Essay Reflections

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Mr. H's Reasons to Teach
 

During prep-time, I decided to ask Mr. H why he chose to become an art teacher. He told me that originally he had been interested in becoming a doctor and had actually attended a program to become a trauma surgeon for a while, but soon switched to science education because of how he felt about the importance of education. However, Mr. H did not pursue art education immediately, he started in science education. After working as a science teacher for over a decade he decided to obtain an art education degree because of his passion for the arts. His parents, wife, siblings, and many of his friends were artists and art had been a big part of his life since he was young. Mr. H told me that he grew up in a bad part of a large city that exposed many individuals to drugs and alcohol. His mother bought him supplies to keep him busy and away from the negative environment outside. She used art to protect her child from the violence of the world that surrounded him. Mr. H told me that he believes that art, religion, and science are how we explain and express our existence and that teaching is the most important thing you can do with your life. This was his draw to art education; he couldn’t say no to changing lives and pursuing art, a pursuit that would never end.

I empathized with Mr. H’s situation as a child and found his mother’s way of protecting him a beautiful way of doing so. I was drawn to the arts at a young age as well, but pursued it on my own accord rather than as a distraction from danger. I too have come to believe that art, science, and religion are all interconnected and inseparable. As humans we search for meaning and must turn to something for answers. I have chosen art as my endless pursuit and revel in the excitement of having the opportunity to teach others about it’s beauty and necessity in the world.

Assessment of Art

Before grading the lesson we taught to an eighth grade class, Mr. H spoke to us about how he handles the grading of his projects. He told us that he often creates rubrics that are very simple and concise; his rubrics generally have three points available per category and students are given back clear feedback. Mr. H adjusts his methods per specific project when necessary. We also went over grading for the Notan Design Lesson; Mr. H graded a couple projects with us before we left for the day. Nora and I finished grading the following weekend together, using the projects that we graded as a team as examples of expectations to remain as consistent as possible. We were also shown the basic functions of skyward to familiarize us with the layout.

It really helped to grade a couple projects with Mr. H; it is difficult for us to gauge where students should be at developmentally considering how little experience Nora and I have had recently with students of this age. It was nice to have these projects to help us understand the context in which these grades fall and to assist us in ensuring consistency as we worked through the pile of student artwork. Students were required to turn in answers to closure questions, sketches, their final notan design, and their completed self-assessment. Nora and I took all of this into consideration when we graded students and used the combination of all of this information to reflect on the teaching of our lesson and how we may choose to assess future lessons. Teaching and assessing this lesson made me enthusiastic about my future - working with students and teaching them about the world of art.

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Defining Classroom Rules

            Near the beginning of my practicum experience I spent some time getting to know the environment; it is fairly obvious that Mr. H is a favorite of his students. I saw numerous drawings dedicated to him and a very positive attitude within his class. While looking around the room I specifically looked for a rules poster, which in the end I was unable to find. I asked Mr. H about the posting of rules and he stated that students are expected to have an understanding of proper etiquette in their classrooms by this age and should understand social rules and the general expectations within a classroom. He also said that students who needed reminding of rules would be worked with separately on resolving their struggles with the environment. The only rules students received were on the syllabus and would only be discussed if there were a discipline issue.

            I completely agree with the method that my cooperating teacher used to handle classroom rules; I feel that it is unnecessary to post rules for students of this age. Middle and High School students should already understand what is appropriate behavior in this environment so they are prepared for further education, a career, and adulthood in general. These necessary social skills should have been developed through elementary education and their home life by the time they reach this class. I like how Mr. H doesn’t completely ignore addressing rules as a whole, he states them in the syllabus and reviews them at the beginning of the year then expects students to apply them. Rules will not be posted or addressed later on in life; this is a nice way to transition to adulthood.

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Suggestion for a New Teacher

I asked Mr. H what advice he would give a new teacher; he thought about it for a while and then said that the best advice he was ever given was: teach your students how to survive in the world, use art as a tool. Mr. H told me that he was placed at a school with a high percentage of students that were emotionally disturbed and that he struggled to teach them the content because of their inability to relax and work in their environment. The teacher he was working with gave him this advice after a particularly stressful day; these students needed to learn how to live in this environment before they could begin to absorb content. What a fantastic way to express a core element of education, how can they use what you teach them if they can't make it fit in their lives?

I have spent a lot of time thinking about this conversation, I immediately made connections to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Students cannot be expected to learn content if their basic needs are not met, they will be wrapped up in what is the most immediate need in their eyes and they cannot be blamed for this. As teachers we need to not only teach content, but we need to ensure that our students are emotionally and mentally prepared to learn from us. There are so many needs that we may have to fulfill to ensure that our students are prepared. There is so much more to teaching than just using banking education, these are complicated human beings that all have different needs and we need to fight to provide support and education for them. Every student, every class, and every year will be different.