Dealing with a long-term absence is a complicated situation and one rarely dealt with in art education. This week, Tim talks to Kelly Parvin, an art teacher from Alabama, about her fight with cancer and how she handles being gone for significant amounts of time. They discuss ways to prepare for time away (06:00), how to adapt lesson plans to help the sub fill your shoes (09:00), and the potential benefits of a different "voice" in your classroom (15:00).
We all know art teachers need to actively look for ways to promote our programs. We have to show off all the great things we’re doing or we run the risk of being easy to cut when budgets get tight. A great way to advocate for your program and reach students and the community at large is by adopting social media in your classroom. In this episode, Andrew brings on his good friend and teaching soulmate, Ashley Cardamone, to discuss ways you can leverage the power of social media to best promote your art program.
Andrew and Ashley go over some practical tips and tricks for choosing the social media platform that’s right for you and your classroom (8:15). They discuss possible pros and cons to using social media during the day (13:00), and finally, some time-saving tips and best practices to make sure sharing doesn’t become too time-consuming in class (14:30).
We do so many superfluous things as art teachers--what can we get rid of? Tim and Andrew talk about the best ways to turn down requests when necessary and to focus on what we need to do to be great teachers. They discuss dealing with the politics of your building (8:15), focusing on your passions in teaching (11:15), and the best way to deal when you NEED to say yes (14:30).
What do you do on the first day of class with your students? Why not start creating? Rules, procedures, and expectations are undoubtedly important, but so is making art! Janine Campbell, one of the best middle school teachers around, joins Tim to talk about the ins and outs of starting your year the right way. They talk about why Janine breaks out clay on the first day of school (5:00), why we need to avoid the "sit and get" syllabus (9:30), and why it's always important to try something new (16:30).
Why would we want our students to think like artists when they could think like designers instead? Andrew talks about how to get students into this mode of thought by incorporating more design thinking and design curriculum in the art room. Kathryn Rulien-Baries, from the Wisconsin Visioneers program, joins Andrew to discuss modifications and alterations teachers can do right now to be more design inclusive. They talk about what makes design curriculum unique (6:45), art-making with a purpose (11:00), and whether art teachers are the most qualified to embrace design thinking (13:15).