Effective Communication: Moving Beyond Writing
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Effective Communication: Moving Beyond Writing

  Writing, for decades, has been our primary means of communication. However, as digital platforms become more readily available and easier to use, the ways that students can effectively present…
Valuing the Bad Work
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Valuing the Bad Work

  In education, in classrooms, in conversations with teachers, I see and hear a lot of thoughts about what good work is and how to help students get their work…
Exploring Light Bulbs
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Exploring Light Bulbs

  When Thomas Edison attempted to create a functional light bulb he had no idea if it would work or not. The final result was an unknown. But, like all…
Valuable Work
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Valuable Work

  The thing about doing valuable work is that in the beginning it doesn’t look valuable. Often it doesn’t really look like anything. It may be rough, unpolished, foggy, messy,…
Can’t Make a Choice
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Can’t Make a Choice

  I run a nearly 100% choice art room. Kids get to choose things like what they work on, where they sit, what materials to use, the size of their…
My Job
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My Job

  As an art teacher, my job is to teach the basics of art making and and art appreciation.   That’s my job. That’s what the curriculum says. That’s why…
Rewards & Consequences
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Rewards & Consequences

  For the last several years, I haven’t posted rewards or consequences in my classroom. To be honest, I never even really gave them much thought. However, after attending the NJPAECET2 conference several…
The Mission
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The Mission

  Helping students to explore, find and share their unique ideas, insights and voices is perhaps the most important work we do as educators. Not everything is going to work…
Finding My Voice
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Finding My Voice

  As I’ve learned to help my students explore and share their voices, what I’ve really done is found my own. This is one of the great gifts that teaching…
Viewing Art and Reading
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Viewing Art and Reading

  A huge struggle for teachers at the beginning of every year is to get students out of the gates and engaged in authentic, meaningful work. Between establishing classroom routines,…