Once upon a time

…there were two art teachers who worked side by side.  Every day kids showed up at their doors, picked the one that led to their class, and sat down to hear what they would be creating.  Depending on which door they picked, they might do something with clay or something with pencils.  Kids who went in the door on the left never did the same thing as those on the right.  They never gathered together as a large group to do fun things.  They couldn’t share experiences with their neighbors because they didn’t see the connections.

Both teachers loved what they did and were very good at it.  They had really cool ideas.  They tried new things.  THEY talked between rooms, and saw what the other was doing.  And it didn’t take long for them to realize that they really wanted to try out the things they saw next door.  As they started asking questions, they realized that the other one felt the same way.  Before long, they had a whole new plan for how they were going to teach art.  Instead of living in two completely separate worlds, they were going to join forces and become a Super Team.  They were going to take the best parts of both of their worlds and put them together to make a better world.

That’s what we did, Mercy and I.  We started working together just over a year ago, and it didn’t take long for us to realize that we were better together.  The gestalt of our creative juices makes for an art program that is like a big creative freight train, starting off slow and ever gaining momentum.  Mercy is great at keeping up with what’s going on in Art Education, taking conferences and workshops all the time.  Michelle (me) keeps looking for new ways to use technology in the art room.  Together we push each other and keep each other in check- whichever is needed most at that time.

Looking back at how it used to be, it’s hard to imagine what appeal such separate ways of doing things would hold for any two teachers who teach the same subject.  The tendency to keep things to yourself is strong in many teachers, the thought that ‘I worked on this, I thought of this, I developed this’ is very prevalent in the minds of teachers.  But when you let your teaching practices be dominated by what I am doing, you miss out on a world of what They are doing.  And when you start looking around, not just in your own building or district, but when you start making connections in your community and in your world, you will find- without a doubt- that They have some pretty cool ideas.

So why should you knock on your neighbor’s door and ask to partner up?

1. We are all experts at something

I taught Digital Art for many years before I began teaching middle school art.  I had lots of experience with teaching a class full of kids who were sitting at computers.  I tried, and failed, at many different things when teaching digital art.  But through it all I learned many things about what works and what doesn’t.

Similarly, Mercy has invested hours upon hours of her own time attending and viewing conferences and seminars that teach the STEAM philosophy of teaching. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math).  She has binders full of ideas and lessons that integrate science, math, and the arts.  And she has the knowledge and experience that tell her when a lesson is truly hitting those core ideas (versus a lesson that is just a project, not teaching anything really important).

Each of us brings something really important to the table.

2. It’s hard to see your own faults

Sometimes a lesson looks great, feels great, and sounds great, but it isn’t.  That’s hard to see from the inside.  It’s so easy to get caught up with a great idea only to find that when you roll it out it has no teeth.  When you partner up with someone who knows what you’re trying to accomplish, it’s often easier for them to see when you are up and running with an idea that isn’t all that great.  If you have a really great working relationship, you will benefit from someone who can tell you when you are doing just such a thing.  Maybe you need to tweak it, or maybe you need to scrap it, but it’s better to know it before you roll it out to your classes.

3. Connections count

I came to this classroom with a few good connections within the district for when I needed to get something accomplished.  I have worked with technology for years, and so I have fostered a few relationships with the technology people- meaning that when I have a need or a question I know who to ask.

Mercy lives in this community, and has tons of connections outside of the school building.  When we wanted to post artwork in the outside world, Mercy knew the people who could get our kids’ artwork hanging in the Pediatric Hospital in town.  Had that been me, I wouldn’t know where to begin, but for Mercy this was a quick phone call and the plan was set in motion.  On the other hand, I was able to shoot out a few emails and make a few requests that led to our program getting a laptop cart.

When you add people to your team, your team grows exponentially.  You aren’t just getting one person, you’re getting a whole group of people who can all help with your program.

4. Combining kids is fun

This one is easy to understand- when you have the same kids all year, it can be fun to mix it up once in awhile.  And it’s good, not just for the teachers, but for the students too.  It’s good for them to get up and move, and it’s good for them to see what people outside of their bubble are doing.  It’s also good for them to know that other people are looking at their artwork, that it’s not just the few people they sit with that will be seeing and talking about their projects.

For some kids, this is almost second nature, they show all aspects of their lives on social media and post pictures wherever they go.  For other kids, though, opening up their art to the scrutiny of other students is a learning process, and is not easy.  They have to learn to be ok with someone else commenting on their work.  It’s not easy, but it’s a very valuable skill for a student to have, as they need to be able to take and use constructive criticism in all parts of their lives in order to become their best.

 

 

I’ll stop there for today, although this is a list that will continue to grow, day by day, year by year, as Mercy and I ride this train that is Middle School Art.

-Michelle