Archive for the ‘Creativity’ Category

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Light Up the World

December 3, 2019

Local workshops

On Saturday morning I arrived at the library in my town with a car full of materials to make lanterns. Basket reeds, telephone wire, tiny LED lights, industrial size coffee filters, white glue, blow dryers, brushes and containers to hold the water downed glue. I learned how to make lanterns from artist Gowri Savoor while attending the 2017 New Hampshire state arts education conference. I am forever grateful to Julianne Gadoury, New Hampshire State Council on the Arts Education Program Director invited Catherine Ring and myself to attend.

Since that conference Lindsay Pinchbeck, founder and director of Sweet Tree Arts Center in Hope, and I have offered the lantern making workshop several times at the local and state level to all ages and backgrounds of people. This is the type of art making that is inviting to all.

When we’ve provided the workshop it exemplifies the essence of small communities in Maine. Whether it’s at the library, community center, a community event, or an arts focused facility people find joy and success making lanterns.

Kate Smith is involved in the South Berwick Lanternfest that takes place each August. This past summer she helped lead music making with a drum circle and at the end they release the lanterns down the river to honor those who have gone before.  All ages come together for an amazing day. Whether it is small or large communities art making has the power to bring communities together.

The two hour lantern making workshop is enough time to make at least one lantern (two people made 3 in the time allotted) and dry it enough to carry home. The next day the tree lighting on the town common was a chance to lead the processional with Santa following in a town fire truck. Two people returned with their lanterns decorated. I wondered if everyone would return and sure enough my heart was warmed seeing everyone with their lanterns lit waiting at the designated spot.

My takeaways:

  • The arts bring people together in a non-judgmental way and everyone feels good.
  • All ages need and want community based chances to come together.
  • People naturally work across generations to help each other.
  • Many adults don’t make art everyday but jump at the chance to do so and love it.
  • Adults are looking for opportunities to do something engaging side-by-side with children.
  • Having a follow-up chance to use the lanterns collectively is like the glue that is needed in communities.

What I’m curious about is this – what have you noticed or been involved with that includes the arts to bring people together beyond the school – in the community? Please feel free to share in the comment section below. Thanks!

Posted in Communication, Community, Creativity, Food for thought, Opportunity, Visual Arts | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment »

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Under the Full Moon

November 29, 2019

Bellini Opera Aria-amazing

Maestro by Illogic Studios and Bloom Pictures is a lush, short film about beautifully animated woodland creatures putting aside creature differences, to perform together a gorgeous, revolutionary operatic aria under a full moon.

Beautifully Animated Woodland Creatures Perform a Gorgeous Bellini Opera Aria Under a Full Moon

Posted in Creativity, Food for thought, Music | Tagged | 1 Comment »

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Do You Think Kids Are Stupid?

November 25, 2019

Abhijit Sinha

Founder and CEO of Project DEFY, Abhijit Sinha, has created the Nook Self-Learning model in a small village near Bangalore and leads Project DEFY.  He and a team have enabled many communities to develop and run their own Nooks. Abhijit believes that high-quality​ education should be accessible in every ‘Nook’ & corner of the country. He is a proponent of the Makerspace concept where each individual is responsible for his or her own education. In this TED talk, Abhijit focuses on how Project Defy which came into existence and has been successfully running without school teachers albeit with internet connection & local volunteers.

What started as an experiment at the age of 22, has now become a functional format of scalable self-learning that is taking shape in the grassroots of the world. He is attempting to de-colonize mindsets by deconstructing education and bringing the control of learning and life back into the hands of the people. He is a habitual optimist and a forever-learner, who has a lot to say, but usually prefers keeping his head down and working. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.

Posted in Community, Creativity, Food for thought, Leadership | Tagged | Leave a Comment »

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Renaissance Paintings

November 23, 2019

Auto Mechanics 

Photographer Freddy Fabris had always wanted to pay homage to the Renaissance masters with his photos in some way, but he wasn’t sure how until he stumbled upon an auto–mechanic shop in the Midwest. This led to a brilliant series of funny portraits with auto mechanics. You’ll definitely want to share THESE IMAGES with your students.

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National Ceramic Exhibition

November 21, 2019

Calling all teachers who teach ceramics

The 23nd Annual National K-12 Ceramic Exhibition

Opens on March 25, 2020 in Richmond, Virginia 

We Welcome Your Entries starting November 28, 2019

Please use our website to enter your students at www.k12clay.org.

Our system is based upon, and devoted to, our teachers, who submit student entries on line and are advised of all details via email.  If you teach the ceramic arts and have students you would like to enter, join us so your students can be part of this wonderful showcase experience.

Last year we awarded more than $500,000 in Scholarships, plus hundreds of Awards and Prizes to both students and teachers.

The entry period will close at midnight on January 6, 2020

Teachers are able to see their progress after carefully logging in to register and then following the prompts.  For entering your students work, log into www.k12clay.org.  If you have any problems entering the work of your students, please let us know so we can help you. You can Also contact Russell Kahn at : russell.kahn@fivetowns.net

We are again sending this reminder to all teachers on all of our contact lists. We thank you for your past interest, registering your name, and hope to see you enjoying the benefits of association with us.  If you know other ceramics teachers, organizations, or schools that have not yet registered with us, please pass this opportunity on to them and urge them to respond positively. 

Work submitted will be gathered in preparation for judging by our internationally recognized independent juror who will make the final selection decisions for the exhibition.

This year our juror is Professor Keith Williams of Concordia University. Juror details and more info: www.k12clay.org

From the Board of Trustees of  The National K-12 Ceramic Exhibition Foundation, Inc.

Posted in Creativity, Curriculum and Instruction, Opportunity | Tagged , | Leave a Comment »

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Emotional Well Being of Teachers

November 19, 2019

Important focus of education

We often hear teachers talking about the challenges of supporting every student for success. I don’t think anyone disagrees that this is our priority. It is clear that it takes qualified teachers who know pedagogy as well as skills and an understanding of child development, whatever the age. In addition, understanding the emotional needs of students is a critical piece of educating  students.

During the last two phases of the Maine Arts Leadership Initiative (MALI) we spent time on how to address and support teachers needs. If we can’t, and don’t, take care of our teachers they can’t give each student the best opportunity to earn.

The 2019 Nebraska Teach of the Year, Sydney Jensen, provided a heartfelt TED Talk on exactly that topic. It’s called How can we support the emotional well-being of teachers?”

In this eye-opening talk, educator Sydney Jensen explores how teachers are at risk of “secondary trauma” — the idea that they absorb the emotional weight of their students’ experiences — and shows how schools can get creative in supporting everyone’s mental health and wellness.

I suggest you take the time to watch this (more than once) and share the link with your principals, colleagues and community members.

Posted in Communication, Community, Creativity, Curriculum and Instruction | Tagged , , | Leave a Comment »

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The Key to Raising Brilliant Kids

November 17, 2019

NPR

If you have been actively engaged in education for many years I’m sure you’ve read articles and research on a variety of beliefs about raising children.

Author Kathy Hirsh-Pasek explains in this article the “six C’s” that kids need to succeed and why raising brilliant kids starts with redefining brilliant.

Posted in Creativity, Curriculum and Instruction, Food for thought | Tagged | Leave a Comment »

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Lifelong Learning

November 13, 2019

Professional Development

Maine Arts Leadership Initiative Teacher Leaders at the music education conference in September 2019 with Denise Gagne. Front, LtoR Catherine Newell, Dorie Tripp, Back LtoR Kate Smith, Linda McVety, Pamela Kinsey, Denise, Will Stecher

Often educators get so caught up in the day to day challenges of teaching that they forget to take time to reflect on what is actually happening. Taking time for professional development, getting off your island, and seeking colleagues for collaborations is critical to feed your soul and positively impact the art of teaching!

TEACHERS NEED TEACHERS! Reaching out and connecting with someone can make all the difference for you personally and professionally. I believe if you don’t take care of yourself (personally AND professionally) it becomes more difficult to take care of your students.

Now that we’re about 6 weeks into the school year, take a minute and ponder these questions:

  1. How often have you searched for professional development opportunities that really challenged your thinking about teaching? There are opportunities if you search – some in state, some regional and national and there are opportunities on the international level.
  2. When was the last time you asked a colleague to give you feedback on a lesson or unit? It doesn’t matter if you’re new to teaching or if you’re a veteran, asking someone you trust to step into your classroom and give you feedback can provide a totally different perspective to your teaching. I know this is may be difficult for a variety of reasons but if you want to be successful and look back on many years of teaching with a smile please don’t hesitate to reach out to someone that you trust and respect. If you have no other teachers of the same discipline in your school or district, reach out to someone in a nearby district, the professional organization leadership or perhaps a college/university. (By the way, I’d be glad to help out).
  3. Have you ever seen yourself teach? Set up a video camera in your classroom so you can view it later on? Perhaps having someone visit is to much of a stretch at the moment. No problem, borrow a video camera, if you don’t have one, set it up on a tripod and take some footage of yourself that you can view later on in the comfort of your own home.
  4. What research or book on education have you read lately? Who are you following on social media? There are so many outstanding books and writers on education topics. If you need a recommendation on where to get started check out the blog post from June 2019 called Summer Reading. for suggestions. Or go to a professional organizations website and read what they’re suggesting. There are also amazing resources on the web including blogs, podcasts, and audio recordings of information that you can visit over and over. Follow someone on Twitter, Instagram or one of the other social media tools available.
  5. Do you have a curriculum that you’re actively using? Many educators are required to write a curriculum and it gets put on a shelf and not revisited until it’s time to write a new one. Is that you? I’m not suggesting for a moment that you use your curriculum for every lesson/unit but what I do suggest is asking yourself this – can you map your daily lessons to a curriculum? Is it aligned with standards? Do you have assessments in place that support what you’re teaching or your students learning? Can you answer these two questions – What am I teaching? and Why am I teaching it? If you can’t answer, I suggest that you take time and ask yourself: what do I want my students to know at the end of the school year or perhaps in 5 years or when they are adults? Good teaching and learning should drive your work!
  6. What are you doing to take care of yourself? Are you mindful of your mind, body, and spirit? This is probably the most important one and it is the one that has taken me years to integrate into my daily living practices. We are fortunate to teach the arts because many of us went into teaching for two reasons – one is we want to teach and the other is we want to be an artist. So, what is your discipline and what are you doing to focus on that personally? I have made a practice of painting every day I can for a few minutes. If there is time that few minutes turns into an hour. I get lost in my art making. When I have more time I am making mosaics. Talk about getting lost in art making. I have no idea how the day disappears. If you’re a parent I realize taking time to make art on top of being a teacher and a parent there is no time left for art making or you. Please know it took me many years of parenting and teaching to get to this point. My suggestion? Start small – 5 minutes of meditation, yoga, writing and/or reading poetry, playing an instrument, moving in a mindful way or whatever way works for you. PLEASE take care of yourself!

it’s all about being a life-long learning! What are you doing to expand and build on your thinking? And, what you doing to take care of yourself? Please share your ideas at the bottom of this blog post.

Posted in Community, Creativity, Curriculum and Instruction, Food for thought, Professional Development, VPA | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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Global Community

November 12, 2019

Education around the world

We all know that the world has become a smaller place and that we’re all connected in some way. Education and educators are no exception.

I had the opportunity to attend the HundrED Innovation Summit and participate in Education Week in Helsinki, Finland, November 5-8. Lindsay Pinchbeck from Sweetland School in Hope and I are Ambassadors for HundrED and we continue to share the amazing work of HundrED.

During the summit we met educators, young people and teachers from around the world who are doing amazing work, projects that exemplify HundrED – To help every child flourish in life, no matter what happens. Watch the video of the wrap-up of the summit.

Some of the Innovations from HundrED are below. You can learn about more at THIS LINK.

In addition to teacher Innovators and Ambassadors there are now Student Ambassadors. The program is all about sharing ideas. If you go to the page you can search in a variety of ways. I invite that you take some time to explore and learn from others AND consider applying to be an innovator for next years HundrED collection.

Posted in Communication, Community, Creativity, Curriculum and Instruction, Food for thought, VPA | Tagged , | Leave a Comment »

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Brain Power and Music

November 9, 2019

Learning 

“If children are not introduced to music at an early age, I believe something fundamental is actually being taken from them.” ~ Luciano Pavarotti

Teaching Artists Allison and Hunt Smith

Studies, research, papers, surveys, and much more all focused on the developing brain – there’s so many that support the ideas around the importance and impact that music education can make. Now more ever there is research that links the benefits of music as medicine and music therapy is always highlighting using music as a treatment that impacts mental health issues.

I especially like what this article includes – read for yourself. Available at THIS LINK. I suggest adding this to your advocacy resources to pull out at a moments notice to share with school leaders, colleagues, and community members.

Posted in Communication, Community, Creativity, Food for thought, Leadership, Music, Research | Tagged , , | Leave a Comment »

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