You're it!

Last May I had the opportunity to attend the TEDxGrandRapids Livestream for Education event at Kentwood Fine Arts Auditorium. As we prepare for this school year, I wanted to take a moment and reflect on one particular speaker that has stuck with me throughout that day and over the summer.

The theme for this year's event was "Tag, you're it!" That feeling was all around as we were encouraged to engage in conversation throughout the breaks in the day, participate activities like decorating lunch bags for the Kids Food Basket, or while listening to the speakers illustrate the power of being "it" for someone.

Although I took away great messages from all of the speakers who discussed ideas both big and small, it was Simone Ahuja's story of Mansukh Prajapati that had the most impact on me.

Rather than write about it, I think it is best watched here:


I am sure that there are moments within this that stuck out to you, too. As an art teacher, clay is a media we use for so many things. We use it to make decorative sculptures, molds, functional items... but not until I saw this story of how this material was "reframed" did I see what an impact it could have on a community and change their lives.

As I prepare for the start of school in the next few weeks, I am going to think about this story and how I can reframe my own situation to include innovative and creative solutions that help students find their potential and explore their ideas. I am going to share this story with my students and encourage them to embrace the moment they are tagged to be "it" for somebody.

What are you doing to prepare yourself for the upcoming school year? What pieces of motivation are you bringing with you to help foster learning in your classroom? How are you going to be "it" for your students this school year?

In Gratitude: Who Are You Thankful For?

One of my favorite moments at the 2011 MAEA Conference was the Awards Ceremony acceptance speech given by Barbara Rensenhouse. Barbara received the MAEA Distinguished Service Award. She has been a mentor for innumerable art teachers over her many years at Western Michigan University. Retired in 1991, she is well up in age but her words were sharp and on the mark as she urged us to affirm others for their work in the field. As we were honoring her, she was urging us to honor others.

This week I came across an article in the September issue of Art Education (the NAEA Journal) by Elizabeth Delacruz. She too, was giving an acceptance speech for an award, receiving the 2011 Ziegfeld award. In this speech, she lays out four frameworks to guide our thinking as art educators. What resonated with me was her idea that we should “take on an entrepreneurial disposition, referring to both an outlook and a cluster of behaviors. This ability:

• to understand particular needs in particular contexts
• to discern meaningful patterns
• to think big
• to innovate
• to envision something new and useful
• to conceptualize, design, and carry forward concrete plans of action with specific intended outcomes.

These are the skills and dispositions we hope to foster in our students.” These are 21^st Century Skills.

Also recognized at the 2011 Conference was Kim Cairy, outgoing MAEA president, who was honored as the MAEA Middle Level and overall Art Educator of the Year. In her tenure as President, Kim embodied these dispositions. She is an exceptional leader. I have been so impressed with her. She is a parent, a teacher and a leader. She moves easily from one role to the other. When she first came into office I still remember receiving a card that she had hand-made urging us to think outside of the box. She is a big thinker and an innovator, yet humble and personally attentive to others’ needs. Thank you, Kim, for giving so much of yourself to the organization.

Who has influenced you in your art teaching and thinking? A mentor teacher or college professor? Someone you’ve never met but whose books or blogs you avidly read? Who do you want to thank?

During this season of Thanksgiving, please take the time to comment below and honor those who have helped shape you as an artist/educator, thanking them for their influence and help.