First of all, I can’t believe that it has been nearly 8 weeks since I last posted an entry. In that time I have had book launch events in Syracuse, my hometown, and NYC, when it was nearly 100 degrees and the city was already a bit limp, I have started two salon classes in … Read more
It feels good to be home. I have slept so much the past 2 nights. It also feels good to have some time to myself. I have been rippin’ and runnin’ for weeks but I have 2 weeks ahead of me to reground, clean some of the chaos of my home, finish up some pending … Read more
It is always a strange decompression after a week in a school. The best part of this work is the mystery to solve. What will students respond to, open their minds and hearts to accept, what new concepts may be investigated, all through a multitude of lenses from which we observe and participate in the … Read more
Everything I know about teaching I have learned through my experiences in the classroom. Sometimes these lessons are due to trial and error. Other skills are the result of my continual professional development that is the result of the example of the terrific teachers I work with year after year. Every teacher gives me something that … Read more
Today’s Homework for Juan His was a simple request.Can you write a poem…right now?I faltered for a moment. We had just met, his class before mea pool of new faces, of challenges.Why should they trust me?Instead, I offered to create a poemas homework.I have homework every day.I would make words tie togetherin knots and rhythm to … Read more
It is every kid’s dream and we do not outgrow it…the morning that the announcement confirms hopes and suspicions that school is closed and there is no need to scramble out the door. Today, it happened again for the district in which I am teaching this week. Honestly, I am a lucky charm for snow … Read more
So here’s the deal. As artists who choose to work in education, we are often freelancers, independent contractors, consultants. We have walked out on some shaky limb for one of any number of reasons. And we need to be paid on a timely basis or we contribute more to the mess that the economy is … Read more
One of my most ardent followers admonished me back channel because I had not posted in a month. I guess this is more than a place to think in language, there is a certain responsibility to it. The lesson of discipline is one of the ones I am most incorporating at this time. And a … Read more
Last year, one of the teachers I was working with had to miss one of my days in her class to attend a professional development opportunity. She asked if I would mind if her student teacher videotaped one of the classes so she would not miss out on that part of the process of my … Read more
A quick note before I hit the road for Poughkeepsie to meet up with my colleagues Maria Marewski and Tim Sutton of the Children’s Media Project and Sue Lesser from the Arlington School District. We are co-presenting a workshop on media arts in the classroom at the NECAP Conference for teaching artists in Providence, RI, tomorrow. I … Read more