Ready to Go!

Today is the start of the annual MAEA Conference and I am so excited! It is a great time to connect with other teachers from around the state and share information on what works best in Art Education. It is a time where I learn so much from my peers and receive the valuable resources that allow my classroom to thrive and grow.

Artists Name: Samantha J.

School: Heritage HS

If you are attending MAEA this weekend, here are some tips that I have found helpful when attending any conference: 

1. Have a plan: Go through the Conference booklet (available online) to help plan out what you want to attend and when they are taking place. Also have a back-up plan in case your first choice fills up too quickly. With the new mobile feature on the MAEA site, you can easily do this through your smartphone or tablet.

2. Ask questions: If you attend a session and you want to know more about something that was said by the presenter, make sure to ask. As a presenter, I want to make sure my presentation is relevant and helpful to the audience. If there is something that you want to know more about, just ask. 

3. Check out the Vendors: I think my favorite part is checking out the booths from the great Vendors that come to MAEA. Not only do you end up with bags full of samples, but there are opportunities to participate in "Make and Takes" and talk with knowledgable spokespeople from the companies represented. If you have questions about purchasing supplies, new equipment, or other resources, this is a great time to connect and research through first hand experience. 

4. Student Work: Make sure to take the time and check out the great student work on display. I am always amazed at the talent and creativity each year during our conference. It is also a great time to get ideas from other teachers by seeing how they taught a lesson so you can adapt it in your own classroom. 

5. Tweet it out: Please use the hashtag #MAEA12 to tweet any important ideas or information you gained from this conference. This allows ideas to be shared from a variety of sessions - it will be like you can experience being in more places at once! When the conference is complete, I will post the resource here so that we can all enjoy the conference over and over again! 

I hope you have the best experience this weekend at the conference. If you are unable to attend, follow #MAEA12 to get updates on the new lessons learned throughout this weekend of learning and sharing in Art Education.

The Pink Slip Experience

Artists Name: Bhavna G.

School: Detroit Country Day

Spring time is the season of flowers blooming and chicks hatching; unfortunately, it can also be a time where the pink slips are arriving for hundreds of educators. I came across a couple of teachers this past week who were both pink slipped and it prompted me to think about my own experience and offer some advice to those of you who have found yourself in this situation.

I have had the privilege of being pink slipped three times in the course of a year. My first reaction was of course disappointment at the situation, but I was also kind of surprised that the form is not pink nor is it really a slip. Instead, each was a neatly typed letter using technical language to tell me that I was no longer going to be employed and that if the situation changed, I would be called back (which thankfully I was, each time).

It was a dark time, but also a time where I gained a lot of strength and insight about who I was as a teacher and person. It is often said that true character is revealed in times of trial, and the stress of being pink slipped without knowing if you are going to be able to do what you love where you have established a home and career can be a very stressing moment in a person's life.

With that said, here is my advice to anyone who is facing a pink slip:

1. Chances are you will be called back. I know it is not comforting to hear, especially from someone who has not been pink slipped, but with the technical details of No Child Left Behind, the switch to full-day Kindergarten, graduation requirements for students, and the fact that other content teachers need their prep-time, an Art teacher is a needed thing for schools and they will have to find someone to fill the requirements (chances are that is you). You may have been pink slipped simply due to the nature of the seniority list, which was the case in my situation.

2. If you have multiple endorsements, make sure to make yourself open to teaching them. I am certified in both Visual Arts and English. My first teaching job was actually more English than it was Art. Visual Arts is my first love and I am incredibly thankful that I get to do it full time, but I am also thankful that I have an option. If you do not have a second endorsement, consider getting one as a part of your continuing education that is required per MDE certification renewal. You might even be able to use credits from your undergraduate degree to go towards this. Here is a list of what classes can be taught with each certification.

3. Update your Resume, Portfolio and website, and put yourself out there. Although you would like to think that the school you have taught at will call you back because there is no way they could go on without you, sometimes it just doesn't work out that way. Now that you have experience under your belt, you will be able to use that to help get your next job. In each case of being pink slipped, my principal and other administrators readily wrote great letters of recommendation. Make sure to ask for those letters, and who knows, they might also be able to give you a lead based on their connections with other districts in your county. This website helped me keep up to date on what was available when I was looking for a job in Michigan.

4. Realize that it is not about you as a teacher or person, it is about a budget. You cannot control this; you can not take it personal. It is not your fault and you can only move forward. Chances are you became a teacher because you have a passion for the subject you are teaching and a caring heart for kids. I never hear any teacher say they do it for the money; you would not be able to go in each day and do what is required of a teacher if the only motivation was that. What charges me up and motivates me are those moments when a student reflects on a work they have created as "The best thing they have ever made..." or the moment when they hoot and holler over an artist they are excited to study. If that kind of stuff gets you going then know that you are a good teacher and being pink slipped is not the end of things for you.

I know that this can be a tough time, but realize you are not alone. If you have advice or a success story to share from your own pink slip experience, please post it below - all advice and success stories are welcome!

Expanding Your Resources

During the Holiday season, Santa is not the only one making a list and checking it twice.

For many of us, reaching Winter break is also closely approaching the half-way point of the year and the materials we purchased for the projects planned. Whether you see students for the full year or for a smaller duration, the materials purchased for the year have been used by a good portion of students by now and (if you are like me) you are starting to strategically plan how much needs to be left in order to make it through the rest of the year.

In addition to figuring out how you might make the materials you have stretch out to the end of the year, many of you (according to a per pupil funding poll by the NAEA this year) are working with less than $3 per student. I happen to fall into that category and find that I am often having to choose between basic materials like markers, glue, and paper, forgoing the more exciting materials or projects like printmaking or Raku firing.

In order teach the projects listed above, you need the various equipment or materials to provide the experience. I used to complain and fret, spending hours upon hours doting over every last detail of my start-of-the-year order, worrying about what I was not getting. This mind set put me into a situation where I was looking only to the school district for funds (which have been cut consistently by the State), limiting the materials and experiences for a complete Visual Arts Curriculum.

It wasn't until I worked with my colleague, Jamie Kosmicki on writing a grant that I realized how much control I have over the funding opportunities offered to expand experiences for my students. Since the $1000 grant she wrote to help our High School students experience Raku firing with Paul Flickinger, I have been empowered to do the same.

Paul Flickinger at Byron Center High School, Spring 2010.

From using the resources listed in this LiveBinder, I have been able to have guest artists visit, take students on field trips, as well as buy additional materials and equipment. It has offered me a pathway to expand the resources in my classroom and as a result students have gained insight and skills that would have otherwise been left out.

During this Holiday season, I encourage you to sit down and make a list of the things you have not yet purchased due to the lack of funding. Organize those materials around a project and find the right funding source for you. If you are looking to start small, consider taking advantage of the offer by NEA through DonorsChoose of matching funds.

Good luck in all of your funding efforts to help bring more experiences to your students throughout the year. We are interested in your successes -- please post a project you have had funded in the past through a grant or fundraiser or a project you did get funded as a result of this post.