INSTRUCTION & MANAGEMENT

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As a non-traditional new teacher I have had the advantage of referring to my life experiences.  My extensive travel, entrepreneurship, and management are a few aspects of my life that have helped me with instruction and management.  

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Running a classroom is a lot like managing a restaurant.  There are always a lot of balls in the air and keeping an organized environment frees up time to engage with students.  Knowing exactly what supplies will be needed for a lesson as well as making sure I include instruction on how to use said materials became a welcomed task.

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Students thrive on information and asking questions.  Strong management means being able to have the answers to questions like:  "I'm done.  What's next?."  As students all work at different rates, being able to accommodate these questions cannot be an afterthought.   I find myself encouraging my students to take another look to see if there is anything more they can do to make it better.  If not, extensions or alternate materials to work on need to be ready to go for any lesson.  

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Safety is a big part of creating a manageable community in an art classroom.  This means educating myself as well as my students about materials around the art classroom.  Safety also means making my students feel safe in the art room environment.  This begins on day one of classes by sharing with each other.  There are many ways to make connections within the community and discovering things in common.   

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