Illustration Friday – “Round”

It’s been a long time since I last posted an illustration for “Illustration Friday,” (wow, April 4th, no kidding?); since I was off this week for Thanksgiving, I thought I’d offer one up. Word of the week is “Round.”

Inspired by the saying, “See you ’round, like a doughnut.”

See ya 'round...like a doughnut

This is a challenge to myself, to get back on track with these Illustration Friday “challenges.” The goal, as ever, is two-fold: both to get back into the habit of drawing more myself (a tough thing to do, with all the responsibilities of teaching), and to challenge my students as well, particularly those (relatively few) who are up to the task.

Synchronicity & the gift of gab

While on the College Road trip with 26 10th graders this week, I took this photo of a piece of sculpture at U C Santa Barbara; today we’re at Cal State University, Bakersfield & had an hour before our tour started, so we started exploring the area around where the bus dropped us off.

As luck would have it, we got dropped off at the Art Department, so I walked into one of the ceramics studios & struck up a conversation with one of the students who was working on a pottery wheel.

When I asked if he could give us an impromptu tour of the department, I was directed to an adjacent area where a tall Native American Indian was instructing a few students in the art of welded metal sculpture.

The style of one of the pieces he was working on looked familiar, which prompted me to ask if he had sold any large ones on campus. He said he had one at Bakersfield  and a few others at campuses around Southern California Universities. I asked if he’d sold any to UC Santa Barbara & he said, “why, yes; several, in fact.”

I whipped out my phone camera and asked if the one I’d photographed the day before was one of them, he chuckled & said, “yup.”

His name is Laughing Horse Robinson & he gave me some great insight about an online Masters program through the Academy Of Art, San Francisco. After hearing more about my background, he said that I’d be an excellent candidate for the program, as well as someone that would be highly sought-after with my combination of computer experience & interest in further study of Art.

So, naturally, I took down his email address & will share the video & other promotional products we develop.

I also got a few minutes of video on him, along with several other tours we’ve taken this week. I’m planning on editing them together this summer & making a video of our adventures this week, as a promotional tool for next year’s recruits.

Another experience I had today at CSU Bakersfield was with our tour guide, Tyree Boyd-Pates. I filmed nearly an hour of his frenetic, extremely entertaining tour (best one of the week by far). After finding out he is a senior & graduating in five weeks, in the field of Public Relations & Communication, I suggested he send me his resume & that I could make a call to Southwest Strategies about a possible internship there this summer.

I told him I couldn’t promise him anything, other than the fact I would call & see what the possibilities were.

To say he was excited, would be the biggest understatement of the week.

So I’ve discovered another calling this week: these college road trips are right up my alley. Due to the blessed gift of gab & my ease at meeting people, the school counselor who invited me to spend the latter half of this week with all these students said this was one of the most successful trips she’s ever been on.

We’ll be back late tomorrow afternoon, after spending the night in Valencia. On the way back we’ve got two more campuses to hit: Cal Poly Pomona and UC Riverside.

The adventure continues!

Duet

There’s a really cool website for Illustrators called, “Illustration Friday,” which posits a new topic every week, generally in the form of a single word; The instructions are simple: to create “An illustration of your interpretation of the topic.” The word for this week is, “Duet” and here’s my interpretation:

My purpose for creating these images, joining the competition, if you will, is manifold, not the least of which is to keep in the habit of producing art, keeping my skills up-to-date. One of the other motivating factors, however, is to continue to challenge my students, modeling for them another way to showcase their artwork. This not only helps me maintain credibility, but also markets my work as well.

Not to mention, getting my name “out there” to potentially get some freelance work for the summer, when I’ll have all that “free time” on my hands.

I also added a page to my site called, “Illustration,” as one of the parameters of submitting illustrations for Illustration Friday.

Today was a good day

(and it’s only half over)

I figured out a really cool way to get notes and lectures to students who are absent, (or not paying attention in class); I have recorded and uploaded lectures in the past with my portable digital Dictaphone, taken and uploaded photos of my whiteboards, and linked them to a blog, but this new way uses the iMac’s built-in features to record the sound, so I don’t have to download the mp3 from the digital voice recorder.

There’s a cool program called, “Garage Band™,” that comes with iLife, a Macintosh media productivity tool, which also includes, iTunes™, iWeb™, iMovie™ and iDVD™. With the built-in microphone I recorded my lecture from within Garage Band and exported the lesson (using the “Share” menu) directly to iTunes.

I coped the iTunes mp3 file to the desktop for easy location and uploaded it to my ftp site, then connected the link to the class blog.

Now students can not only listen to the lecture when they miss class, but can also be reminded or review the lesson later. This is also helpful for students who missed class, ELL students and even Special Education, as, if they were present for the lecture and copied the notes into their notebooks, they will be able to review all the material for that day, getting input in Audio, Visual and Tactile sensations.

The even bigger consideration for doing the process this way is that I had the lecture and photos uploaded before class ended.

After sharing this with Derek Morris, my Principal at Kearny High Educational Complex, School of Science, Connections & Technology (or SCT for short), he suggested I create a series of these lecture/whiteboard notes as modules that can be purchased and downloaded via an eCommerce site.

Hmmmm… that Masters in Educational Technology might not be necessary after all…

j

Nothing like

investing a month into a program only to discover it’s the wrong material…

Though the drawing exercises I had my students working on for the last half of the first quarter and the first three weeks of this one are relative, there is an entire curriculum mapped out for the class I’ve been teaching this semester — and I am only now getting to it. Part of the challenge when I had students working on drawing skills, is that I only began teaching them 20 – 30 minutes a day, 3 – 4 days a week. The other part is, the program I had them on (drawing skills) had a goal in mind, and we met that goal.

However, as I said, I did have a huge binder of curriculum, specifically designed and piloted in another academy on our campus, which I got from the other campus and am just now implementing. This, in addition to adding some of the features of the Digital Arts & Mixed Media courseware I began teaching the school year with — which is getting students set up on the computers — is sort of turning these students into guinea pigs for the curriculum all over again.

Oh, don’t get me wrong, there is learning going on, and the skills they’re getting are transferrable and relevant, it just seems like I’m flying by the seat of my pants half the time.

We had our first collaborative assignment these past two days, and for the most part, it went well. Unfortunately, all the drawing skills I taught them the first half of the semester seemed to have been completely ignored, as, rather than giving students something to draw (copy), they were required to come up with ideas out of their heads, which, I had been warned, seems to be a difficult concept for this generation to grasp.

Most of what I seem to be grading these days is primarily on participation, following directions, and actually listening to my instruction.
I’m still modeling the behavior for students, but even that seems beyond some of their comprehension.

The amazing thing is, several of my brightest students have informed me that mine is their toughest class!

I know! Amazing, right? I think it’s primarily because they’re being asked to think in a more abstract way than they’re used to, as well as not being spoon-fed, cookie-cutter assignments. It might be too much to expect from them.

It does seem to be an interesting experiment in exploration, and that, I believe, is an acceptable adventure for students to grasp at this point in their high school year (most of my students are in the 10th grade).

I’ll let you know how they progress, and even post some of their images, as time allows.

Neolgisms or Nonsense?

every so often, when i misspeak a word, something results in what might seem to make sense; that is, a new word, or neologism;

Yesterday, when i was writing negative notes in my journal, such a word seemed to pop into my psyche: “Diarytribe.” When I mentioned this to my mom, she thought up another: “Diarrheatribe.” So I looked up several similar-sounding words on Dictionary.com and combined them into the new definitions below:

di·a·ry /ˈdaɪəri/  [dahy-uh-ree] 
–noun, plural -ries. 
1. a daily record, usually private, esp. of the writer’s own experiences, observations, feelings, attitudes, etc.
2. a book for keeping such a record.
3. a book or pad containing pages marked and arranged in calendar order, in which to note appointments and the like.
—————————————-
di·a·tribe /ˈdaɪəˌtraɪb/ [dahy-uh-trahyb] 
 
–noun
a bitter, sharply abusive denunciation, attack, or criticism: repeated diatribes against the senator.
—————————————-
di·ar·rhe·a /ˌdaɪəˈriə/  [dahy-uh-ree-uh]
 
–noun Pathology .
an intestinal disorder characterized by abnormal frequency and fluidity of fecal evacuations.
—————————————-
di·et /ˈdaɪɪt/ [dahy-it]
noun, verb, -et·ed, -et·ing,  adjective 

–noun
1. food and drink considered in terms of its qualities, composition, and its effects on health: Milk is a wholesome article of diet.
2. a particular selection of food, esp. as designed or prescribed to improve a person’s physical condition or to prevent or treat a disease: a diet low in sugar.
3. such a selection or a limitation on the amount a person eats for reducing weight: No pie for me, I’m on a diet.
4. the foods eaten, as by a particular person or group: The native diet consists of fish and fruit.
5. food or feed habitually eaten or provided: The rabbits were fed a diet of carrots and lettuce.
6. anything that is habitually provided or partaken of: Television has given us a steady diet of game shows and soap operas.

–verb (used with object)
7. to regulate the food of, esp. in order to improve the physical condition.
8. to feed.

–verb (used without object)
9. to select or limit the food one eats to improve one’s physical condition or to lose weight: I’ve dieted all month and lost only one pound.
10. to eat or feed according to the requirements of a diet.

–adjective
11. suitable for consumption with a weight-reduction diet; dietetic: diet soft drinks.
—————————————-
What do all these have in common?
neologisms, mixing them together, to make new (nearly) sensible definitions

Diarytribe – negative journal entries, criticizing oneself over stupid errors
Dietribe – bitter, critical attack or complaint about one’s food consumption
Diarrheatribe – somewhat redundant, as fluidity of fecal evacuations, though in terse, never ending verbal communication

What does all this have to do with Thanksgiving? Nothing. Just playing around in my head and in my journal, while visiting my folks in Prescott Valley, Arizona.

But you have a happy Thanksgiving anyway, eh?

So much for weekly…updates

This one isn’t going to be much of an update, but thought I’d give it a quick try, as I was checking some email and someone reminded me it had been awhile.

The main reason no updates have been forthcoming is that I switched positions a few weeks ago at Kearny High SCT (Science Connections & Technology) from Digital Arts & Mixed Media, to Visual Art & Design. What’s the difference you ask? D.A.M.M. (hate the acronym) is primarily computer graphic design whereas VAD is Drawing and Painting.

The irony?
I was hired this past summer, originally, by Horizon Christian Academy, to do, you guessed it, Drawing & Painting. I was very excited to get into a Graphics program, but my Principal told me early on that he actually wanted me to eventually teach a Drawing & Painting class; I honestly didn’t think it would happen this quickly, especially since I worked for over 5 weeks preparing the lessons and the classroom for the Digital Art class.

Having said that, it’s taken me a few weeks to get acclimated to teaching “analog” art again. I do have a greater benefit in the Drawing portion of the class than I did in Digital Art though, which is that when I performed my Student Teaching from February to June of 2009, I was able to learn every step of the process from my Master Teacher, Keith Opstad (see earlier blog entries from that experience).

The only challenge I need to overcome now is that of ordering supplies, so these students can have the same rich experience those of Westview High School did last year.

As I get opportunity, I’ll post some of my students’ work on this site.

Until then, as Tigger would say, “TTFN!”

Excrutiatingly Exhilarating

At the end of my second week of teaching and I’m beat, but continue to praise the Lord for the opportunity He provided me with, to finally fulfill my dream of becoming a teacher.

Some of my students are still pushing the boundaries (and my patience), to see how tough I’m going to be; many of them are going to have a rude awakening when they discover that I take into consideration Citizenship as a significant portion of the marks they earn. I’ll be giving them the grade they earn for their work, and a nasty attitude, including defiant disrespectful responses to my stated expectations will become crucial.

On a more positive note, I had an epiphany the other day that went something like this:
I was making some notes about a Cartooning club that I want to start after school (even though it might be a bit ambitious at this point, as I’ve already got so much going on right now); the thought occurred to me, “I finally get to get paid to study Cartooning!”

The irony is that, as a child, the cliche at our house was, “make sure to get the Sunday Comics before Jay does, because he’ll end up studying them all day.” As is true of most cliches, I did use to spend hours studying and redrawing my favorite comic strips — the difference now is, I get to study them and teach what I discover.

One other vivid memory, as pertains to Cartooning, is the first time I overheard a Cartoonist named, Paul Gringle, at a meeting of the SCCS (Southern California Cartoonist Society), discussing observations about a comic strip, with another, younger Cartoonist; I’ll never forget thinking, “This is where I belong — with a room full of other folks who study Cartooning the way i used to when I was a kid!”

I was only partly right at the time; today I can honestly say, “I am now where I belong: on campus, teaching (somewhat) eager young minds.” What I get to teach them is up to me; what I pray they learn is on them.

First week, and it was a doozy…

In retrospect, I’m glad I had last Monday off, because I had so many technology issues on Tuesday that I was unable to resolve, that I thought it may portend a disastrous week (best laid plans indeed).

Though the first day was a little sketchy (yes, pun intended), it got better each day.
I began my new class with a derivation of the previous teacher’s introductory exercise, (He had his students play  Pictionary the first week of classes, as a fun way to ascertain drawing skills, and to get to know personalities in class). The way I changed his lesson involved students drawing in Photoshop on a laptop, with the image projected up on the screen in the front of the classroom.

The process went like this:

I broke the classes up into 5 teams of 6 students; they had to come up with a team name and a team captain. Some of the team names were pretty outrageous; one group of hispanic students called themselves, “The Mexicans,” and then called me racist every time I called out their team to draw. They finally changed the name to “Coronas,” which I then teased them mercilessly for naming themselves after a beer. They of course informed me that “Corona” means “crown.” (oops)

I had them one member from a group come sit at the laptop and wash their hands with either a wet wipe or sanitizer gel (telling them I didn’t want them passing on germs to each other, and that I don’t want to catch a cold from them, since they’re using my laptop).

They then choose a card from the Pictionary box, and drew it in Photoshop while their teammates try to guess what it was. Every so often someone would draw a few lines and someone would guess correctly, so I would halt the game and ask how they figured it out. Then I would mention the significance of Pictionary, and how logo design is similarly developed, using the fewest amount of strokes or information to communicate an idea or brand.

I then had them save the file as a .png  file. I’m teaching them keyboard shortcuts, so they hit [Ctrl]+[Shift]=[S] to save the file in a folder I set up for each period with their first name, Student ID# and the Pictionary clue, so I’m also teaching them file-naming conventions and folder hierarchy).

Then they do [Ctrl]+[A] to select all on the screen and [backspace] to delete the image they’ve just drawn and saved as a .PNG, clearing the screen for the next team.

The next part of their turn is to go to the iMac workstation and take a photo of themselves, saving it in the folder for their period, naming the file their first name and ID#, so I can get to know all their names and match them to the faces quicker).

Finally, I created a template in InDesign that uses one of the ice-breakers from an orientation meeting last week with the Director of CCTE, (College, Career and Technical Education, who funds 34% of my class), along with boxes for their portrait, Pictionary image, a monogram exercise in Adobe Illustrator, and a place for a short paragraph of themselves. It will ultimately have their birthdate, name, a list of questions about likes and dislikes, a paragraph they have to add themselves, telling me something unique about themselves. Then they’ll export a PDF from InDesign that I’ll keep on my server, which we will later compare to their first efforts in our classroom.

The idea was that by week’s end they would have had an introduction to Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and Acrobat, as well as an electronic “keepsake” of their first week in class. Unfortunately, with the glitches this past Tuesday, I’m a day behind. My seat-of-the-pants Tuesday lesson was to get them to play around in Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and Acrobat, so that this coming Monday, we can put it all together.

I got the idea of altering the lesson after querying several other SCT teachers about what they do on their first day, as well as from a few of the teachers at DMD (Digital Media Design), most specifically a younger teacher named Scott Hebeisen, who said he tries to use these four CS3 programs in every project he does. DMD is another Academy at our school, Kearny High School Complex.

All in all, I’m relatively satisfied with how the week turned out. I also created a website for my students at www.KometArt.com (surprised again, that the domain was available), which includes links to a new blog, and an alteration of the Komet logo “bug” used on every campus.

Komet Logo 'bug"

Komet Art logo "bug"

Komets, with the KometArt 'bug'

The first thing I did was redraw the logo and add a computer mouse to it, replacing the “K.” Then I added the bug, replacing the “o” in Komets, to create this logo-type treatment.

Finally, since our Academy, Science, Connections and Technology, or SCT, has green as it’s main color, I chose a pleasant green (PMS 357) and added the text on top, to identify it as

Digital Art SCT

Finally, I created a smaller, square logo to use as an icon on a site called, “Vimeo,” which is similar to YouTube, only for more academic and DIY (Do-It-Yourself – non-commercial) videos.

Square icon graphic

Now comes the tough part: After all the work and getting the room ready for the school year, purchasing supplies, including markers and shelving, as well as a 1.5 TB drive that was on sale at Fry’s Electronics, to back up student work, I was told it is very likely that I’ll be changing to another classroom.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, though, as I’ll have more flexibility to create a fusion of fine art and digital art. I’ll keep you posted as it all unfolds.

But now, on to Lexi’s soccer game!

Well it’s about time…

Goodness, it’s been forever since I updated this blog (like nearly 14 months?)

Where to begin, where to begin, where to begin…

Got a new job. My first full-time teaching gig! I’ve been at school all this week, preparing my room, buying supplies, planning my first day — essentially getting overwhelmed — but, boy, does it feel good to finally start my new career.

Here’s how it went down, and a (relatively) brief synopsis of what’s been going on since my last blog update:

Finished my student teaching in June of 2009 with only one class to complete before receiving my Single Subject Teaching Certificate in Art, and my Masters in Education from National University; the class was in “Mainstreaming,” and I was able to take it online through USD. Received confirmation in October 2009.

Began substitute teaching in the Poway School District, as that’s the only district that actually called me back for an interview (actually began that in April of 2009, while doing my student teaching, as suggested by my Master-Teacher, Keith Opstad, so I could actually get paid for the days he would eventually have to call in a substitute for). I applied at San Diego City Schools, Grossmont Union School District and Mountain Empire School District, where I’d had a long-term substitute position back in 2005, but none of them called for a follow-up interview, as the waiting list to get into the system was massive.

Nonetheless, I was able to average 8 – 15 days a month, from September 2009 through May 2010, substituting pretty much wherever I could (did the whole 9-yards too, from preschool through high school — and let me tell you, with some of the behaviors I witnessed, there was little difference at the extremes on some days).

I was blessed to get quite a lot of work at Poway High School (thank you, Todd Parr and Kathy VanDyke, for all the work you sent my way), primarily due to the fact that I had my Art Credential and 25+ years of experience in the Graphics field. One unfortunate “season” was that I was at the high school when Chelsea King was abducted, as well as the following week when her body was discovered, and her murderer caught; dealing with the anguish on campus that week was difficult, but the student body was amazing, the way they pulled together during that tragedy.

Almost as soon as the school year was over, I signed up for, and became a Census “Enumerator;” (the guy that knocks on the door to get the information from folks who chose not to participate by mailing in their forms). Here’s a cartoon I drew, after hearing this comment from one of the senior trainers (re-worded slightly, to make it sound not so menacing).

After the Census work ended (averaged about 12 – 16 hours a week for six weeks), I was contacted by Chapin Marsh, the principal at Horizon High School; I had given him a resume earlier in the school year, and a position as their Fine Art teacher opened up!

What a blessing (I thought) this would be: teaching at the same place I worshipped every Sunday.

However, a week after I signed the contract to teach Drawing and Painting at Horizon, I got a call from one of my best friends, Derek Morris, asking if I’d signed the contract at Horizon.

After affirming that I had, he replied, “Well, the job over here just opened up, teaching Digital Art & Mixed Media. I need you to apply for the position, but  not until after the posting and bidding process, which will take 10 days or so…”

So, most of the month of July and half of August, I continued working on the classroom at Horizon; I cleaned and organized the storage area, arranged the desks and began putting together the lesson plans I would (eventually) never use, as the difference between the subject matter there, and the job I now hold are like night and day.

Long story short (yeah, as if I could refrain from more typing), I was offered and accepted the position at Kearny High School Complex two weeks ago, and have been in and out of my classroom the past two weeks, trying to figure out curriculum for this new classroom and assignment. Part of the difficulty has been A.) I don’t have a signed contract with the district office yet, so B.) I don’t have login capabilities, nor do I have district email, and C.) my predecessor in the classroom, Joel West, also was denied access after he resigned, so I don’t have a lot of the syllabus and courseware, except for a bunch of his files (most of which don’t have lesson plan outlines, etc. — at least as far as I can tell).

How I came to get this job is even more amazing, in that, Joel is (I’m guessing) in his mid-twenties; when I first came to nearly completing my Certificate last year, I’d visited his classroom, as Derek had always told me I’d work for him some day; it was difficult to fathom how that might occur, though, with such a youngster in the position I wanted.

But Joel is a musician — and a good one at that! In fact, his musical career got going so well this past year that he had to make a decision of whether he could perform, record and go on tour, as well as continue to teach. He decided he could not, and that’s when I got the call.

My plan is to update this blog on at least a weekly basis, as I’m certain that I won’t have a lot of time (or energy) to answer email and respond to Facebook message. So it may well be that a common entry in the “What’s on your mind?” box in Facebook will be…”check out my blog, at https://jaywing.wordpress.com/”

Blessings to you,

Jay

Had a blast at Poway High again today

Downloaded and saved this image on my desktop, while teaching Computer Graphic Arts. I saved it as my wallpaper on as the desktop image. It’s not my favorite Marvel comics image, but it will do for now.

  It was a fun day because I felt like I was actually helpful to some of the students, especially in the Computer class (although I was somewhat helpful in the ceramics class as well).

I’m just really enjoying teaching. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it to everyone, but those with whom I’ve spoken recently are likely getting tired of hearing it. The cool thing is, even though it may be several years before I get my own classroom and students, for the first time in my life I know I’m on the right track.

Teaching is what I should have been doing all along. It’s nice to know that I’m finally determined to fulfill my destiny. I know that even though it may take several years to get that fulltime teaching position, I’ll do whatever it takes to make it happen because I really feel fulfilled in this profession.

lost laptop to virus

unbelievable. I was overtaken last week by a nasty virus that mimicked my virus software on my laptop. I clicked an icon that looked right and it took over my system.

Much thanks to Kevin Harris who fixed it for me, and got it working again.

Unfortunately, I essentially lost everything on my system and am having to reinstall all my software from discs.

discs that I have no idea where they might be.

but I did find some really cool software online, including the one I’m using to update this blog entry today; it’s called, “Windows Live Writer,” and is a desktop blog updater.

So, maybe I’ll be updating my various blogs more often now.

Taxes: explained

Sometimes Politicians can exclaim; “It’s just a tax cut for the rich!”,
and it is just accepted to be fact.

But what does that really mean?

Just in case you are not completely clear on this issue, we hope the following will help.

This is how the cookie crumbles. Please read it carefully.

Let’s put tax cuts in terms everyone can understand.

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for dinner.

The bill for all ten comes to $100.

If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.

The fifth would pay $1.

The sixth would pay $3.

The seventh $7.

The eighth $12.

The ninth $18.

The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that’s what they decided to do.

The ten men ate dinner in the restaurant every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve.

“Since you are all such good customers,” he said, “I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily meal by $20.”

So, now dinner for the ten only cost $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes.

So, the first four men were unaffected.

They would still eat for free.

But what about the other six, the paying customers?

How could they divvy up the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his ‘fair share’?

The six men realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33.

But if they subtracted that from everyone’s share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being ‘PAID’ to eat their meal.

So, the restaurant owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).

The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% savings).

The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28% savings).

The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).

The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).

The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before.

And the first four continued to eat for free.

But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

“I only got a dollar out of the $20,” declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man “but he got $10!”

“Yeah, that’s right,” exclaimed the fifth man. “I only saved a dollar, too. It’s unfair that he got ten times more than me!”

“That’s true!!” shouted the seventh man. “Why should he get $10 back when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!”

“Wait a minute,” yelled the first four men in unison. “We didn’t get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!”

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for dinner, so the nine sat down and ate without him.

But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works.

The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction.

Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up at the table anymore.

There are lots of good restaurants in Europe and the Caribbean.

David R. Kamerschen

Ph.D.Distinguished Professor of Economics

536 Brooks Hall University of Georgia

(wonder how I can get in on that dinner deal…)

[back to WingNutz]

New reflections

Just wanted to say a few quick words, since it’s been so long updating the blog.

I finished my student teaching nearly two weeks ago, and have been working on a few projects for my church.
This is an image of the postcard for a concert series I uploaded to the printer yesterday:

front of the postcard for Jazz & Java 2009

Back of the postcard, with directions

I know it’s been awhile…

so much for daily or even weekly updates.

So much has been happening, I haven’t had a lot of opportunity to update this blog, to let everyone know I’m o.k.

And I can’t go into a lot of detail today, because I’m heading to school to do a whole day’s worth of grading.

But I promise I’ll update this more starting this week, as this is the last week of my student teaching.

So, buck up. And I’ll post again later this week.

WingNut

how to tick off 30 students @ once

Before Spring break, I told the students when they came back they’d have a different seating assignment.

Need I say more?

One young lady actually asked, “Mr. Wing, why don’t you just move the trouble-makers?”
I had to hold my tongue as I thought, “What makes YOU (of all people) think I’m not?”

To say we achieved our objective would be an understatement. It’s almost as if we began a new term, as there has been (near) deathly silence in the classroom. And needless to say, “if looks could kill,” those students sending daggers of resentment my way are getting the point that they don’t go to school in a democracy; this is my class.

Truthfully though, and to put a positive spin on the scenario, Mr. Opstad “saved” me by adding, “We want everyone to have a positive experience here, and this will allow you to experience the variety of styles and skill levels of your peers.”

And that’s why he’s the master-teacher, and I’m his “young Padawan.”

Mr. Opstad's young(ish) Padawan

I know it’s been awhile…

I just had to share this one tidbit from an observation yesterday;

My master-teacher, Keith Opstad, was trying to describe to the Advanced Placement students, the difference in how artwork used to be sent to jurors for the final test in class. Instead of a digital portfolio, slides used to be submitted, in addition to a number of actual pieces.

No-one actually asked, “what’s a slide?” but they might have well, based on the blank stares, even after his attempt to describe film and especially slide film.

I promise to add more to this posting later, but just thought I’d share how old I felt after that lecture.

quick note before school

As I was preparing blank sketchbook pages for my students this morning, I came up with a great idea for a logo.

As I really feel like Mr. Opstad is going to be a lifelong friend and collegue, and that this experience could lead to quite a few collaborations down the road, I developed this logo last night

Sketchbook frame logo

and then altered it a bit more this morning (still not 100% satisfied with it, but it’s a work in progress).

2nd version of logo

been awhile

but I only have time for a superquick update.

Student Teaching is going well, but I have been spending an inordinate amount of time there, as our third quarter (my first) ended on Friday, and I spent most of the weekend grading drawings and paintings for my 1 -2 class.

Tonight I begin grading paintings for my 3 -4 class, as all the grades need to be in on Wednesday for the last quarter.

Whew!

The latest project I’ve been working on is a website to keep my students informed about what’s going on in class, assignments they’ve been working on, and lab times they can come in while I’m grading their work, after school (weekends, etc.). The site is wolverineArt.com (the mascott+what I teach) and includes a video on the front page, primarily to let them know if I’ll be there on the weekend.

As part of the site, I created a YouTube account with the same name, where previous video postings are available for viewing.

I was in a really wacky mood as soon as I woke up and saw my hair on Saturday morning and added this video (the reference to James Mason isn’t the british actor who played Captain Nemo, but rather one of my students with the same name).

Needless to say, even though I’m there way too much, I’m still enjoying the heck out of it and am going to have such a great website example that I will likely be able to teach other new teachers how to build them, for their electronic portfolios (a requirement for getting a teaching credential through National University).

And, listening to the “voice of reason,” (my housemate, Roger), I changed the video on the website before going to school yesterday, to a less, shall we say, insane? video

so now you don’t have to visit the youTube site, because that’s all three videos posted so far.

I promise to add more news, even if it’s only a weekly update.

Jay

Idea for getting messages to my students

It occurred to me today to start using technology for my students. It actually took me a lot longer than I thought it would to figure out how to record this video this morning, and get it up on YouTube. But now that it’s up, and I have a ‘system,’ not only can I continue to instruct “virtually,” I also am building an electronic portfolio system, which is a requirement to get my credential.

Then I took it to the next step and created a new website to house the information. I call it WolverineArt.com (all there is on it so far is this video).

Opinion/relection; poignancy of entitlements

“You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation.. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it..” Dr. Adrian Rogers, 1931

What’s true for the nation is true for students. I don’t give grades, students earn them.

Though this reflective journal is not intended to be a political platform, I couldn’t help but post this quote (from 1931!) that someone forwarded to me in an e-mail.

I’ll have another reflection at the end of the week, after I get down off my soapbox…

I couldn’t resist

Altered image (wording) of tee shirt design I found online this morning.

After all the controversy surrounding the artist who used an API photograph to earn a living with the ubiquitous image of Barak Obama, I saw and altered this poster design for my own amusement.

Here’s a link to the  controversy over Shepard Fairey’s depiction of Obama, (the artist who used the AP photo to win fame and fortune with the red, white and blue Obama photo).

It’s only fair to mention that I didn’t design this and have no copyright ownership of it. It is merely an alteration of an existing poster design I found online.

Before you think this has little to do with what I’m learning at my student teaching gig, it is relative, as we had a discussion a few weeks ago about Shepard Fairey’s image and the lawsuit the AP is in litigation with Fairy, over copyright infringement.

Since it is not likely that the artist who’s poster design I copied and altered was the owner of the photograph s/he used on zazzle.com, I’m not terribly concerned about whether that artist will sue me or not.

I’ll merely take and alter it some more and sell the new design while the iron is still hot…

if it gets any better than this…

…I am not sure I’ll survive.

This post should have gone out last night, but I sort of vegetated after an intense week of a nasty cold and a lot of study, culminating into my best day ever as a student teacher. (so far).

Friday’s success began with grading papers on Thursday afternoon. I know what you’re thinking, “grading papers lead to an awesome day?” Yes. I took a break around 4:30 Thursday to take some notes and do a few quick sketches for the following day’s lesson and ended up doing an entire drawing instead.

During many of the lessons I prepared, I was feeling inadequate to teach becuase it’s been so long since I’ve spent more than 30 minutes actually drawing. My intention was to practice a few of the features on scratch paper by lightly sketching an eye, ear, nose and hair to demonstrate how to get very dark tones on a graphite portrait the students have been working on since the previous week. The paper I used, though not the full-sized sheet my students were rendering their final portrait on (theirs are 18″x24″, mine, 13″x18″), was from the scrap table.

At some point I chose to do a little more than the few features, and laid out a grid, to the same proportions my students had, and render approximately 3/4ths of the drawing, to make it an “apples-to-apple’s comparison. Long story short, 3 hours went by and I found myself looking at a fairly complete sample of the drawing I would share with the students the following day.

I was so proud of my drawing that I took a digital photo of it and sent it to my daughter, Erika, with the subject line: “your dad’s still got it.”

Though I did not originally intend to go that far, I had the added incentive of being observed by my National University Supervisor, Beverley “Buddy” Kelsey on Friday, and, though I didn’t necessarily want to show off, I did feel the need to “wow” her as much as my students. Here are a few of the written comments and critiques she turned in on her Observation Form:

• I like when you say, “you all,” as opposed to “you guys” (one of her pet peeves, that she warned me about). (she counted how many times I said it with tick marks – 10x in a 15-minute lecture and demonstration).
• Keep your sense of humor – self-deprecating
• Excellent demo – it made lots of sense
• I appreciate your demonstrating politeness, e.g., when you excused yourself for the interruption while they were working. Politeness is contagious.
• Your self portrait appealed to the visual learner; your description of how you achieved that affected the audio learner; then working on the self portrait (demonstration) was for the kinesthetic learner – good for you.
• Good to use other student examples as a guideline (had previous semester’s samples displayed)

Commendations/Future Goals for Ongoing Improvement based on Reflections:

• Aside: doing something “quickly” – not “really quick”
• Please lose the “you guys” – it’s not grammatically correct (“you’re college educated,” she says, “prove it.”)
• Good idea: self-critique

After the lesson Mr. Opstad added, “your drawing gave you ‘street-cred’ with the kids.”

More than “street-cred,” the entire experience was one more affirmation that I’m doing what I should be doing: drawing, painting and teaching.

(Another) best day so far

After preparing for a week for (what Mr. Opstad would later admit to me was the most difficult lesson to teach – and learn) a lesson in composing and rendering 3-dimensional shapes, I was a nervous wreck yesterday. Had I known it was the most difficult lesson, I wouldn’t have been so hard on myself after delivering it.

But I need to keep reminding myself that this is a learning experience so after I got a debriefing from Mr. Opstad, I took another crack at it this morning, telling the students, “I really laid a lot on you on yesterday’s lesson, so first thing today, lets review (that’s my story and I’m sticking to it).

During a feedback session with Mr. Opstad, I admitted that though I believe I prepared adequately, the lesson yesterday was inordinately scatterbrained. He suggested I write out the lesson on 3×5 cards, as well as put some notes on the whiteboard in front that the students could refer to during class.

What an amazing difference! I was able to think and deliver all the significant points of the lesson in an orderly and linear fashion. It seemed like such a simple idea, but it hadn’t occurred to me. What a great lesson it was for me. And the students profitted from the review as well.

So much for the lesson to Period 2, Drawing & Painting 1-2, now I get to prepare for another one tomorrow, in oil pastels, for Period 3, Drawing & Painting 3-4! Yay! Luckily, I’m also being taught to stagger the introduction of new lessons for each class, so I won’t overwhelm myself.

Thursday will be another lesson to D&P 1-2, with the added bonus of my University Supervisor observing me. If you are so inclined, please toss up a few prayers for that one, as I tend to get a little more “stage-frightened” than usual with her in the room.

From Friday night 2-20-09

(As I temporarily lost my thumb drive, this is four days late in posting)

yes, as a matter of fact, it IS 6 o’clock on a Friday night and I’m at school, preparing for my class next week. Not only that, but this week was “ski week,” a break in mid-term that is scheduled, and I’m here on a Friday night.

Truth be told, I didn’t actually get here until 4, so two hours isn’t that big of a deal. And Friday night doesn’t really mean anything because I don’t have visitation with my daughter, Alexa tonight/this weekend, nor have I been on a date in …
jeepers, I don’t know how long it’s been.

I may have mentioned this before but I had to write myself another reminder today to stop being anxious about this assignment. As I was preparing to go to the library to print off some lesson ideas and notes from LearningPoint.com (Westview’s website), those creeping thoughts came in, “Monday is only three days away and there’s no way you’re prepared enough to teach!”

My biggest challenge remains that it’s been so many years since I did anything by hand that I’m having to re-learn how to render objects, mix paint and pastel. The bigger challenge is just sitting down, clearing off a big-enough space and doing it. (insert Nike logo here).

Mr. Opstad has laid out a beautiful environment for me to learn — easily the best of all the students I’m sitting next to durning my Thursday evening seminar class — and I’m, what, afraid?

Afraid to play with paint?
Where in the heck did that come from?
I love playing and experimenting.

It’s all the technicalities of creating lesson plans before the playing begins that’s been “nervousing” me. (I know that’s not a real word, but an old girlfriend of mine used to use it, and it seems appropriate in this situation.

So here’s what I learned today as regards my new way of learning and teaching:

1. Grab the samples from the large portfolios that Mr. Opstad has saved from previous classes and replicate them. Play with it, study it, like never before (like when you had time — when you were in junior high school), so you’re confident when you demonstrate it to the students.

2. Write out a “lessons learned” on the process it took to achieve the results

3. Write out your lesson plan, based on what you experienced — the good and the bad — including the standards, differentiation, vocabulary, bridging from prior learning, etc.

4. Teach it by modeling what you learned, in demonstration format.

5. Assess what you learned by viewing the results from the student’s work.

And then move on to tomorrow.

And play with another media. This is where it gets really exciting!

Like Randy Pausch said in his “Last Lecture,” on the video we watched in class last (Thursday) night:

Professor Pausch said, “Brick walls show us how badly we want something. Brick walls are there to prevent those who are unwilling to do whatever it takes to succeed.” (paraphrased)

And lastly, with regards to what I’m still doing here, when he was asked how he got to be tenured as a Junior Professor at Carnegie Mellon University, he said, “You want to know how? I got here so quickly? Call me at my office on a Friday night at 10:00 o’clock, and I’ll tell you.”

I figure this work ethic puts me in darned good company.

Now I know why

My kids havent’ contacted me in a while:
First, they’re way better students than I am and likely invest most of their time studying and going to class. Secondly, they are social animals, and “have lives.”

Such is not the case with me, outside of a home fellowship Bible Study I attend every other Thursday night (the other Thursdays I’m in class).

My best intention to update this blog ran into the reality of a hectic study schedule, as I spend most of my waking hours trying to plan for the next day of teaching. Fortunately, this coming week is a break they call, “ski-week” so I have this week to get caught up on studying to teach, as well as studying for the class I take at National University which is the final preparation for my credential.

This past week I have almost completely taken over Mr. Opstad’s 2nd & 3rd period classes. To say it’s a grueling process is an understatement. My respect for every teacher I ever had is growing exponentially, as I had no idea how much time it takes to prepare and maintain this schedule.

While I’m certain that experienced teachers can do most of their functions on a sort of auto-pilot, it’s going to take quite a while for me to even earn my wings.

On Thursday I did my first demonstration of a technique in cross-hatching with graphite (#2 pencil). I practiced the technique modelled by Mr. Opstad twice before class that day and still got really nervous about half-way through. With 30 pair of eyes staring at you it can get pretty anxious.

I’m not sure if it was proof that my lecture demo was well received but several of the students did a better job at rendering the Value Scale than I did. One thing is certain: my skills are going to improve right alongside theirs, as long as I can continue to put in the practice time.

If you don’t hear from me for awhile, please be patient. I’m likely sequestered somewhere, studying for class or writing lesson plans.

Best day so far

Yesterday I took the plunge and taught an entire class. My first.
The result was pretty successful.

I’ve been observing Keith Opstad’s class for the past three weeks (has it only been three weeks?) and am learning — and attempting to process — a ton of information. Yesterday I put all the information to the test and was actually as pleased with the result as Mr. Opstad. (And I have his written, informal critique to prove it).

A significant part of the success was just jumping in. I did a dry run on the lesson with Mr. Opstad before class began and then just ran with it, based on the immediate critique received, literally 10 minutes before class began. It was exhilarating and nerve-wracking all at once.

I would apologize for not updating this blog more often, but the preparation for teaching is intense, and my third biggest priority, next to getting regular visits with my daughter Alexa and daily communion with my Lord and Savior. I thank God that He’s been preparing me and patiently waiting for me to realize this life-long goal of becoming a teacher.

The lesson I taught yesterday was nothing less than an affirmation to all of you who knew I should’ve done this twenty years ago.

Thanks for your continuing support.

Might’ve been a bit ambitious…

To think I was going to be able to keep up the pace of adding to this blog every work-day.

Even though the days are easing a bit, I’m still not getting as much done as I’d like. I know I need to spend a lot more time planning and a lot less time tv-viewing. I just get so exhausted by the end of the day I just need to wind down and relax. I’ve actually gotten accustomed to taking a quick nap as soon as I get home, then fixing dinner and getting to work on the next day’s planning. If the tube comes on at any point, the rest of the evening’s shot.

Update on the paid substitute teaching for my master-teacher when he’s out; unfortunately there’s a seminar required before I qualify and the next available one isn’t until March, unless someone drops out and a space opens up for the February seminar.

It’s pretty weird that the substitute hired for today and Monday is getting paid, but I’m essentially running the class, taking attendance, helping the students with their projects etc.

It’s kind of cool that Ann-Marie, the secretary in the office is more upset than I am about the situation, but I’m actually o.k. with it. I had an interesting scenario develop today, as one of the other teachers needed someone to substitute on the spot for him and they came to Mr. Opstad’s class because he has first period prep. The sub wasn’t here yet so I actually filled in for Mr. Spiess, as he went home sick. It’s also unfortunate, but policy nonetheless that even if I’d gone to the seminar for substitutes, I wouldn’t have gotten paid because the only paid substituting I can get paid for is in my master-teacher’s room.

I was blessed that Thursday was a “lite” day. I dropped off Alexa and got to school by 8:30, set up my laptop and got ready for Keith when he got in.

A light bulb went on between Period 2, Art 1 & 2: As Mr. Opstad was adding to the vocabulary list, and then mentioning the next two assignments to the class: #9 & 10, “Full body animateI ald character,” and “Animated Character Head w/constructions lines,” I noticed how the sequential building of the vocabulary was tied to the assignments. Keith likely mentioned this before, but there’s been so much information thrown at me in a limited amount of time that when I saw the connection I got excited. It made sense. 

It’s also getting to be painfully obvious that it may take a few weeks for me to get to the point where I can actually produce the assignments myself. that had me a little worried, because I’ve always thought that I needed to be able to do, or at least have attempted an assignment before I could teach it.

Keith just sort of smiled and said that was a little ambitious along with learning how to teach.So rather than come up with all my own assignments after I take over, he’s going to share all his with me to teach.

As you might imagine, that’s another huge burden lifted off my shoulders.

At the end of my second week, I’m feeling pretty weary, but am still excited. I’m getting really good feedback not only from Mr. Opstad but also from the students. I think the cartoon ties really help (actually an understatement, as several comment every day that they can’t wait for the next day to see what I’ll come to school wearing.

When Mr. Opstad gets back from his 4-day weekend he and are are going to get together and plan the next few weeks. I may be taking over sooner than I originally thought so I’m excited and a little scared at the same time. I’ve got a lot of planning to do so ttfn (ta ta for now)!

Speed Bump Cartoon

I won't be telling my students this

Was checking my email this morning and thought this cartoon was appropriately related to a potential future blog about something one of my students may do in class. I’m sure I’ll be tempted, so I’ll have to make sure I don’t use any of their actual names.

the mirrror’s gettin’ clearer

Though it was not mandatory, as I’m a student teacher, I attended the professional growth day at Westview. I got a chance to see all the teachers and there was a brief moment where Mr. Opstad introduced me to the whole ensemble. Thankfully I was able to leave at a breaking point and go back to the classroom to work on Lesson Plans.

Later in the day I sat in on a meeting between all the master teachers and National University’s Student Teacher Supervisor, Buddy Kelsey. She spoke to the master teachers about how National works with them, what to expect, and arranged when she would come in to observe the student teachers in action.

Her first observation of me will be in two weeks, so I’ve got a bit of preparation before then.

After all meetings were over I sat with Keith and he explained how we’re going to progress. Beginning tomorrow I’ll be co-teaching, adding any comments to his instruction. Then by next week I’ll do a lesson or two and he’ll comment. Before February is over I may be doing all the lessons with his help, and by March I will likely be in charge of the whole ball of wax.

One exciting development is that I was told by the administration that if I renewed my 30-day Emergency Credential, I could substitute for Mr. Opstad, should he be sick or take days off. As it happens, he’s taking this Friday and next Monday off, as it’s his birthday on Monday.

After school I scooted down to the District Office and tried to get a renewal, but as luck would have it, the website was acting up, so I wasn’t able to get it taken care of until this evening. I’ll be heading back down there tomorrow to get the paperwork filed.

I’ll be on the payroll!

I made an off-the-cuff remark to one of the vice principals during the professional growth meeting that is worth mentioning, as it speaks to the blessing I’m feeling about my assignment; when she asked how things were going I said, “It’s been more than a bit overwhelming, but thankfully I’m in good hands with Keith. In fact, were it not for him, I would likely not still be here.”

It’s been one of the most stressful, but also the most exhilarating things I’ve done in a long time. So here’s to more of the same!

Forgot to mention last night, why the mirror cleared up: during last night’s studying it occurred to me that the reason I was feeling overwhelmed is because I was trying to do 100 things at once. Had to remember I’ll only be accountable for 2 lessons a day and that most of them will be merely presenting existing lessons from Keith’s repertoire.

I keep forgetting the axiom: Keep It Simple, Student. One day at a time, two lessons (my new mantra).

the best laid plans…

…of mice and student teachers, often go awry.

Good news? I’m getting better at getting to bed at a decent hour.

Bad news? The firewall/filtering software won’t allow me to do my reflection from school yet. And I haven’t developed my evening habit of getting to a computer to do my reflection. But I’m still working on it.

As the quarter is settling into more of a normal workday, on Friday the students worked more autonomously, so I was able to get a little more time with Mr. Opstad during the day to ask some of the questions that’ve been germinating for a few days. No surprise, but one thing I learned was that the budget the school gives him is so miniscule that the lab fee donation really supports the program. If he had to rely solely on the budget, there’d be no program to speak of, beyond paper and pencils, and a few bottles of paint. Next week Keith is going to show me exactly how he invests the fees into the supplies used in class.

Another key ingredient that I’m getting a feel for is pacing, that is, how long does he give the students to complete the assignments. Though a few of them have finished these early projects in a day, he’s introduced three so far and I haven’t been able to keep up. It was my intention from the beginning to do all the assignments, as a student, but it’s becoming apparent that, due to my observations and getting acquainted with the students, that’s not going to be possible during the school day.

Solution? Start my day earlier and stay later to do the assignments before and after school on site. One benefit will be that I can get uninterrupted time, the other is, and this will be more beneficial at the end of the quarter, is that I can keep the lab open after school for any of the students who want to come in and work. So I’ll get the work done and get acquainted with the students more quickly.

Though technically I don’t have to be onsite before 2nd period (which varies from day-to-day, but never earlier than 10:00 a.m.), there’s a lot that I want to accomplish, and even more that I need to learn. I’ve joked about it, but if I could figure out a way, it would be great to be able to bring in a cot and be there 24/7 — there’s that much information to soak up in the next 18 weeks.

How pacing is working so far is that, having several projects going on simultaneously frees up the instructor to work with students at their pace, while still having deadlines so the pressure to work every day still exists. So far, the expectation to complete projects on deadline only seems to be a hindrance to the students who either procrastinate or talk to their peers too much during class.

The biggest surprise that eased my mind yesterday is that most student teachers are given their assignments a month in advance of the new quarter beginning. Mr. Opstad let me know that the learning curve I’m experiencing is intense because I didn’t have that month of observation and Q&A time in his class to prepare to take over the class eventually. I forgot to ask him if he had that month when he student taught, so that when his master teacher gave him the reins he at least had some notion of what was what.

Monday is going to be a really interesting day, as it’s a professional development day. While I’m not required to be there, as I’m developing the habit of doing more than is necessary, I’m definitely going. Though I’ve eaten lunch in the teachers lounge twice so far and met a few of the other teachers, I’ll be introduced to all of them at once during the potluck they have at the beginning of the training.

Another thing I have in common with my master-teacher is a love of good resource material; he has suggested and loaned me a book called, “Art: Images and Ideas.” His library, though less extensive than mine (of course I haven’t seen what he has at home), is more focused on gleaning potential lesson and unit plans, and he’s let me know that I may borrow as many of them as I’d like, as long as he knows when i take them.

To quote the one word any who spend time with him hear regularly, “awesome!”

That pretty much caps this week’s experience. “Awesome.”

(not necessarily) bad habits are hard to break

Instead, I’m going to have to double my efforts at creating new habits.

I’m talking about the fact that my weakly (misspelled on purpose, of course) habits, though not necessarily bad, need a drastic improvement. Like, now. It’s 6 am and I’ve already broken two of the resolutions I set for myself: a.) to do my daily reflection at night before going to bed, and b.) to get to bed at a decent hour so I can get up by 4:30 to start my day.

Even though it’s Friday, and my mentor/master-teacher tells me he “runs over the ‘kiddos’ on his way out the door on Fridays,”  the way I’ve decided to nip at least a.) in the bud will be by staying after school and doing the reflection, before it has a chance to leave my short-term memory.

Of course, as a student teacher, I’m so far down on the school district’s food-chain that I can’t even get a logon to the internet system, iPrism, that plan might not work well. iPrism is the filtering system at the school that students need to log into, to keep them from porn, etc., and as I found out yesterday when trying to get an account with their learningPoint software, it takes an act of God to get access for even full-time contract teachers. So I’m not hopeful that I will be able to logon and do this (you’ll know if you’re able to read the update before 4:00 p.m. today).

The biggest news from yesterday was that I am not required to take over every class. Mr. Opstad teaches 3 periods, and has a morning prep period to get everything together for the day. 1st period is prep, 2nd is Drawing and Painting 1 & 2, 3rd is Drawing and Painting 3 & 4, and 4th period is AP students and Studio Art. I’m only responsible for teaching two class periods at two levels (so, whew!).

The second biggest relief is that Keith is allowing me to ease into the control/planning/implementing of the classroom slowly, so I don’t get as overwhelmed as I felt that first day, trying to imagine how I was going to tackle all the objectives of running his classroom. He shared with me that when he did his student teaching, his master-teacher essentially said, “Have at it,” and he was responsible from day one for the class.

You can’t imagine my relief when he shared with me how unfair it was and that he’d never do such a thing.

The most exciting news of the day, however (and you’ll have to excuse my over-use of the word, as it will likely work it’s way into every blog — at least hopefully it will), is that Keith is essentially opening up his entire resources to me. He says I can access and teach all of the lessons he’s developed, or create my own. 

This is huge.

As if, while I was going through the credential process (from July 2003 – September 2005) wasn’t difficult enough (I was never a stellar student in my teens and early twenties, let alone in my late 40s), being a Graphic Artist, Designer and Project Manager in the Graphics field for the past 25 years, it’s been 31+ years since I’ve studied the basic elements of Drawing and Painting. Add to that the fact that the first exercise I did on Wednesday, the pre-assessment drawing, was the first time I’ve attempted such in all these years means my skills have atrophied as well.

So, as an older acquaintance at Sea World used to tell me (daily, sometimes multiple times daily), “You gotta lot to learn, Jay.”

I’m starting to learn that teaching has other costs: I had my cell phone in my pocket and must have leaned too hard against the side of the desk, while cutting up matte-board for a project yesterday, as, when I pulled my phone out of my pocket, I was surprised to find the screen cracked in half, under the protective plastic shield.

Thankfully the insurance will cover the cost of replacement, minus the deductible. And thankfully my phone will still work until I get the replacement phone either Monday or Tuesday. But I can’t see anything on the touch-screen, so if you’re texting me (which I’ve now been made aware how much more of that I do than actually calling), don’t be surprised if I don’t respond.

I can, however, receive calls, so feel free to do so, and I’ll be back in text mode when the replacement phone comes in.

So begins another day of excitement, eh, elation (gotta find better synonyms for that word)…

the morning after

Didn’t quite hit the mark last evening (adding to my daily reflections on my student teaching assignment); instead I played racquetball right after work, picked up my daughter from her theatre rehearsal, brought her home and had dinner, watched a little tube and went to bed. 

Not what I’d call a productive evening. So I’m doing it this morning. 

When I woke up this morning (an hour ahead of my alarm), I debated whether or not to get up. After doing so, and while doing  my daily devotional, I had a flashback to my last year in college at CSULB (1983), when I discovered my peak performance time to be from 4 a.m. to noon, so I decided this morning to rise and get back into that habit, so here begins what I would have likely written last evening:

Keith Opstad is the kind of teacher I want to be “when I grow up.”

To say I was overwhelmed my first day would be a gross understatement. Granted it was the first day of a new term and there was a lot to take in, but Keith’s style made it look easy. Of course he has 15 years of experience, and, being one of the first teachers chosen to begin the program — not to mention having a hand at designing the architectural layout at Westview — definitely models confidence, not to mention excellence in our field.

Like an old friend of mine used to say to me, “You got a lot to learn, Jay.” Another understatement. Not only the process of teaching, but I also the necessity to re-learn the basic theories and practices of a beginning artist.

It didn’t help my confidence yesterday that several of the advanced students at Westview have talent that exceed mine; that’s kind of a new experience for me, at least in a high school setting. From the samples on the wall, to a first “pre-assessment” drawing I did alongside one of the students yesterday, I’m not only a little jealous of the opportunity these “kiddos” (as Keith calls them) have, but am excited to re-experience the learning process, as well as advance my own abilities. My intention is to do all the exercises/lessons in advance of the students at home, as a preparation for class, as well as alongside them in class.

My greatest task will be to discipline myself with a schedule of study and preparation; I am blessed to be learning from the best. The greatest benefit I realize this morning is that I could not have hoped/prayed for a better mentor-master teacher. Just another example of how the Lord answers a prayer in advance of the prayer being requested.

I’m excited and scared out of my wits at the same time.

Life is good.

Jay Wing’s Student Teaching blog

This blog will be primarily used to reflect on my Student Teaching experience and beyond, beginning 1/21/2009

I will be mentored by Keith Opstad at Westveiw High School, in San Diego, California. This and other links will be updated as time permits, from my main site, HISwork.com as well as my cartoon site, WingNutz.com (when I get an opportunity to update that one as well).

Thanks for visiting

Jay