons learned, and another day passes...... at least I know im getting paid for these days.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Eat Your Fruits And Veggies Mosaics!

-
Image
Pear Cherries Pear Orange (top view)  Banana   Green Pepper Lime Mosaic Fruits and Veggies! After finishing the toothbrushes I went right into another observation drawing hoping that we can continue to draw things LARGE! The students looked at a plastic fruit or veggie at their tables. The requirements were that the object had to have two sides / parts go off the edge of the paper, and it had to take up most of the paper space. I was worried, but soon blown away. The students drew outline drawings of the objects and outlined them with a wide black sharpie. The next class we looked at multiple examples of mosaic artwork from all around the world. The students  got the point quickly (NO PIECE OF PAPER CAN TOUCH ANOTHER PIECE). We looked at the highlights and shades (student had to use at least two or three different colors). By the way, great project if you have a large box of scrap paper. Students picked the colors and cut each piece of paper
Read more

Leonardo Da Vinci Flying Machines

-
Image
            Rocket Man             My fourth graders learned about Leonardo Da Vinci's many talents. I have to give mad props to my buddy Derek, an art teacher in Peshtigo WI (http://greatartdoors.blogspot.com/) for this lesson. Derek did this with his fourth graders (check out his blog) and used paper straws and other different materials. I used wood dowels, paper, string, twisty-ties, plates, hot glue, rice paper, cardboard, and plastic. I started the lesson by introducing the students to Da Vinci's many talents... science, military, and artist. We focused on his two studies on flight and their drawn models. The students examined the drawing, and then looked at drawn models from the Wright Brothers and airplane models drawn up till today. The students started by drawing their own blueprints showing a side, top, and front or back views. After their 2-D model was approved, the students started building their own flyin
Read more

5th Grade Emphasis… Work In Progress

-
Image
My examples of layered art objects (top right), emphasis example (lower right), and colored object example.  My students are close to finishing their EMPHASIS project with an object observation. Students made a layered black and white drawing of two different art objects. They started by tracing each object with pencil, followed by a "still-life" observation drawing to fill in the inner lines and details of each object. The lesson makes students aware of where things are on the page. The layered affect adds depth to the composition. When the students finished the drawing, we talked about an emphasis, and added color to ONE item on the page. Students used colored pencil to add color to their item. We are still working on them at the moment, but I was excited to show them off. Finished projects are soon to follow. 
Read more