Field Trip

Okay, I am going to put this one in the "Win" column. Our AP Art History class traveled to the Museum of Fine Art Houston yesterday for what I call the "Brainiac World Tour - Part One". We were met by Christine Starkman, who is the Curator of the Asian Galleries of the MFAH. Ms. Starkman was exceedingly generous of her time and gave us a very informative tour of the Asian Galleries. In particular, she discussed the newly installed Cai Guo-Qiang work, Odyssey.
I was very proud of my students as I was able to allow them to move about the museum on their own without my direct supervision. Any teacher would love this group. I believe that the kids had a good time. I am happy.

Too Much Reading, Really?

Whoa! It was the first week of the new semester and I was run over! I heard that sucking sound of students heading for the exits this week. My APAH course was not a hit. If enough students remain to make a class, I will have to reevaluate the syllabus and reading assignments. Such wailing and gnashing of teeth!

Almost Time

The new school year draws near, but you don't need me to tell you that. I am almost as ready as I am going to be. That is not to say that I will be completely ready. But I am almost good to go. Soon, I will post the finalized syllabus on web page that the school district hosts for me.
I am hoping to work a deal with the publisher which will allow the students to keep the textbook at home and use the ebook at school. We shall see. The books are too nice and too big to be carried back and forth everyday.
There are still some decisions I have to make about the structure of the class. They may come down to coin tosses.
Back to work for me.

APAH Summer Institute

This week I attended a very productive Summer Institute for APAH. It was hosted by the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Texas at Austin. The consultant who taught the course was knowledgeable and generous of her time, knowledge and resources. (Should any AP Art History Teachers or prospective teachers want to know her name, please email me and I will give it via email.) The other attendees were fun to work with and we did work. Did we ever work. I believe the idea was that the consultant was modeling the level of commitment and work ethic that will be required as we teach the course.
Okay, I got it.
We heard some guest lecturers who were quite good. We made a field trip to the Blanton Museum of Art. And we worked.
From this experience, I may rework my syllabus somewhat. Maybe the chronology may change a little.
But mainly, we were energized and I believe that everyone left ready to get busy.

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year. Sure, I remember Andy Williams crooning this song every Christmas season as I grew up, but somehow it makes me smile at the end of May. It is that time of year when we send all the "little darlings" home for the summer. Don't get me wrong, I love all of my students. I really do, just not as much as I did earlier in the semester.
And I think the faculty needs to get away from each other for awhile as well. Pretty testy bunch right now, myself included.
So, the plan for the summer is to get the APAH course ready to go for August. I am excited about this course and am really looking forward to getting it going.
There are also several short trips this summer, all domestic: Port Aransas, TX. Austin, TX. Lubbock, TX. Santa Fe, NM. Creede, CO. Kennebunkport, ME. And most likely a trip to Odessa, TX. as well.
But for now, School is (almost) out!

It's the End of the Year

It's the end of the year. The district show is over and done. It was fun. I'm glad it's over. Now we wrap up the year. The kids are all pretty much done. I don't think I can get much more out of them. I am pretty tired as well. I need to start working on next year.

Preparing for The Show

It's the Show! It's the annual school district show. All of the teachers from across the district are crazy matting artwork for as many of their kids as they can. Each of the elementary art teachers will bring literally hundreds of examples. Each of the high school teachers are supposed to bring about 40 pieces. We always bring more. I usually wind up with about 45 -50. One teacher always brings about 60. Then there's the hanging of the show on Friday. That is like a cross between a MMA cage match and the Oklahoma land rush. So far there has never been any blood left on the floor. All of this for a 3 hour show on Saturday.
The show is always fun. It is a community event where everyone gets to see kids as they proudly show off their work to family and friends. The show is always crowded but everyone knows everyone else and so it is a lot of fun seeing everyone and their families. The art teachers are on hand to direct everyone to their kids' art and officially proclaim their kid a prodigy.
Then we take down the show and go home.
Yep, that's all coming up this week. Here we go!

So, as promised, I went to the luncheon honoring the Texas "2010 Young Masters". While I was not surprised at what a big deal this is, I was totally taken aback by the level of the talent involved. The competitive level was fairly stratospheric. Texas is a pretty big place and now it is mostly urban. The Texas Cultural Trust picked 20 kids from across the state. I believe that about 5 recipients were visual artists, the majority being musicians and dancers, etc. All of these kids are amazing. Amazing.
Two of the former recipients gave short speeches along with several adult dignitaries. The two alumni were by far much more articulate and interesting to listen to than the State Representatives and Corporate types.
I think that the student with whom I worked was totally stunned at the implied responsibility and weight that came with this honor. She is now in some very heavy company. I confided with her father that while I worried about what this kind of import at this age would do to her head, it is definitely better to have this honor that not.

Tomorrow I will be attending a luncheon in Austin which honors "20 Young Masters" selected from across the state by the Texas Cultural Trust. One of my former students has been selected and has honored me by designating me as her "mentor" for this event. Pretty cool. It is an excuse to miss work and get fed. Since I doubt that this honor will come around very often, I am going to make sure that I go.

Today we have the unfortunate issue of explaining low grades to students who do not work in class. Somehow, one or two seem to think they should get high grades without any effort. The good news is that the large majority of my students are hard workers.
I will be sending a good group of painters on to the painting class next year. I hate giving up the painting classes, but with the Art History class and the Art I classes, I will have enough to manage.

Good Morning!

It is Sunday morning, April 18, 2010 at approximately 6:23 AM and it is raining. Seriously raining. I woke up very early and decided to work on the syllabus for the APAH course this morning. Then I became distracted as I am wont to do, and found myself making a blog. Never have been comfortable with the word "blog". Sounds bogus. Not a real word back in the day. But blog I shall.
That's all for now.