Arty On

As we get closer and closer to the start of another school year, a little voice begins to chime in to my personal thoughts and planning..."I will do this", "I will not do that".  I begin making tiny promises to myself about how I will approach the new school year to make it even more dynamic than the last.  After a summer of time spent rejuvenating and clearing my mind, this little voice wakes up to reflect and give some perspective.  It tells me what to stop doing and what to start doing in my teaching practice and it won't shut up.  So here are a few "beginnings" and "ends" I've settled on to guide my daily practice.  Simple changes in thinking, routines or habits that I believe will make a big difference in our art studio this year. For me, this school year will be the end of: Setting meaningless limits on students that stifle their creativity.  Making "yes" and "why not" a stronger part of my (and my studen

New year, new thoughts...well not really.  I've actually been dwelling on the buzzword, "agency", floating around the PYP Twitter-sphere over the last year and decided to take the opportunity to think about "agency" not just as it relates to students, but also as it relates to teachers. Emphasizing student capacity to choose, act and decide seems foundational to education and lifelong learning.  I love that related topics like "play", "growth mindset" and "voice" are getting more attention beyond early childhood education.  I am excited for the opportunities students are getting to discover themselves by having time to make mistakes, collaborate, and make authentic, personal connections to their learning.  I welcome "agency" as a buzzword and hope it doesn't fade with the educational trends of the future. So there's no doubt that I can get behind "agency" and am seeing some great successes and failure