Heidi O'Hanleyhas been teaching for some thirteen years, and she's pretty much seen it all in the education world. Getting her start as a conservator restoring textiles, she discovered through the process of training her interns that she had a natural affinity for teaching. So she decided to go back to school and earned her Graduate Degree in Art Education from Columbia College Chicago. From there she became actively involved in the National and State Art Education Associations, in fact she was Student Chapter President for the National Art Education Association for three years, and is currently the Poster Chair Coordinator for the Illinois Art Education Association. (You can check out their website at the bottom of this blog.) Admitting that she became a teacher late in her career, now a Nationally Board Certified K-12 educator (one of only three in her district) she has more than made up for it. Heidi currently runs her own art classroom out of Frank A Brodnicki Elementary School, in Justice, Illinois, where she teaches grades K-6. She has a broad understanding of "diving deep into (ones) teaching practice to evaluate how you are performing as an educator, and instructing your students." Ultimately though, she says what drives her is simply that she enjoys the work that she's doing. "It's a job where I wake up in the morning, and I look forward to going to work everyday."
Reflection
Management Philosophy: y"If you consider the behavioral part of management, that is constantly evolving."
In our reading this week Woolfolk paid specific attention to the topic of adolescent behavior and management strategies. In Chapter Seven, page 272 of our text Woolfolk details the process of Applied Behavioral Analysis, describing it as the "application of behavioral learning principles to change (student) behavior." Heidi offers me a very similar design plan for analyzing student behavior:
"You get a different batch of students each year. Plus those students? Their behavior is going to change throughout the year. So in learning who my students are, how they react to certain situations, having students with special needs (that may have a good day or a bad day) and how to be able to work with them on those days, it's really just picking up on what works and what doesn't work...and how you (the teacher) are flexible and understanding."
I really appreciated this insight because something you never really consider is how student behavior changes and evolves throughout the semester. As a student observer, and even as a novice teacher, my time with students is less than what their full time teacher gets, so this is something I have yet to really experience. I am so honored that I got the opportunity to sit down and have this conversation with a person who has has so much knowledge in these areas. As someone who has been around the teaching block a few times, Heidi has a Rolodex (are those still a thing?) of methods for behavior management that she has found that work and don't work. The one that she says seems to be the most successful "ties into (her) classroom management" and it's called "Art Job Board". The board is in the front of the classroom and correlates with the six color coded tables in her class. Switching out the jobs each week students are tasked with different responsibilities like "assist in managing the noise levels in their class".
Heidi has also had the experience of teaching out of an Art Cart. For those who may not know what that involves, Art Cart is literally wheeling a cart of art supplies room to room to engage in art related activities, versus a full Art Program with an Art Room. I have only ever heard of the concept of an Art Cart, but have never had to deal with one as a student or an educator. Needless to say, management became a key aspect of surviving the job early on in Heidi's career. Finding that there were few to no resources on teaching from a cart, Heidi began documenting her own experiences on management in her blog Tales from the Traveling Art Teacher, which was featured as one of the nations top 25 art related blogs to follow for educators during the years she ran it. Her entries dealt with managing materials, or how to manage painting in the teachers room she was visiting, as well as managing relationships with other teachers and their students while in these spaces. In the end though she says "It's all trial and error, the key is not giving up. Just keep trying until you find what works."
Administrative Philosophy: y"Instead of saying 'Screw this I'm out of here', I said 'You know what? I'm going to talk to these principles.' "
It should come as no surprise that art classes are often overlooked by administration. Combating a lot of this takes managing time to seek out higher ups; "I am constantly sending e-mails and questioning them. I am always the speaker for that because I don't sit still when I don't know what to do." I think that this in an interesting parallel between the assigned readings this week, which talked about giving students clear direction of what is expected of them as you move into each task, and how we as adults also work this way within our own professions. On page 522 Woolfolk discusses how "when tasks provide continuous cues for the student about what to do next, involvement will be greater." This concept is true in almost every aspect of our lives as well, when we manage what needs to get done, we are more likely to actually do it. I do this myself, creating to-do lists for the day of tasks and homework that need to be completed. I might not be perfect and always get these things finished that day as planned, but it does help keep me on track and motivated.
Being an art teacher, I have also found out, often means moving from one school to another in the same day. Maybe you're teaching elementary kids in the morning, and middle school in the afternoon. Managing my time to meet with administration on students behalf, and for the representation of my field, could mean the difference between a good arts education, and a non-certified person coming and teaching crafts. As educators we care about our students emotions and behavior, and showing up and representing that fact can have major benefits on both our students and us as teachers. This can often be a difficult task with limited resources, space, and administrative involvement. However, taking the extra steps to get involved helps to increase student interest and achievement.
As Woolfolk says on page 544 in quoting Geneva Gay; "If the classroom is a comfortable, caring, embracing, affirming, and facilitative place for students, then discipline is not likely to be an issue."
Advice to Future Teachers:y
"If you don't pay attention to what's going on with your students, then it feels like you're in a circus basically. It doesn't matter what environment you are in, you have to keep on top of your management. There are going to be days you're going to be off your game, it's daily life, but as long as you recognize that and pick yourself back up, you'll work through them and move beyond them."
Final Thoughts:
One idea for management I really loved which Heidi presented was the "Yes,Yes - No,No Board" which she implemented with some pretty hilarious results. The idea of this board is to show what students should, and shouldn't be doing with their drawings. These examples include "corner suns, stick people, or floating trees and architecture" - her class have taken to it so much that they now point out when classmates are doing something that's on the the board. I love how she gets them working together as a community toward common management goals.
Woolfolk notes on page 524 of the text that: "Students respect teachers who maintain their authority without being rigid or harsh, (who) are fair and honest with them, and (who) demonstrate emotional support and caring..." I think it easy to say that this truly describes how Heidi navigates her classroom.
I love how she uses a job board and has students assume some of the responsibility for what goes on in the classroom, such as "noise monitor." I think this is one way that teachers can empower students and provide a more student-centered classroom.
I love how she uses a job board and has students assume some of the responsibility for what goes on in the classroom, such as "noise monitor." I think this is one way that teachers can empower students and provide a more student-centered classroom.
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