Great to Meet all of You!

It was so great to meet all of you and enjoy the workshop/week with you. I hope your trip home was safe and quick! Nicole- thanks again for making it all happen!

Here is the High School connected to LCI that Barbara mentioned: http://www.insideschools.org/fs/school_profile.php?id=1439
http://www.teacherscollege.edu/news/article.htm?id=4946&tid=mg526

I was rereading some of Maxine's "Variations on a Blue Guitar" and wanted to share this:
"As I view it there are implictions here for all kinds of learning, if we value the sense of personal agency and the pursuit of possibility. And indeed, that is what lies ahead for all of us: openings, adventures into meaning, the sesnse that there is always more." (...Blue Guitar, page 56)

Thanks for letting me share this great week with you! Hope to see you all soon.

HOWDEE!!

Hello Everyone!

My name is Robin DaSilva and I am a 1st year Chicago Public Schools music teacher. I am so excited to be a part of LCI that I just can't contain myself. I'm wondering if the school year being over has something to do with my overall excitement. Hmm, could be.

Well, I look forward to meeting you all in the next couple of days.

Countdown to Ka-Zoo!

Hello All!

In response to last week's guiding question regarding your challenges in the classroom, many of you responded that time was always a factor. In Landscapes of Learning, Maxine Green touches upon the outside demands that make the job of a teaching artist difficult:

So many of us today confine ourselves to right angles. We function in the narrowest of specialties; we lead one-dimensional lives. We accommodate ourselves so easily to the demands of the technological society - to time schedules, charts, programs, techniques - that we lose touch without streams of consciousness, our inner time. (198-99)

Green is of course referring to the experiences and encounters that inform and enhance our own teaching practice. While some in our group might not consider themselves "teaching artists," we are all firm believers in the power of arts in the classroom. We too, would probably admit the need to project ourselves into the teaching methods we use every day. Each of us are unique individuals with very different styles and approaches. We're not teacher-robots (thank goodness)!

How much "inner time" do you allow yourself during the year? What effect does it have on your teaching practice? How much time do you allow for critically assessing the aspects of your own teaching and learning process (are you a reflexive practitioner)?

I think all of us will have a wonderful opportunity for that inner time Green refers to next week at the NEW.

See you Sunday!
Nicole

One week until the Journey Begins!

Hello Everyone! Sorry I'm so late in joining the conversation here. I just got back from a great trip to Edinburgh for a Children's Theatre Festival. I can't wait to share more about it. My name is Meriah Sage and I have been working with Aesthetic Education (AE) for about seven years. I worked with Kalamazoo's program and as a member of LCI's National Facilitation Team with their teaching artist professional development program. I'm really excited to share this week with you. It sounds like there is a lot of experience, knowledge and talent among all of you and I can't wait to learn more. I think one of the best things about the LCI program is that while its philosophy stays solidly grounded in John Dewey, Maxine Greene and works of art themselves, and the hallmarks of the teaching stay the same, they are constantly striving to improve their practices and methods to reach the current and individual workshop participant (child or adult). I've been out of the loop for about a year- so I'm excited to see what's changed! Additionally each workshop is created for the specific work of art and group so all of the experiences will be new for me as well. The NEW is usually filled with educators of all kinds- teaching artists, classroom teachers from elementary to high school, dance, art and music teachers in the schools, university professors, education directors at art organizations, etc. I always find the diversity rewarding and exciting. The teaching artists conducting this workshop are great. The visual artist, Barbara Ellmann, has been working with LCI for over 20 years and is a master at her craft (and she's very fun and full of energy). She also works as a museum educator at MOMA and is the founder of the New York Artists Circle. The other artists and staff are also wonderful- it should be a great week!

Also- I wanted to mention logistically that the workshops begin daily at 8:30am, but there is free continental breakfast from 8-8:30am at the workshop site. Lunch is an hour long and is on our own. There are many great small local places to go for lunch within close walking distance. The workshop site usually has free water, pop and quick snacks (granola bars, trail mix, etc) for the participants throughout the workshops. Lastly, the building where the workshops will be held tends to be warm in some rooms and cool in others (not extreme in either case, but I suggest wearing layers). If you have any questions about the city, philosophy or workshop, I'm happy to try to help! I'm not sure I'll know the answer, but I can certainly find it for you. I'm looking forward to next week!

Responding to the questions that Nicole had us ponder this week, I realize one hardship that impacts my teaching choices is time. Though I have learned to plan and teach a 35 minute dance class, I find that some days would be more successful if we just had 20 minutes more a day. The difficulty of flex-scheduling during the instructional day is a problem for most teachers I talk with. The most successful student work comes forth when I am able to collaborate with a classroom teacher. That way the student is receiving information through all senses and when processing through writing or dancing can create personal connections.

Tonight I saw Tina and had a lively conversation about teaching strategies. I look forward to our Aesthetic Adventure in Kalamazoo.

Eileen

This Week's Topic 6.2.08

Well the smells, sounds, and sights of summer are finally upon us. I hope all of you are not buried under school work and are able to get out and enjoy some of this lovely weather.

You may be wondering...What exactly have I signed up for? The Lincoln Center New Educators Workshop centers its educational and artistic immersion around two works of art which are experienced twice during the week. The works of art we will be seeing in Kalamazoo are Kite Tails (dance, performed by Wellspring Cori Terry & Dancers) and Visual Art (works from the exhibition The Figure Revealed: Contemporary American Figurative Paintings and Drawings). Working with a grounding philosophical question to guide the work, the week's work will draw heavily on discussion groups, immersion activities, curriculum planning and the development of an aesthetic education vocabulary.

My guiding question for your blog reflection this week has to do with your current teaching methodology. How have you tried to incorporate imaginative and creative learning into your current practice? What challenges do you face in your school community? With your students? How do you bridge the gap between teaching to a test and creative engagement?

A few things for you to ponder this evening...looking foward to reading your comments.

On to the good work.
Nicole

Hello out there!

My name is Joanne Young and I teach 6th grade at Goethe Elementary School in Chicago. I'm really looking forward to meeting everyone and to the workshop in Kalamazoo in June!