So, you're an art teacher?

Although I spent my college days studying Political Science with a concentration in Poverty and Human Capability, I've ended up a high school art teacher in the Mississippi Delta with Teach for America. Weird, right?

I've been at this gig for probably seven weeks now, and am finding that its a lot harder than I thought. It's NOT all Splatterpaint and pinch pots....in fact, more than once I've been close to tears because I just can't seem to explain some techinique or idea so that all of my kids will get it. And maybe having the confidence to create your own artwork isn't as important to some people as being able to read, but if a child has a creative outlet and they can FEEL successful about, then I'm pretty sure they're more likely to try harder in other subjects where they might not be as successful. Another TFA art teacher said it well when she explained that her Big Goal was to boost the self efficacy of her students. Right on.

Because my school disctrict doesn't offer Art classes before the High School level, I've had to teach concepts that most art students get in middle school (Line, Shape, Form, Value, Color, Texture or Balance, Unity, Rhythm, Movement, Patterns, etc)
This has resulted in 7 weeks of mini-lessons so my kids have the foundation to really sink their teeth into some tough artwork later..but since I don't even really have an art background its been difficult for me to figure out how best to teach them. Yikes. Things are going fairly well so far, considering...

My kids are awesome (most of the time) and the people at my school have been supportive of me, but we don't have that many resources. But I do want to thank the friends and strangers who've been so kind to send gift certificates to craft stores and money for art supplies! You have no idea how much that will help my class...

This week we're wrapping up a value and color exercise and moving on to texture. I'm a little nervous about how that's going to go. Anyway, as soon as I get a digital camera I'm going to post examples of my kids' work...so keep checking back.