Arty On

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...

Ever feel like you're in a funk?  Like there's something not happening that should be?  Not that anything is wrong, but just that something is...missing. I had this lingering feeling last year about my teaching practice.  I was teaching PYP visual arts at the International School of Phnom Penh (ISPP) and after 5 years of experience, getting to know the PYP, establishing a rapport with my students and colleagues, I had the premonition that it was time for a big change.  Not in schools, not in what I was teaching, but in HOW I was teaching it.  I realized that I was stressing out and spending my time planning Units of Inquiry that were lacking...something.  That sometimes, despite my best efforts to allow for student choice and voice, the exhibitions of student pieces ended up lacking...something.  That even when I had a super supportive admin team that appreciated both the process and product of art making, our curriculum was lacking...something....