Read & React #1

"12 Qualities great teachers share"

It is hard for me to truly know how committed to teaching I am from experiences as a teacher.  Yes, that is a strange thing to say but I am not an art teacher yet.  I have done my student teaching and am currently a substitute teacher but an art teacher that dose not make me.  I am going to rate myself more on my hoped perception of my own abilities, and hopefully this comes across as more than a big ego.  On the other hand I am in my eleventh year of college because I refuse to quit until I am an art teacher.

Passion for Teaching - 1 / My earliest memory of wanting to teach or mentoring others was at seven when I taught my brother how to add, subtract, etc. at the age of three.  Granted he was and is an exceptionally smart person, but I was elated that he understood what I was trying to teach him.   I still have a deep desire and passion for teaching and I still get that feeling of elation when a student has that look of understanding dawning on their face. 

Love of kids - 1 / Children are exhausting, infuriating, tedious, maddening, and I love them for it.  I have been working at a head start center for the last month, kids aged 3 to 5, and out of the 16 students in our room almost half have some kind of behavioral or developmental issues.  Just yesterday when I left work my boss asked me if I was going to keep coming back, because she is convinced the room will eventually frighten me off.  One of the kids I love the most is the worst one in the room, but he is such a sweet kid.  In education if we are not unwilling to look past the rough edges to the diamond underneath then you have no right to be the the field.  I personally caused my fair share of grey hair, and I owe a great debt of gratitude to the teachers who never gave up on me.  

Love of their Subject - 1 / The only quality I might add to this list, and it is a pretty awesome list all on it's own, would be a core belief that anyone can create and make amazing art, no matter how primitive it looks at first glance.  Now this is very specific to art teachers, more so, than just a love for the subject matter one teaches and or is being taught.   Not every subject will apply but for me art is the most important because it can help to build characteristic in students which lend themselves to other subjects.  So aspect of creativity should be added to every other subject taught in school.  Without art life would be meaningless. 

Understanding of the role of a school in a child's life - 2 / For many students school is the one constant in their young lives.  With the staggering increase of rate of "broken" homes students often depend the school to have any kind of consistency in their daily routine.

A willingness to change - 2 / With every art or education course I've taken I see more ways I need to change my thinking or rational.  The hard part comes in when I try to implement these changes into my life.  As educators we must be life long students first and teachers second. 

A work ethic that doesn't quit - 2 / During my student teaching I got to know the night custodial staff really well.  I am a little sad to say that I would often leave after the custodian.  Part of that is that it was simply easier to stay and work on lesson plans and exemplars at the school than to bring it all home but I loved being able to work in a quiet space filled with art supplies and work. 

A willingness to reflect - 2 / "Thinking is the only way by which the mind can digest content", "students have difficulty thinking critically about their actions 'unless they are writing or speaking out these thoughts in settings in which others respond."
"Writing is not only a medium for thought, it is a potentially powerful vehicle for developing thought"
"... the practice of reflecting critically on their work -- a process inherently necessary for exemplary teaching.(Henry, pg. 17 & 20) are my favorite quotes about reflection by C. Henry and have been proven accurate.  What more can I say, with out reflection you can not become great. Henry, C. (Vol. 52, No.2, March, 1999). The Role of Reflection in Student Teachers' Perceptions of Their Professionsal Development. Art Education, 14-20

Organization - 3 / I have to admit I really related with Chris Lehmann on this one.  I have always been great at winging it, as long as I understand the topic I was talking about.  I am not organized enough and more than once I went a whole day without one lesson being written down.  I knew the ins and outs of what I was going to teach and always had exemplars but this is a very bad habit to let myself get into. 

Understanding that being a "great teacher" is a constant struggle to always improve - 3 / We all started our Teacher Education Programs with a life time of preconceived ideas and notions about what teaching really is.  We have been "participant observers" Preschool through College.  We must understand ourselves to

Enough ego to survive the hard days - 2 / There are days I feel a great sense of self-efficacy and then there are days when I doubt I will ever fully understand what I'm doing.  The key to surviving (I think) is finding the happy medium and allowing yourself to be a little cocky and a little terrified at the same time.  

A willingness to work collaboratively - 2 / One of my favorite people was my first host teacher, Dr. Ginnie.  I was amazed by pretty much everything about her, but one of the first thing she told me was about collaborating with other teacher and how vital it was to giving her lessons validity and value for her students.  The three V's!  I only hope I will get the chance to do the same with my own class someday. 

Introduction

Hello, my name is Esther McCune and for me art making is not successful until my hands are dirty, my clothes are stained and the room I’m working in is in a state of organized chaos.

This is the third year in my certification/master’s program at MU and true to form I am late getting enrolled in my classes because of some conflict with any one of a half a dozen departments.  I love and hate MU, I can’t stress enough how much I have respected and enjoyed my teachers but with equally as much frustration I hate having to deal with the bureaucracy of MU.  I need one class to complete my certification requirements.  Last semester by the time I was allowed to enroll the course I needed was full so for the spring semester I started trying to enroll back in November, but without success until a week and a half before the semester started. Once again the class I needed was full so I said to heck with it an took another graduate fibers.  This is my first art class in a year and I have missed it terribly.  I have been in a funk for months now but feel so uplifted being able to talk about my art and about doing more work.  After meeting with Jo Stealey just once I am registered in a Fiber Artist Convention the first weekend in February and will hopefully be presenting my work. 

This past spring I did my student teaching in the Independence School District and loved every minute of it. I got wonderful recommendations for all four of my principles and full marks from my host teachers, but no job yet. I have been substitute teaching for a couple months now and am really liking being back in the classroom.  So I will continue moving forward with the program and continue trying to get a teaching position. 

PS I applied for an elementary art teacher position that popped up Yesterday, so we'll see where it goes.

I am so looking forward to the new year and all its possibilities to come with a new semester, new blog, my new job, and a wonderful new experience in Art Education!