Today was my last day.
I left with a deep feeling in my stomach of sadness. I will miss this experience with great intensity.
Art Education is very similar to creating Art. These students are a canvas upon first meeting. You are not sure what kind of painting it will be…
The Paint is introduced (lesson, examples, etc.)
The Brushes are handled (technique, guidance, passion)
The painting is reworked over and over, until a feeling of finality overwhelms both teacher and student…
and then the work is done, appreciated by themselves and if not, it is by me…
Who is the artist?
Both…Teacher and Student.
It IS a collaboration and a connection between human beings. It IS the passin down of my life’s learnings and passion to a multitude of young people. It IS a process of introduction, familiarity and attachement.
Then the -goodbye-…(the purchase, maybe?)
I will miss these students. I will miss these classrooms.

I will miss my co-ops. Such intense discussions between people who truly understand one another and the love of art that carries us through life with an appreciation for living.
I honestly could not have asked for better mentors. Not only equipped with knowledge and respect for art education, but an honest adoration for the student and the challenges some of them face. I have learned a great deal about how to talk to students and I will carry many of their insights with me throughout my life.

The BEST thing about MIDDLE school is the innocent faces that stare at you and are willing to let you guide them and awe them…
The BEST thing about HIGH school is the birth of a deeper understanding of people; There was time for me to plan and prep (more so then middle school due to schedule arrangments) and this time was CRUCIAL to me as an artist and art educator…TO BE ABLE TO SIT and REFLECT IN MY DEEPEST THOUGHTS about these students, face by face…name by name…struggle to success. The Art Educator is a RARE breed…and is often unappreciated…but I believe Art Educators are not about recognition (although it is appreciated!) but about CREATING a better world by making better people and recognizing how Art can answer many questions for the developing child. Questions about life, through the reflection and therapy of moving a brush through paint…
ART SHOULD NOT BE PRODUCT ORIENTATED.
ART SHOULD BE EXPLORATORY AND EXPRESSIVE.
ART SHOULD BE INTERDISCIPLINARY AND APPLIED.
ART SHOULD BE ABOUT TOLERANCE, DIVERSITY and CONGRUENCY.
It should be about the soul of human existance….not the shell.

Filed by Mrs. G at 10:17 pm under S. TEACHING JOURNAL
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Well, this is my last full week, time is flying by!
Art I is almost ready to ink and should be complete by the end of the week…I’m really trying to make them work hard with little distractions, I would like to copy them into a “comicbook” of their very own to have…so they can see everyone’s work…
we MAY NOT have time to do lettering, so, it’s really important that they can tell visually without words what is happening…
there are some GREAT happenings…I’m gathering photos now, and putting them on the website as well… http://gallery.jgrabowski.com
they seem excited about the comic book
Art II is moving fast through the papercutting-art-nouveau piece to my surprise, we should be covering some printmaking my the end of the week…
Monday and Tuesday next week will be catch up days, and on Wednesday (my last day) we will watch a movie ELF for an early christmas present…and I will be bringing in a surprise
I think alot of positive things happened for me, I’m still a little uncertain as to which group I enjoy more…Middle or High…but I think I enjoy them both equally…each with strengths and each with room to grow…I am looking forward to my reality with my classroom and using what I’ve learned here at Tunkhannock.

Filed by Mrs. G at 9:37 pm under S. TEACHING JOURNAL
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Today was a unique experience…as I was into my first block, which starts at 8:25…I was anticipating my coordinator stopping in to do observations on me as well as the closing interview. HOWEVER…the principal comes over the loudspeaker and announces that we are in a “LOCKDOWN” and all students are to remain in their current rooms until further notice. Normally this group of students leaves at 9:49…well, that announcement went around 9:39, and the students were in my room until 11:12! My Co-op was out of the room doing planning work, and my super and him came back around eleven or so…I had about 20 students in a small room all to myself while we were waiting for the lockdown to be over…overhearing dogs barking in the hall, as this was a locker search for drugs…apparently the students inform me, if they find drugs, then the wait is longer. I am told later this was an unusually long lockdown.
I had the students clear up their stuff around 10:30, thinking we could be out soon…but we weren’t and the students were getting restless and crowded…SO, I got some paper and charcoal out, and plopped down at a table, looked over at some of the students and said, “what is the best thing you could do with spare time?—DRAW!!!” I did a bunch of drawings, faces, animals, robots, fuzzy creatures….and gave them to the students when we were dismissed. They loved it, and watched in awe…as I also reminded them how I used to draw when I was their age…
WHEW! It was a definately interesting learning experience on managing a classroom.

Filed by Mrs. G at 7:19 pm under S. TEACHING JOURNAL
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What is the epitome of the average teenager? If one had to describe in words, one may choose an assortment of -conflicted, -afraid, -death, -life, -love, -heartache, -temptations, -pressures, etc.etc…These found art sculptures/assemblages have really brought out a VAST array of expressions. What stinks is the possibility of administration not allowing particular areas for display…
Example: One girl, has clearly expressed her views of an ex-beau-alot of her emotions about how destructive the relationship was to her and how her family is on the other side of the sculpture…almost as if they are waiting and watching her, and there are objects such as medical bracelets, movie tickets with the word A$$ in it, the words REQUIEM and LIFE, dead flowers, and more…The piece SCREAMS of LISTEN TO ME, I’m TRYING TO EXPRESS SOMETHING….yet, will the school let her…?
Another girl, expressing a slight sharing of her rehab experiences…another more clear cut divisions about LIFE vs. DEATH with pieces of shattered mirrors covered in red paint…but flowers and bright colors everywhere for visual appeal…
There have been a few pieces that really REALLY attack the social confinements that pressure high schoolers every day…of course, me and the co-op are trying to now get them to understand the “views” and “attitudes” that will exist out there, and how some may perceive it—so pre-censoring is inevitable…
A few of the students who have been avoiding the project till the very end…finally scrapped something together-one in particular VERY good…JEESH! imagine, what she could have done THE WHOLE TIME?
The high school world is one of REALITY…one of my students brought her newborn in today…she had her the day after thanksgiving…her face has changed to me now…before I saw a very unsure, maybe bitter, kinda stand-offish, girl, and today, she comes to class as a mother….WHAT A BEAUTIFUL BABY TOO…mom’s face instantly beaming…I just wanted to hug her and let her know everything will be fine, but I think she already knows that now…
then another student shows me pics of her ultrasound….she is due in June.
Can I just cry now? How and Why are these kids having kids? I think this girl is only in 9th or 10th grade! A tiny petite girl who enjoys when I bring candy to class and beams when I applaud her efforts. Her sister never comes to class at all…once since Nov. 11 actually…I believe she is 18, lives in her own house, and does not feel the need to work for grades. I am in complete disbelief at the hardships that some of these students will now face…
Another students today is doing his sequential art about a gay man…is he experiementing with the reactions of those around him and how they may interpret homosexuality? Should I confide in this student that he may talk to me if he feels the need…? IF he is gay, I am certain he is worried at how friends may react to him…IF HE IS NOT, he is definately accepting it as a natural occurance-which does not usually happen with heterosexual youths. He does struggle with accepting his art, (which is fantastic!) and tends to downplay his talents…
Boy #2 in another class is a well dressed, kinda rebel senior…does not want to an “artsy” guy…however, has done VERY well with his self-portrait, and has SHOWN GREAT effort in the realistic looks and tending to values and details…he has worked on his project and it shows…but will downplay it when others say it does not resemble him….he’ll agree—it’s not supposed to…..BUT AHA–it does, I see it, and I know he intended it too…can’t fool me!….2 cool 4 school…
How does me day end, with me reflecting on how some students are really excited about their projects…esp. the sequential art ones—there are some that are totally into it, even some of those that typically don’t like it, they are pairing up and working together, (I allowed) and are actually collaborating….
Tomorrow we will see if Ms. Rude & Obnoxious will get on board…I have a feeling she will fight and pout, and act like a baby…I showed some of the kids today some of my sketchbooks when I was a junior/senior in high school…what a kick! See I was bad, if not worse then some of them…but EFFORT, WORK, DRIVE gets you somewhere….How does the bug bite you? Why do some children draw compulsively? I HAD TO. and IT HURT NOT TO. Many of these students are not of that compulsion….and some are…boy, I LOVE THE ONES THAT ARE!

Filed by Mrs. G at 9:05 pm under S. TEACHING JOURNAL
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Whew, a day back from thanksgiving vacation—what an ordeal! The students are still full up on turkey and don’t want to work at all!
Opened up both Art I groups with critique on the Expression/Self-portrait/Hand project…overall a very good outcome! I was very pleased at many of the final projects, and I must remember to take my camera in to take pictures to remember them by.
Initiated the Sequential art pitch…Showing how it is clearly an art form that encompasses many MANY elements and principles of art as well as other forms of social learning, communication, historical, educational etc.etc…I had them read a comic-book of choice, and answer some questions: Who is the Protagonist, Antagonist, What is the conflict, climax and resolution of the story. We looked at REAL examples by REAL artists in the business from Rugrats to TMNT. I can feel some are getting excited and others (the usual bunch) totally unenthused.
There are some harsh realities I am clearly coming to terms with…how some students will not share my love of art…It is something I was “aware” of, but had to go through the experience to really internalize the situation.

Filed by Mrs. G at 6:43 pm under S. TEACHING JOURNAL
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Okay-last day until vacation-and a half day at that!
Art I-Implementation of the background of their self-portraits…As they were nearing completion, I could tell the backgrounds were seriously lacking with their near-white emptiness….last minute addition to the project: Pick out an artist and focus on one of their works as a background to your self-portrait! What a great result! Now the portraits are looking pretty snazzy and I’ve been able to introduce the historical aspect of Art to their work. It appears to me that most are choosing works/artists based on their own personalities…van goghs, monets, etc…and if not, I’m pretty effective at finding them an artist they now enjoy…I’ve gotten a couple of Kandinsky’s, Klees, and even a Basquait. I’m overall VERY pleased at what I’ve been seeing…the hand, the expressions, the backgrounds have really tied the entire piece together. There are a few that have spent VERY LITTLE TIME looking at themselves-thus resulting in a non-realistic appearance, but for the most part were still very involved at the activity of placing hands and planning…
We did recap several times on proper placement of parts, such as where do ears and eyes line up, etc…and it’s cute to see them look back in a mirror and go “oh yeah-right!”.
I found out the class-miss attention-loud-rude girl doesn’t really care for me and gave a hoo-rah when I said I didn’t have much time left, but it really REALLY didn’t bother me, as there were others that were expressing an interest in me staying…
There have been some learning experiences built on the fact that I was already well aware you can’t save them all….but that it’s okay that you can’t save them all-but at least you try your best, maintain a sense of humor and not to take things to heart. They are still CHILDREN-many of whom have no good parents to direct their manners anyhow. So if one un-ladylike girl has issues with me, I’m certain it’s with everyone-as I often hear her complain about many other teachers as well.
I had to break up a couple who was kissing face at lunch. THAT was uncomfortable-esp. since I know his dad, and this student doesn’t realize that. They kept thinking I was stupid and wasn’t going to catch them or say anything–it was really ridiculous and it bothered me. IT bothered me AFTER I split them up…like THE NERVE of them…ya know? Jeesh. And they are only in 9th grade…every lunch it’s the same…and it’s so gross. In comparison, another couple who are cute in the simple way they only hold hands at lunch-this one is consistently groping at one another and tongues a flying. ICK. That’s not puppy-love…that is no guidance or respect.
Which leads me to the next one…Art II—I had to actually tell a student to pull up her pants! LORDY! As I’m coming around the corner, her back is to Mr. N’s direction, and her bright red thong is hanging out!…I simply said “name, pull your pants up.”. and the group got a laugh. Later Mr. N and I discussed the nature of the situation and at the inane directions that a teacher has to go through just to get out of an uncomfortable situation. I think I feel someday when I have my own room that I will most likely take more “ownership” and not feel so uncomfortable…I think I feel mostly uncomfortable since it isn’t my school and I’m not familiar with the atmosphere. I’m sure that will change someday when I feel like the students ARE my responsibility like my own children are.
I can’t believe I had to tell a h.s. girl to pull her pants up. All I can do is roll my eyes at that one and move on.

Filed by Mrs. G at 7:52 pm under S. TEACHING JOURNAL
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Art I is moving well into the self-portrait areas with individual guidance. More focus brought on the “lifting” technique to introduce a more 3-d structure to the face based on the fact that there is structural support under the skin-where is the bone area, analogy to putting on makeup…(not so effective for the boys…lol!)
Art II looks like about half of the class will be done tomorrow…and the other half only has boxes done…since I announced yesterday that they needed to bring their stuff in and have this completed by wednesday, most of them skipped school—probably thinking Mrs. G can’t do anything if we ALL don’t come…yadda-yadda…I’m not that dumb….so how do can I stretch this to put more added pressure on them…will tell tomorrow…
I am amazed at the attendance rate. Esp. with the Art II group. I have been keeping track, and I can honestly say there are a few that have missed more then half the time I’ve been there. This really messes the others, who do come and work, up to a great degree. Whether my pal-sleeping beauty chooses to do nothing-I have to plan around such un-fixable behaviors.

Filed by Mrs. G at 10:03 pm under S. TEACHING JOURNAL
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