UCSD Field Trip

Sammi, Nichole, Byn and I went to the UCSD but had difficulty finding parking and the Sun God statue.  We were not able to get into contact with the class so we were not able to meet up, but here is a picture of us visiting the statue together!! So sorry we were not able to all meet up.

Week of 4/5 Post

I volunteer as a leader, or teacher, at my church’s Vacation Bible School every summer.  I have one or two younger helpers (usually in middle school) that assist me in teaching the students and with whatever help I may need.  I usually have kindergarten and first grade students in my group and being in a team-teach setting really aids in the learning process for the students and makes the entire VBS experience more enjoyable for us all.  Being part of a suburban map group has enhanced my learning experience greatly and exposed me to scenarios and lessons I would have otherwise not had access to.  I could easily use collaboration in the classroom to teach citizenship to my students by demonstrating how to effectively work with others in a group setting while demonstrating respect, communication skills and positive group techniques.  By showing students positive group-work techniques they will be much more likely to avoid or know how to deal with difficult social situations they encounter in the future.  

Week of 3/22 Assignment

I was extremely impressed with the way that the New Children’s Museum integrated new media into every art piece in their museum.  From the second you walk into the museum you are entering art (the animal sounds you hear walking through the entry door) that is the perfect attention-catcher for kids.  The museum goes way beyond pure entertainment because every exhibit and piece has a specific educational purpose.  The educational aspect of the piece could often be found on individual cards to be passed around, in a blurb on the wall, or in one of the many videos constantly being played throughout the museum.  Any one of the museum guides could also help explain anything in the museum extensively, and with excellent ability to tailor the information to a younger crowd.  I very much enjoyed our time at the New Children’s Museum and will keep it in mind if I ever need a fabulous field trip to show my classroom how art is not only connected to all other aspects of life, but also extremely fun and cool!

Week of 3/8 Assignment

Like every other aspect of human life and culture, it was absolutely inevitable that art would be impacted by technology as well.  We are very much in the digital age and I feel that the various developments in art with a technological flare are not only valid art forms, but innovative, unique, and beautiful.  Photography is the art form that stands out to me the most because I feel that all students are capable of learning how to take incredible pictures.  The example of the September 11^th commemoration “Tribute in Light” stands out to me especially.  These two beams of light are an artistic statement in real life as well as in the photograph.  The capacity of photography is that it can capture live art and preserve it for people to enjoy and appreciate long after it is gone.  The beauty of photography is that it can be personalized to each individual photographer and reflect what they personally see as art not according to anyone else’s rules or ideas.  I think that this has the ability to be an extremely powerful art form that can reach students of all ages and backgrounds.           

            I was so intrigued by Luz Chung’s presentation on social justice and got a great deal out of her visit.  This was the first time I was presented with Paulo Freire’s radical idea of critical pedagogy and I must say I feel that I might be a convert!  I absolutely agree that as teachers it is vital to engage and encourage every individual student in our classroom as well as establishing a relationship with the parents.  I feel a way I could create a common ground for all students would be to encourage them to create and start an organization or group working to help a social justice issue, such as protecting the environment.  I believe that the best way for any two people to form a close and authentic bond is by working and serving together.  Therefore, I feel that by encouraging students to do this would forge an all-inclusive curriculum for students.  

Week of 3/1 assignment

Our visit to SDMA has been a highlight of the course so far for many reasons.  I absolutely love seeing all that San Diego has to offer; it is always refreshing to get off of campus and enjoy the city.  I was extremely impressed with the modern art museum and thought that it had remarkable collection of pieces from all over the world.  I think what made the experience unforgettable was our personal curator.  He was so knowledgeable of every piece of art we viewed and his passion for the subject matter oozed through his tour, consequently inspiring me as well. 

            With the realities of the present day social and economic limitations, not all students will ever realistically have equal access to resources such as this wonderful museum.  I feel that museums, SDMA being a perfect example, do everything in their power to be available and accessible to the greatest amount of people possible.  The specialized tour that our curator created specifically for us as future elementary teachers goes to show how willing they were to accommodate our needs.  It is so refreshing to have such an incredibly positive experience that truly excites you about the subject matter.  This feeling of passion and encouragement is exactly how I felt during and after our trip to SDMA and I am confident that this museum will yield similar results in every student that is fortunate enough to visit it.  

Week of 2/22 Assignment

This week we created our own original headdresses in response to the two different versions of the “Cinderella”” fairytale.  We first heard the classic version with the glass slipper, two evil stepsisters, stepmother, fairy-god mother, and Prince Charming.  And then we heard the more obscure Native American take on the tale called “The Rough Face Girl”.  Both versions told the same basic story, yet in two completely different ways.

            The project for the week was to create our own headdress with any version of Cinderella in mind.  I brought yellow, green, and purple feathers with me to class for my headdress.  With the feathers teamed with cupcake liners and tissue paper of the same color, I created a New Orleans Mardi Gras-themed Cinderella headdress.  I first wrapped four pieces of thicker white tissue paper to create the basic shape.  Then I attached the yellow, purple, and green large pieces of tissue paper to the back of the headdress, and added the feather arrangement to the middle front and the cupcake liners to the front bottom.  I did everything in groups of three, signifying the two evil stepsisters and Cinderella.  I used staples to keep everything together on the headdress.

            This would be a fabulous project for a second grade class because you could first introduce what a fairy tale is, read examples of fairy tales, and then have children create their own unique headdresses in response to their interpretations of a particular fairytale.  This is basically the process we took.  You could even take it a step further for the kids and have them create a headdress and then write their own fairytales based off of what they created.  This would be an excellent arts integration project with English and creative writing.

            The Content Standards that are addressed or related to this project are, for grade two students:

·      Key Ideas and Details #2

·      Craft and Structure #5, #6

·      Integration of Knowledge and Ideas #7, #9 (especially #9)

Week of 2/15 Assignment

Visual Thinking Strategies, in my opinion, seems to be the absolute best way for teachers to facilitate a conversation amongst students about a visual image.  It creates a comfortable and safe atmosphere that allows even the most timid of students to feel confident to voice their opinion about a piece.  This is so important because it removes fear from the classroom, which I believe is a chief preventer of creative thought and learning.  If done well, like in the video we watched, I believe that it can break down any barriers a student may put up toward the arts or school at large. 

It is so vital that students learn how to examine and discuss works of art because, quite simply, art is all around us.  This ability allows one to foster their imaginations, be creative, and experience the world through a more colorful and cultured lens.  And to be able to feel secure enough to talk about these personal findings is the icing on the cake!

I chose Van Gogh’s “Night Café” to use for my VTS discussion.  I talked with my roommate and my neighbor and the conversation was very colorful and much more exciting than I ever anticipated!  Both girls saw the piece as very colorful, lively, and recognized the Van Gogh style surrounding the lights in the café that is famously seen in his “Starry Night”.  I thought this was impressive and showed both their academic and cultural knowledge and awareness.  And what is more is that neither girl was afraid of being wrong when making this connection.  When I asked how they interpreted the piece their individual personalities and backgrounds came out.

When describing the picture, one girl described it has a hip club scene, posh, the bar and pool table suggest that this is a hang out for middle class, yet the people in the back corner are dressed well so maybe it is a more up-scale bar/restaurant.  The other girl felt similarly about all her observations, but noticed that the colors of the painting were primarily red, green, white, and yellow.  She speculated about Van Gogh’s country of origin and was interested if he was from Spain, because red and yellow are the colors of their flag.  I thought this was an excellent observation.  When researching afterwards I found that Van Gogh was actually born in Holland (the flag is red, white, and blue) so that was probably not the inspiration for the colors.  I also found that Van Gogh was chiefly concerned with colors in his paintings, which leads me to believe that the colors must have significance.  Had I not talked with these girls I probably never would have even pondered this idea.  This is just another prime example of how teachers learn just as much from their students as students do from their teachers.  What an incredible and rewarding process for everyone!!