I know how time consuming it can be for teachers to collect resources so I’ve put together another list to help support your work – this one compiled over the last several weeks. Hopefully you’ll find the information informative!
Neuroscience and Music written by Cassandra Sheppard – At a time when singing in school is marginalized this article/research reminds us that we need to sing!
ArtsEdSearchA hub for research on the impact of arts in education where you’ll find academic studies and resources
pink portfolio exercises As in Daniel Pink who I heard speak about the importance of the creative thinking people.
STE(A)Mrolled Blog post from Americans for the Arts. Writer Daryl Ward is the principal of the Harrison School for the Arts in Florida.
Teaching Arts Education Advocates Blog post for Americans for the Arts. Written by Jennifer Katona, Director and Founder of the Graduate Program in Educational Theatre at the City College of New York (CCNY), oversees the certification of pre and in-service Theatre teachers and training of non-certified theatre educators.
Collective Impact in the Arts – Createquity. One persons information on the possibility of developing a collective impact model for the arts. Written by Ian David Moss a few years ago but information is still relevant for those interested in this work.
Kind, dependable, consistent, committed, and considerate are words that describe Jim Small. Jim had a huge heart and soft voice and was devoted to teaching. He was one of those teachers who was ALWAYS teaching – in his classroom and throughout his day – demonstrating for students and writing and recording ideas. He had a clear and deep understanding of creative thinking and taught it as a foundation to all of his art classes. In fact, he wrote about it over many years to make it more understandable for others and was an amazing advocate for arts education. Sadly Jim left this world on October 10 at the age of 67. Even though Jim is gone he has left us all resources on his YouTube channel called Imagine Again Jim – it’s soooo Jim! Below is Jim’s obituary.
Mr. Small – Art Teacher Extraordinaire
SKOWHEGAN – James Keith Small passed away peacefully in his sleep on the evening of Saturday, Oct. 10, 2020 at the age of 67 at his home in Skowhegan.
Born on March 23, 1953 in Westbrook to his mother, Cora Ida York, and his father, Shirley Small. He is survived by his wife, Dorothy; children, Stephanie, Adam and Ricky; and his grandchildren, Coraline, Geronimo and Torrington; as well as his sisters, Linda, Judy and Valerie. James also had the good fortune of being taken in by the late Pauline and Bob Johnson and siblings Gene, Alan, Patrick, Paula, and Lisa after the passing of his parents.
A devoted father, husband and career educator, he worked tirelessly to provide a magical world for his children to grow up in. Always a kid at heart himself, he believed that the imagination was the key that unlocked each person’s individual super power.
He was an extraordinarily gentle soul who was loved by many, and had endless love to give. He touched countless lives as an art teacher for the MSAD 59 and MSAD 54 school districts. Jim made friends at every turn and always knew how to spread his joy to those in need. His students always knew that his classroom was a safe place, free of judgement, where he would do anything in his power to inspire creative thinking and personal growth.
Other lifelong pursuits included passion for the arts, film, photography, and last but certainly not least, fishing. Recently retired, Jim had far too little time to be on the water whenever he desired, catching all the trout he could manage.
James passed his unfiltered creative energy to his daughter, Stephanie, along with a good portion of his immense compassion for those less fortunate. He would graciously admit cribbage defeat and fish until the bats came out with his son, Adam, and he would always be his son, Ricky’s #1 fan.
Jim courted his beloved wife, Dorothy, after retrieving her lost barrette at the former Sandy Beach in Madison, and the two spent 43 years in love. From barrette to soul mate, James was an ever-devoted husband to his stunning wife and would wade into any sized waves to do it again.
Visiting hours will be held on Friday Oct. 16 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Smart and Edwards Funeral Home, 183 Madison Ave., Skowhegan. We ask that all attendees be respectful of the COVID guidelines and wear a mask while attending. Anyone wishing to virtually attend the funeral service may do so via the Albion Christian Church website – https://albionchristianchurch.com/, there will be a link located there to go to the live Facebook link starting at 1 p.m. on Saturday Oct. 17.
Arrangements are entrusted to the care of Smart and Edwards Funeral Home, 183 Madison Ave., Skowhegan. Anyone who wishes to leave the family messages can do so on our website at ? http://www.smartandedwardsfh.com.
James (Mr. Small to many) would want us all to move forward with pride and confidence, while reminding us to also Imagine Again, and Imagine More.
In lieu of flowers, the Small family will be encouraging anyone who wishes to donate to a scholarship for all manner of creative pursuits and the arts in Mr. Small’s name.
The Maine College of Arts Master of Arts in Teaching Teacher Candidates will offer a variety of free art lessons to children grades K-12. Click here to register for this event – November 9 (fully online)! Virtual Art Fair! Please share this information with your students and their parents.
Edutopia tackles the challenges of social emotional learning by providing several videos on a variety of topics that are beneficial to educators, parents, and organizations who provide learning opportunities for learners. In this video series, they explore how educators can guide all students, regardless of their developmental starting points, to become productive and engaged learners. Below are just a few – you can find many more on the section of the Edutopia website called How Learning Happens.
Arts Integration – Celebrating Cultural Identify Through the Arts When afterschool program Ballet Folklorico teaches kids traditional Mexican dance, they build not only social and emotional skills, but also community.
School Climate – The Power of Relationships in Schools Research shows that students who feel safe and supported by adults at school are better able to learn.
Social and Emotional Learning – Cultivating Trust with One-on-One Time For many struggling students, consistently spending informal time with a trusted educator supports emotional well-being and academic growth.
Social and Emotional Learning – Getting Ready to Learn with Mindfulness Research shows that taking some time each day to practice mindfulness as a class helps students prepare themselves for learning.
Margaret (Peg) Maxwell, longtime art teacher at Bonny Eagle High School was recently featured in The Eagle Times, the school newspaper. Peg left her art classroom this year due to the Coronavirus but is helping out with the remote learning students.
In Peg’s words: “It was heartfelt and such an honor for me to be recognized….I sure miss all of what I had and hope to continue in another phase when this is over..I am grateful for Joann Lannin, a wonderful journalist and mentor to our students and to Kaylei Myers for her kind and thoughtul professionalism. She will do well in the world of Journalism. Joann Lannin, a wonderful published author and journalist who often takes our students to the National Award status for our newspaper and in the past has taken them to the National Journalism Museum in Washington. We are so lucky to have faculty dedicated to student success. I so miss my colleagues, but they have found a way during this pandemic to keep us all connected.“
BY KAYLEI MYERS Oct. 1, 2020 Ms. Margaret (Peg) Maxwel will not be teaching at Bonny Eagle High School this year due to Coronavirus concerns. She is currently still involved with school by helping out with the remote learning students. Ms. Maxwell has been an art teacher here since 1989. The beginning of this year would’ve been the start of her 38th year with us. Besides teaching art classes, she has coached tennis, advised the National Honor Society, the FACS (Fight Against Cancer Society), STAND (Students Affirming the Non-Use of Drugs), and the Outing Club. She mentored students in the GAR (Grand Army of the Republic) and had a Bible Club for a few years after school. The Eagle Times caught up with Ms. Maxwell (remotely) for a question and answer session early last week.
Margaret Peg Maxwell in her classroom at Bonny Eagle High School
Was this a hard decision to make? This decision to not go back was and continues to be very difficult. It was made by me and strongly recommended by my doctor. After doing the research, she highly advised me not to enter the classroom due to my health issues. I do not want to make the students ill and I do not want to get sick either. My immune system is weak and I need to be aware of the current situation.
What are you going to miss most about working here? I will miss all of it. The students, my colleagues, the art room being such a special time for Mr. Twilley and I to share, that sacred place where so many students enjoyed making art, hanging out, and becoming great artists in the real world. Our classrooms were like open books. The door between us was never locked and students and teachers knew when and where to be in order to express their creativity and to find inspiration. Mr. Twilley was a great teaching partner. We had 30 years of collaboration, friendship and pure love of art. Every day I woke up ready to teach in that wonderful room. Waiting for students, walking the halls with many smiles, and hearing ‘Good Morning Ms. MaxwellI’. I had a cluttered classroom, but I knew where everything was when someone needed something. I miss the students coming after school and needing to work on a project from another class and wanting help with posters, information, or just a cup of tea or pizza when we needed to clean the space.
Has Bonny Eagle High School been a welcoming place for the arts? The Bonny Eagle community always supported the arts, our requests for materials, workshops, and additional educational resources to make all of this happen. This district rocks, including, the school board, administration at all levels, and the greater public. We have students working for CNN, Disney, North Face, Mass General Hospital, Dartmouth Press, Flowfold Inc., Illustrating for Amazon, FableVision, PBS, interned with Dale Chihuly, Nickelodeon, Wired Magazine, Burton, Rossignol, MIT Industrial Design, etc. The list goes on and on. I just had a former student, Chelsea Johnson, make me a great Wizard of Oz platter reminding me of my continued references to Dorothy and the importance of having a heart, brains, and the courage to succeed in tough times, like now. Our school was part of NEA grants through the Portland Museum of Art on three occasions commemorating the works of Winslow Homer ,and student work was displayed on the walls of the museum. Lastly, an essay about my curriculum during the pandemic last trimester was published in the Union of Maine Visual Artists this summer. The MSAD 6 district has provided me with many opportunities to teach at the state and Tri-District levels with integrated Arts and STEAM workshops. They provided summer opportunities for me at Bennington College in their summer institutes, studying book arts with Meryl Brater, a Radcliffe Scholar. This brought much integration into the district for K-12 education. They gave me the opportunity to study at the Darling Marine Education Center in Damariscotta, as well as study Marine Biological Illustration, and many courses at MECA in botanical illustration and digital art and 3-d printing and laser cut art works. All of this enhanced the curriculum for the students when I returned each fall to share the information and my work.
Are there hopes of you coming back after this is all over? And if not, what other ventures do you have in the works? As for now, I will not be able to go back to the school and need to quarantine until this is over. I am not able to have vaccines even if there is one, so I’m working at home developing a non-profit on food security. My dream is to have my puppets create an online or zoom presentation to teach children about food security. I worked with Jim Henson when I started teaching in the 1970’s at Princeton University when he was developing Sesame Street. I taught preschool in an inner-city head start program. We gave him stories and he gave us ways to teach kids through entertainment. I have a trademark in the final stages in Washington and the copyright to song lyrics that I have written to accompany a well known tune. I’m in the process of getting the rights to the music. I have a board started and the puppets designed. Several former Bonny Eagle students are consulting with me and helping me in the process. Our Backpack program inspired a set of puppets I do think all will like. My Dream is to start a production company at Bonny Eagle after I retire and work with departments who want to collaborate. I have a student interested in painting the backdrops for the puppet theatre. I would like to have students on the board and willing to work with all aspects of developing a production company. I have the drive and the expertise of great people. I was asked to go national with the idea, but I do not have the strength or the desire. My heart is at Bonny Eagle and that is where I want to end my career. In addition, I have been writing a memoir and a musical for several years. My playwright teacher from New York City thinks this would be a great way to end it. ‘The closing of the BLUE DOOR’, as I see it. I painted my house doors the same color blue as my classroom door. I have been writing silly songs since I was six years old and poetry essays and stories all my life. Now it is the time to tell my story. Bonny Eagle has been a major part and will be the finale.
If you’re not familiar with the Global Oneness Project now is a good time to learn more. Cleary Vaughan-Lee is an amazing person and serves as the Executive Director of the Global Oneness Project. Recently they provided a webinar entitled Learning and Teaching about Indigenous Cultures, Languages, and Territories. The webinar was hosted by Christine McRae from Native Land Digital. This is a timely resource since today is Indigenous People Day in Maine. The webinar was attended by close to 900 people and fortunately the webinar was archived so you can access it and also use the many resources that have been gathered to help support your work as educators.
The recording is available to view on the Global Oneness Project website and the resources are in this Google Doc. I’m looking forward to viewing the recording and taking a close look at the resources that are filled with quotes, websites, books, articles, films, curricula, and podcasts, all of which provide ways to learn from Indigenous voices around the world.
Christine shared ways to engage with the mapping tool Native Land and communicated that there are complexities when mapping Indigenous territories. She said, “When we think of maps in the modern context, they often represent colonial boundaries or colonial understandings of the world. It’s a balance to communicate Indigenous relationships to land, which are so much deeper than shapes.”
In addition, at the last minute, Margaret Noodin, Obijwe poet and linguist, joined the webinar and read one of her poems that was included in the slides. It is called “Babejianjisemigad/Gradual Transformation,” which she read in Anishinaabemowin and in English. She said, “I think one of the things I got from my dad and his mother was the ability to listen to the world singing around me and the desire to sing back to it.”
Thanks to Cleary Vaughan-Lee and the Global Oneness Project for their dedication and thoughtfulness about education. Most of the blog post was from a recent email from Cleary.
Activating Hybrid Learning with Center for Maine Contemporary Art MAEA Workshop
Saturday, 17 October 2020, in-person
Center for Maine Contemporary Arts in Rockland, 9:30AM – 3:30PM.
ONLY 19 SPOTS LEFT!!! JOIN US TODAY!
Pre-registration is required – $50.00 per person
Registration Deadline: Monday, October 12th
In support of the Maine Arts Education Association (MAEA), CMCA is offering a full day professional workshop for Maine Art Educators, including contemporary art exploration, making, and conversation featuring the CMCA 2020 Biennial. CMCA curatorial and education staff will guide participants through a variety of activities and ideas for incorporating contemporary art into your classrooms, both in-person and online. We’ll take a close look at the diverse themes and artworks in the Biennial and discover a range of artmaking processes, ideas, and artists that will heighten curriculum and personal practice. Re-energize and regroup as a community of artists, educators, and contemporaries during this one-day workshop. Please email mbogyo@cmcanow.org with any questions about the workshop. To ensure safe social distancing, the workshop will be split into 2 groups; masks required. For the complete schedule, please visit MAEA website!
You’re invited to join Educate Maine virtually for a NEW speaker series addressing innovation in education. The series will bring together national thought leaders and leading Maine educators to share their best ideas and deep wisdom on the topic of how education can adapt and evolve to meet the unique demands of our time.
Educate Maine is partnering with the Education Action Forum of Maine and Thomas College’s Center for Innovation in Education to host this timely series. Join them Thursday, October 15 from 3:30-4:30pm for the first of several engaging conversations among national thought leaders and Maine’s top educators as they discuss and explore what is next for the field.
Jason Swanson Director of Strategic Foresight KnowledgeWorks
Matt Drewette-Card Dir of Curr, Inst, & Assess MSAD #46
Heather Whitaker 2020 Maine Teacher of the Year
At the first event, the presenter is Jason Swanson who is the Director of Strategic Foresight at KnowledgeWorks, where he helps lead the organization’s research into the future of learning. An award-winning futurist, Jason develops forecasts, sensemaking guides, artifacts from the future, and immersive experiences. Jason is a frequent public speaker and workshop facilitator and holds a BA in Public Policy from West Chester University and an MS in Foresight from the University of Houston. He is a fellow with the Royal Society of Arts and is a member of the Remake Learning Council and Learn Life Alliance.
In addition, we will engage two Maine educators to discuss the research and explore how educators can partner with government officials to explore these options for Maine’s families.
Matt Drewette-Card is the Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment for MSAD #46, a small, rural school district in central Maine. Matt is also the President of Maine ASCD, the Maine CSTA Penobscot/Piscataquis County regional representative, a Future Ready Schools mentor, and host of the “Maine Education Matters” podcast. Matt has been in education for over 20 years, has a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Oregon, and has taught in Maine, Oregon, New Mexico, Georgia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.
Heather Whitaker is the Alternative Education Teacher at Gorham Middle School and the 2020 Maine Teacher of the Year. During her 18-year teaching career at Gorham Middle School, Heather has been a true advocate for combining learning opportunities with the needs of the community. She started her school’s garden, which donates over 800 pounds of produce for the local food pantry each year. She also was a founding member of the Gorham BackPack Program, which provides students in her community, experiencing chronic hunger, with food over the weekend. Her alternative education students are active volunteers for both programs. Heather is passionate about and experienced in using restorative practices and experiential learning. She believes in the power of relationships and that learning should be meaningful to students. Whenever possible, Heather takes students out of the classroom and has them engaged in the community. Heather graduated from Boston College in 2000, where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education with Moderate Special Needs. She later earned her Master of Science in Literacy Education at the University of Southern Maine.
Schedule for the event
3:30-3:50pm: Jason Swanson
3:50-4:10pm: Matt Drewette-Card and Heather Whitaker
4:10-4:30pm: Q & A
The zoom link will be emailed to all registered participants prior to the event.
#ArtsAreMySuperpower is a national campaign launched recently with Theatre for Young Audiences USA and 20,000 member youth arts institutions. The campaign is taking place throughout the month of October and is designed to empower young people’s artistic and civic voices across disciplines and regions, unifying national voices in support of communities’ choirs, orchestras, bands, ensembles, dance companies, theatres, museums, arts programs, and arts workers everywhere.
Specifically, #ArtsAreMySuperpower will empower young people to:
1. THINK about the ways they have been impacted by the arts in their community
2. WRITE a letter to their Senator
3. SHOW their “superpower” through their art: singing, instrument, visual art, acting, dance, puppets, etc.
4. POST their superpower and their letter to social media, tagging their Senators, @beanartshero (Instagram) or @BeAnArtsHero1 (Twitter), and hashtag: #ArtsAreMySuperpower, #ArtsHero, and #DAWNAct
5. MAIL their letter using the Post Office
For inspiration, you may enjoy this video created by the bassists from the Metropolitan Opera to the LA Philharmonic, and the many symphony orchestras in between. It was made independently but specifically for and the DAWN Act. It is a true gift. And a testament to how artists are coming together during this unprecedented and historic moment.
Your support and engagement in this campaign are welcome and you are encouraged by the campaign to share with colleagues. You can find more info about the individuals responsible for the campaign at www.BeAnArtsHero.com.
Argy Nestor
Arts Educator, Blogger, Artist, Connector meartsed@gmail.com
https://sites.google.com/view/anestor/
Argy’s Blog
The purpose of this blog is to share stories about people and places; and to celebrate the amazing work (and play) that students, educators, and organizations are doing in and for arts education. In addition, the blog has a plethora of resources and innovative ideas. This forum gives blog readers the opportunity to learn from each other. It is essential that we listen, learn, and collaborate in order to build on teaching practices for the benefit of every learner in Maine and beyond.
me arts ed 