2.24.2013

WHEN I LOOK AT THE WORLD




Anti-bullying day is this week, February 27th, and for all my years of being a teacher I have wanted to do an art project for it, something powerful, something inspiring, something meaningful. When I asked my students to come up with messages for anti-bullying day, they broke off into small groups and discussed what best to write. These messages are their own ideas, with my only help being to write their words on their hands in facepaint. It is projects like these that make me so proud to be their teacher, wherein most days I feel like the student, learning from them time and again.

















2.17.2013

LOVE CAN HARDLY LEAVE THE ROOM WITH YOUR HEART

Photos from this past weekend in Whistler. Sometimes I think it would be cool to live in a ski town, you get to dress in lots of wild colours and you can go to the bar with your toque on and no one cares. Also photos from Valentine's Day, a day where kids' clothing looks like a sea of pink and red and handmade cards are distributed and held in amazement. I cannot remember making valentines for my classmates when I was young, although I'm sure I did, but the time and effort that goes into them these days blows my mind. And finally, photos from an art project I'm creating with the help of my students for my Master's course. I can't actually show you what it is, because it's a secret, but it takes place in a curtained-off room in my class named ART SPACE, and you can only go in there alone to create something, and everyone contributes to the same 5x5 foot circular canvas. The first three days of the project have been so insightful, I couldn't have anticipated the issues that would come up with myself and my students designing it. One of the best parts about the project is that everyone who does something can only be in there alone, so when I go in at the end of the day to do my part, I see what's been done although I don't know by who. Children, when left to their own devices, have the most incredible imaginations and artistic abilities, and it has been so inspiring to see what my students have come up with. In another three weeks the project will be complete. I'll be sure to show you the final product.