Project Planning to Develop Unique Student Vision

There’s an annual event here in Texas called VASE. I will cover it in depth at a later time, I am sure, but for now, if you’re not familiar, it’s …

Who are you really grading for?

I have a student who has been in at least one of my classes for the last three years. He’s a spectacular young artist and has more accolades and awards …

Inviting Death into the Classroom

This is one of my favorite lessons, so I thought I would share it with you. Feel free to take it in whole or in part. As I have discussed …

My Fluxus Conundrum

Like most art teachers, my day is divided into two types of classes. I have the advanced classes with students who really enjoy art and keep coming back to learn, …

Resolving the Anime “Problem”

I’m going to call some people out here, but I feel something needs to be said. I often hear from educators that they need to “stop their kids from drawing …

That time a 17-year-old showed me I was an ineffective teacher

It’s an old but true statement: we learn more from our students than they learn from us. But what this one student taught me changed my entire approach to teaching. …

Whose Classroom is This?

I don’t know about your experience, but I find that as an educator, everyone I meet wants to tell me about his or her high school experience. Almost always, they …

The Art Teacher is Dead, Long Live the Art Teacher

I have made myself unnecessary. I show up in the morning and my main job is to unlock the door. My students flutter in and begin to quickly move about …

Open Lessons

I have already talked about a “closed” lesson I used in my early years of teaching. Now, I would like to explain what I consider an “open” lesson. (I would …

My Bad Lesson

I am calling this entry my bad lesson. Don’t let the title fool you. I by no means have only one bad lesson in my last 6 years of teaching, …