State POL Champ
Photo by staff photographer David Leaming
This is from today’s Morning Sentinel. Read about Maine’s new Poetry Out Loud Champ. Exciting event that took place yesterday at the Waterville Opera House in front of an almost full house of poetry appreciators!
CLICK HERE for the link to the article from today’s newspaper.
MALI Teacher Leaders Series
This is the third blog post of the Phase 6 Maine Arts Leadership Initiative (MALI) Teacher Leader stories. This series includes a set of questions so you can learn a little bit about the work each Maine visual or performing arts teacher or artist is doing. CLICK HERE for more information on MALI. CLICK HERE for more information on the 81 Teacher Leaders plus 4 Teaching Artist Leaders. CLICK HERE for Arts education resources. CLICK HERE for the MALI Resource Bank. Search in the “search archives” box on the bottom right side of this post for past teacher leader stories. There have been 74 posted to date. Thank you Pam for sharing your story!
Pam Chernesky teaches theatre and visual art at Houlton Middle/High School. She has taught art and theatre in Maine for the past 29 both downstate (Gov. Baxter School for the Deaf and Bonny Eagle High School) and, has been teaching art in the County for the past 3 years. Her high school courses include Art 1, Art 2, Advanced Art, Ceramics, Photography, and Theatre. She also teaches art and theatre with 6th, 7th and 8th graders in the Middle School. In total Pam teaches about 400 students with 3/4 of her time in visual arts and 1/4 teaching theatre.
What do you like best about being an arts educator?
I love seeing students connect with each other and discover their own creative voice. In my district students have not had any elementary art or theatre so I see them transform into artists. Teaching students to take risks, believe in their ideas, and work collaboratively energizes me on a daily basis.
What do you believe are three keys to ANY successful visual and performing arts education?
Opportunity to learn, passionate teachers who love sharing their craft, and resources and support from the administration and the community. If these happen consistently then success is at hand.
How have you found assessment to be helpful to you in your classroom?
Many of my students have their first ever art or theatre class in middle or high school and truly believe they can’t create, have no ideas, or are afraid that they will get it “wrong”. Quality assessment provides clear expectations for both the students and me. They see their progress toward meeting standards and realize that they CAN achieve and create.
What have been the benefits in becoming involved in the Maine Arts Leadership Initiative?
I definitely cherish meeting and working with so many wonderful arts teachers from across the state who are like-minded and willing to think outside the box. The trainings and leadership opportunities that have been afforded to me since joining MALI are impacting my practice and leadership in so many ways.
What are you most proud of in your career?
I am proud of the accomplishments of my students. This includes the state and nationally recognized performers and artists, as well as the students who just take my classes to earn a graduation credit and instead learned so much more. I know that when you learn to create, you will be less likely to destroy. When you put yourself out there and take a creative risk, you will be less likely to criticize different ideas. When you connect with others and see diverse ways to express ideas, you will not see your world in such a black and white, right and wrong view. The arts impact every human being who participate in profound and long-lasting ways, and I am proud of my part in facilitating those changes in my students.
Visual Art and Theatre teacher Pam Chernesky and Dance and Phys. Ed. teacher MaryEllen Schaper (Bonny Eagle Middle School)
What gets in the way of being a better teacher or doing a better job as a teacher?
In schools, time is always a huge factor, coupled with the strange concept that the arts are not a “core” subject and therefore don’t really matter in the same way as other subjects. The resistance to change at a systemic level is most frustrating. I think that if schools let all the arts teachers reinvent the way a school day would operate, I could be a better teacher and my students would see connections and be better learners and future citizens.
What have you accomplished through hard work and determination that might otherwise appear at first glance to be due to “luck” or circumstances?
I have worked hard to expand offerings for students both during school and in extra-curricular areas. Students participate in the MLTI Screensaver Challenge, the Scholastic Art Awards, art shows outside of school and the MPA One-Act Festival. I am on the boards of our community arts center and the local children’s theatre. Most people have no idea of the hours of work and coordination it takes to build relationships, provide opportunities, and share those successes with the community.
Look into your crystal ball: what advice would you give to teachers?
Never underestimate your power as a teacher to change a student’s life and make a difference. Your students are learning more than vocabulary or skills, they are learning to think, empathize, connect and become better human beings, and we teach all those things through the arts.
If you were given a $500,000.00 to do with whatever you please, what would it be?
I would travel with my family and experience arts and cultures around the world. I could probably even get a ticket to Hamilton in New York! I would also save money for my daughter’s college expenses as she pursues her love of music. I would use the rest of the money to provide more opportunities for my students. Field trips to museums and performances are out of reach for many rural schools who live great distances away from those venues. It would be a thrill to be able to afford to take them to see the works of art that they have only seen in books or on the internet, or to see live performances.
Imagine you are 94 years old. You’re looking back. Do you have any regrets?
I hope not. I struggle with balancing my family life with my arts life, and it is wonderful when they intersect. I am lucky to have the loving support of my family but I don’t underestimate the time we have together. Hopefully at 94 I can look back with fond memories of it all! I know I love what I am doing right now.
Gardiner High School POL
Photo by Joe Phelan, Portland Press Herald
In the Maine Sunday Telegram a wonderful story about Gabrielle Cooper, a senior who has participated in the Poetry Out Loud program for four years. She represents Gardiner High School later on today at the Waterville Opera House for the Maine State POL Finals. It is a great opportunity to see and hear ten Maine high school students reciting poetry. The program starts at 3:00 and I hope to see you there!
Read all about Gabrielle at THIS LINK.
The ten students participating and their grades and schools are listed below.
Northern Maine Regional Champions Natalie Lisnet, Grade 12, Bangor High School Kate Hodgson, Grade 12, Camden Hills Regional High School Emma Beyor, Grade 12, Erskine Academy Gabrielle Cooper, Grade 12, Gardiner Area High School Antyna Gould, Grade 12, Medomak Valley High School Southern Maine Regional Champions Amran Mahamed, Grade 11, Deering High School Jordan Bryant, Grade 10, Greely High School Sabrina Small, Grade 12, Maine Coast Waldorf School Skyler Vaughn, Grade 12, The Maine Girls’ Academy Arielle Leeman, Grade 12, Morse High SchoolPoetry Out Loud is organized nationally by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation and administered at the state level by the Maine Arts Commission. It begins in Maine’s schools where school champions are selected to compete in two regional finals at which ten students are ultimately selected to recite at the state finals. One student, the state champion, moves on from the state finals to represent Maine at the national finals in Washington D.C., where students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico will compete for a total of $50,000 in awards and school stipends for the purchase of poetry books.
For more information on the program please CLICK HERE.
Just after the war – 1946
A group of young Holocaust survivors at a home in Hampshire, England, in late 1945. Photo by Keystone/Getty Images.
In July 1946 an American psychology professor named David Boder traveled to Western Europe to interview refugees and Holocaust survivors. After the war the prisoners who had been freed had no home to go to so they became refugees. Boder’s goals were to record how “living through something like the Holocaust changes someone’s personality”. In addition, he wanted to “preserve these people’s oral histories.” Along with talking with them he recorded the songs that they had written during their time in the concentration camps. He was hoping that their voices would help Americans accept Jewish immigrants.
At the time Boder traveled he took along a state-of-the-art wire voice recorder and 200 spools of steel wire tape. Some of the songs have been housed since 1967 at the University of Akron in Ohio. Recently they decided to digitize the songs which took more than a year since getting them off the spools was not an easy task.
The discovery of these songs have been shared with the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. The Henonville songs, which had been thought to be lost, were in fact found and you can listen to some of the selections by CLICKING HERE. The Henonville songs were named after the refugee camp in France where they were recorded.
Teachers, we appreciate you!
In appreciation of teachers the Portland Museum of Art is having an Open House, just for you!
Image credit: Side x Side Summer Arts Institute, June 2016.
Photos by Joel Ellis Brown and Tonee Harbert.
Thursday, March 23
Drop in any time between 3:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Free; registration is strongly encouraged.
R.S.V.P. by March 10 to Louisa Donelson, Associate Educator for Youth Learning, at ldonelson@portlandmuseum.org.
Teachers, you are our best allies when it comes to sharing the PMA collection with Maine youth and we want to show our appreciation with a free Open House. Teachers in any subject, Pre-K to 12, as well as homeschoolers are invited to visit the newly reinstalled PMA.
Participate however you like, for as long as you like.
Note: educators are always welcome to visit free of charge to assist in field trip planning. Information on parking can be found here.
Student and teacher programming at the PMA is made possible by Unum.
MALI Teacher Leaders Series
This is the second blog post of the Phase 6 Maine Arts Leadership Initiative (MALI) Teacher Leader stories. This series includes a set of questions so you can learn a little bit about the work each Maine visual or performing arts teacher or artist is doing. CLICK HERE for more information on MALI. CLICK HERE for more information on the 81 Teacher Leaders plus 4 Teaching Artist Leaders. CLICK HERE for Arts education resources. CLICK HERE for the MALI Resource Bank. Search in the “search archives” box on the bottom right side of this post for past teacher leader stories. There have been 73 posted to date. Thank you Jackie for sharing your story!
Jaclyn Bousquet presently teaches Visual Art to grades 9-12 at Traip Academy in Kittery, ME where she has spent the majority of her five year teaching career. At Traip Academy, Jackie teaches seven visual arts courses including AP/Advanced Art, Mixed Media, Art Fundamentals, Drawing, Painting, Stained Glass, and Pottery. On average, Jackie teaches about 125 students per year with many repeating students taking multiple art courses each year. In addition to teaching art, Jaclyn is also a Co-Advisor for the class of 2017 and the S2S/Interact club.
What do you like best about being a music/art/theater/dance educator?
I love the positive relationships I have fostered with my wonderful and passionate art students. It is the most amazing feeling in the world to know that I am making an impact on these students by encouraging their creativity and exposing them to the visual arts.
What do you believe are three keys to ANY successful visual and performing arts education?
The essentials for any successful visual and performing arts education include, community and school investment, a passionate and effective art teacher, and a budget!
How have you found assessment to be helpful to you in your classroom?
Assessment is helpful in providing feedback to students so that they may improve upon their future work, as well as make revisions to make stronger work. Quality assessment and rubrics also validates the arts as integral to a well rounded education.
What have been the benefits in becoming involved in the Maine Arts Leadership Initiative?
As the only visual arts educator in my building, I often work in isolation. Becoming involved with MALI has enabled me to network and collaborate with other visual arts teachers across the state. Working with MALI has also encouraged me to become more confident in my own leadership abilities, as I have been pushed outside of my comfort zone in creating and presenting workshops for other art educators.
What are you most proud of in your career?
I am extremely proud of the partnerships I have worked so hard to create with the surrounding community over the last four years. I have collaborated with local businesses, art galleries, and community members in order to enhance student learning and advocate for the arts. As a result of my efforts, I now have three annual art shows that occur in the community, as well as other meaningful projects that encourage students to communicate and collaborate with community members outside of the classroom.
What gets in the way of being a better teacher or doing a better job as a teacher?
Time! As a teacher with seven art courses, it often feels as though I am racing time even with a block schedule. Having enough time to create meaningful and engaging lessons and art activities, provide students with meaningful feedback through assessment, and engage in professional development is extremely challenging.
What have you accomplished through hard work and determination that might otherwise appear at first glance to be due to “luck” or circumstances?
I am lucky to be working in a community that places strong value on the arts, so I think the work involved with setting up art shows and collaborating with local businesses can easily be overlooked or underestimated. I’ve worked extremely hard to set up community partners and display student work in public spaces in order to advocate for my program.
Look into your crystal ball: what advice would you give to teachers?
As a relatively new teacher myself, there are still many things I am figuring out! The advice I would give to a new teacher, and that I often need to remind myself, is to continue making art and pursuing your own passions because it will radiate into your teaching. Additionally, I would stress the importance of changing things up and avoiding routine in the classroom. It is easy to repeat successful lessons year after year, but just like our students, it is important for us to take risks in order to learn and grow and become stronger educators.
If you were given a $500,000.00 to do with whatever you please, what would it be?
The first thing I would do is revamp my classroom with new cabinetry and storage, and workstations for kids. Maybe I would create an entirely new classroom and expand our program! I would also invest in some expensive new Pottery equipment. I might create some kind of arts enrichment program or grant for schools that do not have formal arts education programs in place.
Imagine you are 94 years old. You’re looking back. Do you have any regrets?
This is a hard question! I will be so wise by the time I am 94, that any “regrets” will be thought of as learning experiences that helped shape who I am. I believe that everything happens for a reason and that I am always exactly where I need to be and that things unfold for a purpose. In the present, I am doing what I love and would not trade a minute of it!
RSVP
Lisa Ingraham
Join R.S.V.P. ME on Tuesday, March 14, 3:30 to 5:00 pm for an online roundtable discussion about how Mindset and Mindfulness strategies are being implemented to benefit the culture and climate of our schools.
Lisa Ingraham is the facilitator of R.S.V.P., an elementary art teacher at Madison Elementary School, and a Maine Arts Leadership Initiative Teacher Leader.
Mandi Mitchell
Lisa will share Madison Elementary’s exploration of Mindfulness strategies to help both students and teachers succeed in her school. Joining Lisa will be Hermon High School Art Teacher Mandi Mitchell and Maine Arts Leadership Initiative Teacher Leader will share her school’s experience using Carol Dweck’s “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success” as a text for professional development.
Sign up to participate in this Zoom* Online Video Conference – and earn 1.5 contact hours as a Maine Art Education Association member – by emailing Lisa at lisa.ingraham@msad59.org. You can also contact her anytime with questions, comments, or to suggest a future topic.
Zoom Video Conferencing is done completely online. Joining a meeting is as simple as emailing R.S.V.P. ME facilitator, Lisa Ingraham and clicking on the link provided in the invite email that you will receive about 5 minutes before the meeting begins.
Highlights of the Northern and Southern
Last week the Maine Poetry Out Loud Northern and Southern events took place at Hampden Academy and Thornton Academy. I was so impressed with the 42 high school students who recited (from memory) two, and if they made it to the final round, three poems. They were poised, articulate, and so committed to the poems they shared.
If you are interested in poetry, all I can say is, you missed a wonderful performance. Fortunately, you can catch glimpses of the poets reciting in two videos produced by the Maine Arts Commission Marketing Director, Ryan Leighton.
From each event, five students were selected to move onto the state finals, Monday, March 13, 3:00 PM, Waterville Opera House. In a blog post from last week you can see who is moving to the states by CLICKING HERE. Guaranteed you will be moved beyond words when you hear these 10 students recite. Jennifer Rooks from Maine Calling will emcee. In addition to the poets, the Maranacook Chamber Singers under the direction of Drew Albert will perform and, Maine’s Poet Laureate Stu Kestenbaum will recite some of his work.
Both videos are posted on the Maine Arts Education youtube channel.
Northern Maine POL Finals – Hampden Academy
Southern Maine POL Finals – Thornton Academy
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