The moments of my teaching that really move me are when students feel compelled to express something that is deeply meaningful to them.
Art enables children to communicate their emotions and personal stories. There are layers of meaning to be interpreted within a child's work of art. Art enables students to learn about each other, and teachers to understand student needs. This is a significant reason for why art should be advocated within schools.
This story is about a student of mine. His name, for now, is Noah. Somethings that I have observed about Noah is that he likes to be by himself and work on his art alone. Often in class when I look over, I see him distracted by materials around the classroom and talking to himself. The group that Noah is in, my class of forth and fifth graders, are currently working on redesigning and building the Barclay Dream School. This project is collaborative, and students have divided themselves into groups. Noah works alone, and seems content to do so. In this project the kids in my class were encouraged to be imaginative and open to the possibilities of what their new school environment could be like. As a part of the planning process, each team filled out a Dream School Think Sheet to document the new purpose of the space and how students would feel when they were in it. This encouraged the students to think beyond what the school would look like to what feelings the space would evoke. At the conclusion of class, we shared our new, innovative ideas about how to redesign our spaces.
Art enables children to communicate their emotions and personal stories. There are layers of meaning to be interpreted within a child's work of art. Art enables students to learn about each other, and teachers to understand student needs. This is a significant reason for why art should be advocated within schools.
This story is about a student of mine. His name, for now, is Noah. Somethings that I have observed about Noah is that he likes to be by himself and work on his art alone. Often in class when I look over, I see him distracted by materials around the classroom and talking to himself. The group that Noah is in, my class of forth and fifth graders, are currently working on redesigning and building the Barclay Dream School. This project is collaborative, and students have divided themselves into groups. Noah works alone, and seems content to do so. In this project the kids in my class were encouraged to be imaginative and open to the possibilities of what their new school environment could be like. As a part of the planning process, each team filled out a Dream School Think Sheet to document the new purpose of the space and how students would feel when they were in it. This encouraged the students to think beyond what the school would look like to what feelings the space would evoke. At the conclusion of class, we shared our new, innovative ideas about how to redesign our spaces.
When Noah presented his Dream School idea, he told the class that his school would be called the "Inspiration School". Kids would be able to feel safe and they wouldn't feel left out he told us. The classrooms would have computers for everyone and the rooms would be clean and colorful. Noah would be the principle to ensure things were carried l effectively.
When Noah presented his Dream School idea, he told the class that his school would be called the "Inspiration School". Kids would be able to feel safe and they wouldn't feel left out. The classrooms would have computers for everyone and the rooms would be clean and colorful. Noah would be the principle to ensure things were carried out effectively.
The new name of the space/room is 'Inspiration School'. The main purpose of the space/room is 'it is a school for kids that can go safe places' In this space/room students would feel 'happy' and 'they won't feel left out of stuff' Three things that I would take out from this space/room would be 'desk-chair', no Christmas decorations. Three things that I would add to this space/room would be 'mini computers (30 of them), office, foldable chairs.'
In the Dream School Project Noah identified an issue that was important to him and addressed it in the new design of his school. If we as teachers allow room in our projects and lessons for our students to express their individual ideas, I think that we can give students the opportunity to be empowered by their thinking and creativity, while also allowing for an outlet to express personal needs. Now I am aware that Noah feels left out and sometimes unsafe, and I can do my best to address to accommodate him.
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