Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Our First Crowdfunding Project!

I am happy to share with you my first crowdfunding project. My school's art teacher and I are hoping to leverage the power of social networks to raise money for a NYC field trip. We are aiming for $2000.00 and our campaign will be active until June 10th. Please check it out here (and donate if you can!):



THANK YOU!

Friday, April 22, 2011

To Blog or Not to Blog

I have to admit, keeping up with this blog is challenging for me. With all the other demands of my life, it's hard to find the time to get here. However, a discussion this week in my grad class is worth mentioning.

It was about giving students time and freedom to experiment (and sometimes fail) within the realm of classrrom instruction. The term that was brought up was "adventurous teaching." I'm all for it. As often as I can, I allow my students to follow their muse (within the scope of my curriculum and the 9 weeks that I get to work with them). I try to intervene as little as possible when they are flexing their creative muscles. Sometimes their instincts manifest themselves in projects that turn into exercises in frustration, but that's OK. As long as they recognize the decisions that lead them there, then I feel that valuable learning has taken place.

Conveniently, there is a great TED Talk this week that deals with just this type of learning environment. It's about a 4th grade teacher whose students solve global problems through exploring the "World Peace Game." It's definitely worth a view: