With my 16th year of teaching being altered by the pandemic, I am still just as eager and excited to see my students. This year is unique. One for the history books. From bitmoji classroom boom to the Brady Bunch style instruction of Zoom. We are charting new terrain. Whether your school has opted to return or maintain virtual instruction, our classrooms still look very different. Students are expected to have their own equipment and supplies to reduce transmission rates. Teachers are feverishly purchasing items from the dollar sections of major department stores to assist in packing bags for students with tools needed for at home virtual learning. To agree or disagree with how to return is not the point of this blog post. The point is to rally around the kids. Our students need us more than ever. They need comfort, support, and guidance from the adults on the other side of their screens. Just as we all do. I have had the opportunity this year to transition to a new school. I am beyond excited to work for the community of Peyton Forest and have started digging into the planning and organization of my new virtual art room. However without a physical art room filled with students, paint spills, and controlled chaos, what will happen to arts instruction? Teachers and administrators are having to reframe what teaching virtually looks like, sounds like, and feels like. I am excited about the possibility of non-profit organizations here in Atlanta to get supplies and art materials to students, but we are still in need! Students need access to art tools and equipment! Will you help? I have taught thousands of kids and if each student in my career gave just twelve cents...that’s right $0.12, I could fulfill an adequate supply list for my budding students! Art has been my comfort. When students ask me, “When did you know you were good at art?” I recall a memory from my mom describing my intensity to illustrate flash cards for my homework. It was my way to process things that were difficult. Reading was a difficult task, but I learned how my brain worked best with visual thinking strategies and drawing images! We need art more than ever! Kids need to learn through art, so they can make sense of this surreal world we are living in. This Tuesday, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is partnering with DonorsChoose to support schools! With the back to school energy waning and waxing in the face of coronavirus, reach out to local schools and support their projects to bridge the gap between home and school while we are apart. I am hopeful that 100% of the projects for Atlanta Public Schools will be funded on this amazing Giving Tuesday. Here is a list of some of my colleagues who are working tirelessly to meet the needs of their communities. Consider supporting them: Holly Seddon (Sutton Middle School)
FUNDED Lana Ensmann (Maynard Jackson High School) FUNDED FUNDED Martta Sareva (Hope Hill Elementary School) FUNDED FUNDED Courtney Flynn (Garden Hills Elementary) FUNDED FUNDED Kim Muhlheim (Springdale Park Elementary) FUNDED FUNDED Sarah Erickson (Peyton Forest Elementary) FUNDED Carol Washburn (Usher Elementary) Nostacia Adams (Carver Early College High School)
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September 2021
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