Tie and knot and hang on!

"When you think you have reached the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."                                                               –-Thomas Jefferson

If your school year is like mine, May is flying by!  Between grades, awards ceremonies, art shows, wrapping up projects, faculty meetings, student needs, and the general underlying exhaustion that never seems to fade away; this time of year is indeed the end of the rope!

Tie and knot and hang on!

Focus on the positive, creative, abundant, and inspirational.  This month is filled with so many disruptions to the routine that it can make it difficult to feel like much of anything is being accomplished.  But, that is not true!  As our school year winds down, think of the lesson plans that you have completed this year. Consider the student successes that you have had.  And, think about the wonderful array of media that you have most likely covered for your typical student.  As an example, my foundations classes have gone from drawing to paste papers, to making icing colors to demonstrate the color wheel, to wire sculpture, enameling, and now ceramics.  What a whirlwind!  I am very certain that the same can be said of your classes as well.  What have you done this year that is innovative, exciting, rewarding, and creative?

Consider how you can share your lesson plans professionally with your NAEA colleagues (and get published too)!  The two main publishing opportunities that I hope to participate in this summer are:

1. Instructional Resources Gallery:  This is a member benefit for the NAEA membership by NAEA members.  It is sponsored by Artsonia and is an opportunity to professionally publish lesson plans with examples for access by NAEA members only.  To see examples of lesson plans go to: http://www.artsonia.com/teachers/lessonplans/naea/ and to learn more about how you can participate go to:  http://www.arteducators.org/learning/unitplans  (you will need your NAEA membership to sign in).

2. NAEA is also advertising for teachers to write instructional resources for Art Education magazine. This is a “user-friendly” way for a K-12 teacher to be published, and it usually works well to team up with a local museum art educator to tie-in historical content. Here’s the advertising blurb posted by the NAEA:  Publish in Art Education! Team with a teacher, professor, graduate student/s or museum educator to write for Instructional Resources. This section of each issue combines full-color reproductions of art objects and artworks with content for classroom lesson plan approaches and evaluation objectives. Priority consideration will be given to IRs that discuss innovative contemporary art and/or visual culture exemplars and inventive art teaching methods and strategies.  Email Kathleen Keys, IR Editor (kathleenkeys@boisestate.edu) with your ideas and to discuss how your concept might fit with the considerations of Instructional Resources.  See www.arteducators.org/2010_AE_IR_Guidelines.pdf for complete Instructional Resources Guidelines.

Take a moment to celebrate your accomplishments and consider how your creative lessons can be shared with others!

-Rebecca Stone-Danahy 

 

Morgan B. Music Illustration ala Stuart Davis.  Acrylic on Stonehenge Paper.  22” x 27”.  Forsyth Country Day School, Lewisville, NC.  2011