Quiz Time

One of the school districts I'm applying to asks 3 questions on the job application:

1. Please describe your understanding of or background in the development of a standards - based classroom environment?

Visual art is such a broad field that it is often difficult for teachers to know where to begin. Massachusetts statewide art frameworks help to give specific goals and focus. They target areas of student learning such as: “Standard 2: … Students will demonstrate knowledge of the elements and principles of design,” but allow for teachers to decide how to creatively apply those elements and principles. I use the standards in conjunction with "Teaching for Understanding" to develop essential questions: "How do artists show emotion in their artwork?" or, "What makes great art great?"

In each of my lessons I also use the standards to assess students objectively. For example, I can look for how they use line as a design element in a drawing or the principle of balance in a painting. These objectives are posted daily for students to see. They help me to effectively create assessment rubrics, and the standards addressed in each project are displayed in the classroom or the hallway with the finished work.

2. Please describe your skills and experience in the integration of technology into the school curriculum?

Technology is an essential tool that allows students and teachers to explore the world without ever leaving the classroom. I carry my laptop with me daily to facilitate lesson planning, grading, and communication with staff, parents, and art teachers around the globe. My students use the internet to gather images for classroom use as well as to research art and artists. An LCD projector is frequently in use to display images of artwork and share web resources. One such site is The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s that allows students to zoom in on artwork as though you were in the galleries. Other technology, such as image-making software, digital cameras and video recorders, allow students who may otherwise not connect with art to gain access. In the art classroom, I use technology to open as many doors as possible.

3. What values and experiences would you bring to support the Nxxxxx Public Schools in becoming an active anti-racist school system?

My students are often surprised when, on their first day in my classroom, I tell them I’m not white. To them, my fair skin is a clear indicator of my race. “In the art room,” I explain, “there are no such categories. Not only is my skin a multitude of shades and hues ranging from pink to brown, but my ancestry is just as mixed.” I tell them that my grandfather is Native American: a Wampanoag tribal elder, as is my mother, and I too will be one in time. I have a mixture of German, Jewish, Irish, Portugese, Cape Verdean, and Wampanoag, among other things running through my veins. Then I tell them that I have something in common with all of them as well, and I stick out my tongue at them. “We’re all pink on the inside,” I say, “and we all treat each other as equals in this classroom."