Reflect on Class 9/19/16

Today, We began by bombarding  you (victor) with question about the blog and why we should blog.
Which was terrible and we shouldn't have done that. You said that you felt like you were getting ambushed which I feel really sorry about. Like you said, for the past two weeks we talked about the syllabus and we had no problems with it until today. And I think it was unfair of us to attack you like that which i'm sorry for.  After hearing what Grace said about how we should do blog because it's a way we can keep what we went through in college and our assignment and our thoughts, I think its's a good idea to keep.

Then we had a discussion about chapter three, which I was very interested in and I wish I heard more people talked about what they liked about the chapter or what stuck out. I was like to hear what other people favorite part is because I like to know what they find "interesting" or looking at a subject in a different perspective.

Singing and learning

In class last Monday, we made a review song which was pretty cool. I was uncomfortable but so wasy everyone else I bet so I wasn't alone in that. Then we had a discussion about the book "Pedagogy of the oppressed" We learned some key words that he used in the book like necrophiliac and biophiliac.
Our discussion moved on to how are we different from animals and then we started to realize that in the education system we are very similar to animals. We are forced to learn this certain way or one way is the right way. And that's a very negative way of teaching. We need to be more "lively" in our teaching were the students are teaching as well and have more "freedom". Overall I really liked Monday class. I had a lot of fun and making us do the name game again is a good way to learn eachothers name but also build a connection with one another. Like what Victor said in class, we need to start making connection , so we can rely on each other.

Blog 5

This week we talked about funding, for the most part I understand how funding works.

Public schools always get funding from the government, while private schools gets funding from the parents who unroll their kids there. There are also this thing called levy where the community gets to vote if they want to rise their tax so that money can go to their community school.
I know that funding is important to schools, But I don't believe they should cut the arts or the social workers. It's terrible, many students need the arts to help them grow and being expressive. I don't know how to budget a school but the art is not something a English teacher can teach. Also it's very concerning as a future art teacher. Will I even find a job once I graduate.  

Community project

THE VIDEO LINK ---- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2366f7VSE6M&feature=em-share_video_user

techTool Kit 6

A tech tool kit I can use in a classroom is Instagram. Instagram is a app on your phone where you can take and save pictures on your profile. The profile can be both private or public. In a way its like twitter where you can follow other people and see their posts. The reason I want to use this app in my classroom because I want to use this app as an online portfolio. I want the students to save their pictures and document their progression of being an artist. They can follow me back on Instagram because I will make one as well just for school where i can post up examples with the name of the work and where it originated. Another thing is that students can follow each other and see what other students are doing. Even after they graduate they can keep on using Instagram to keep this portfolio. The good thing about this is that they always have access to this at all time. I can only see good things from Instagram.

Blog 7

"Creating an Anti-Racist Classroom"

In this article the author speaks about how unfair the minority is treated in a classroom.
 "there were 149 suspensions and expulsions for every 100 black students compared with 32 for every 100 white students." More kids who are black are getting written up more than white kids, There is a huge difference on how the teacher treat different students of color. Many teachers said that for white students they had an excuse for why they acted out. They have more compassion for the white students which is very unfair towards students of color. She wants to raise awareness to our own biases. She wants to make a classroom a place of equality and everyone has a chance. 

Then she list out 5 ways we can be a better teacher who treat our students equally.
The first step is not to ignore race. What she means by this is not "pretend that race doesn't exist or doesn't matter." We must not pretend that once race is not here, we must acknowledge that race and make it safe for them to be in the environment we created. And if things that comes up that talks about a race, we as educators must use the right words and "find positive language to acknowledge difference and to remind your students of all the ways they are similar". 
The second step is to find help from community centers, especially in neighborhood of color. That will assist us with our own biases.
Step 3 is about that we shouldn't assume things about people of colors, like if they are from a low-income family or first person in their family to get a higher education because that not always the case. We must respect were they come from and their culture.  
Step 4 is about reading more into other peoples culture to educate themselves, so they offend someone and their culture. As an educator we must know a bit of every culture so we can be respectful towards them. 
Step 5 is to be self-aware, we must know ourselves to improve ourselves. We must ask ourselves these hard questions that will make us uncomfortable. These questions will make us realize our biases and put ourselves on check.  

Blog 6

As an Asian-American male, I feel like I have a lot of privilege, not like white people do but more then others. I haven't gotten pulled over, People don't feel scared around me. I don't really know if people have a bias opinion on my culture or race ... If so I haven't heard of anything. Or maybe Im super unaware of these things. There are stereotypes about Asian people that are like we have " high standards", "Good intentions,"...I just asked my sister if we have any privilege as Asian American and she said that we are considered " Honorary White because of how well we do in school.
I don't know how to feel about it. Like should I feel honored? But I don't like it. It insulting actually. Apparently we are not good enough, but if we are, we are " honorary whites" not the race we are... cause that not good enough. or thats how I see it...  
Linking this to my classroom I would think I would treat my students on how they act then the color of their skins. Maybe im clueless on my own biases that I don't recognized that I have them.

Observation 3

What I notice is that I'm not that really prepared as I thought I was when it came to state standards. Also that the pressure of doing well to " have a great life" which is stressful and gives me a lot of anxiety and schools don't teach us how to deal with stress and anxiety. If we want our students to do better in testing overall we should teach them how to deal with stress and the different types of stress and  how to deal with anxiety. Most students do have test anxiety which makes them perform not as well as they usually do. I have test anxiety which makes me perform bad, and I have a bad habit of rushing through it because im self-
conscious about it and I just want to leave...
They have these test that teachers don't know whats on so they don't know how to perpair for the state standards. They might have an idea but not an exact answer. I feel like what is missing is how confident the students feel. I know when I'm taking the Acts and other test like that I don't feel as confident as the other students who took an "Act prep class" which cost money to take. If they offer a class like that, they should offer it for free where other students who are not financially stable to take it as well.
Testing for an Ib Art student is very different this year, They have to compare and contrast two different artist and evaluate their work. " This test is more about analyzing than it's about creating, which i hate." -teacher.

TechTool Kit 5

One good technology I can use in art classroom are video games! To be more specific is minecraft. My niece plays that game all the time. and she is also an artist. She is only in the third grade and she told me she wants to teach art as well and when she told me i felt so happy and proud! But I played a little bit of it was well and I think its a pretty cool game that kids and adult can play. It is a very creative game. I seen people build a lot of crazy things with that game that is mind blowing. I feel like if I can implement that into my classroom I feel like it can help students get creative with their art. It can help students who are having an "artist block" plus its a nice break from doing art because doing art can be sometime stressful. This can help students who don't like doing art, so using this game they can " play with art" because the game is art itself, The game you are literally building art. A house you built in that game can be art because you created it using your imagination. There are many other games out their that can help us be creatives, like the Sims series.  We build a fantasy life that we want and its all uses creativity, All games use a part of your creativity. I think that why I like video games so much because it use so much of your imagination. It makes me feel like a kids again when I play.

Tech ToolKit

So today tech tool I will use in a classrooms are movies! Movies are different than videos on youtube. Movies portray a story and many more elements. Some of the reason I want to use movies in a classroom is that it goes beyond the text. We can visual see the actions and emotions. It can also provide teachable moments. Another thing is that movies are more interesting than books.
I can use movies in an art classroom by showing them the history behind art and the artist. How the environment was back then. The cultural influences on artist and their works. These movies can also show emotion in the characters action which were we "can capture the moment" in the art we do.

Observation 2

So the school I'm observing is Washburn High. I'm in an art class where the teacher is encouraging students to be free with their art work, she gives them an assignment and the students can be free within the rubric. In total so far I have spent 14 hours, I have been observing and assisting her with her classrooms. The education philosophy I believe she follow or believe is the existentialism. I think this because I see her encourages students to take risks with their art work and they have the freedom to chose how to do their work but also they have to by in the boundaries of the learning targets. The students who are in "IB art" have more freedom the students is "studio art". On the walls their is all full of students art but also reference pictures as well of past students that she uses.

 The relationship between teacher-student is good, they both respect each other so its always a happy and positive environment. The room has 4 big tables, each table has 8 chairs. The students do not have assign sitting. The students can listen to music, just not to loud. For the most part the students works independently, but on peer review day, they critique each other works and how they can improve. Most of the students support each others ideas.

Tech Tool Kit

Today I am talking about the website called "ArtConnectEd" it's a website many use for making presentation but using local art from Minnesota, most of the work are from the walker art center. When doing my observation, the teacher I'm observing showed me this website and this is were she mainly do her presentation on. They have two different types of search bars, one is for finding a type of art, this finder breaks down the specifics from textiles to video/audio. The other search is by art collector and I didn't know much about that because I didn't want to sign up at the moment. You can make an endless amount of presentation, For an art teacher I can make a presentation on every different type of style of art. Another great thing is that it will save it online, because you have an account and it just save your presentation on your account. 

Another feature this website has is a a whole tab on the main page that you can click and some of the tabs say "ask an educator" or "recent event" and again these are local Minnesotans.  

Blog #4

Option #4:  Go in a different direction entirely, but still demonstrate a deep understanding of the readings for this week and your ability to make them meaningful for your future profession.


When reading these article it made me realize that race is a sensitive topic when parents get involved. How scared white parents don't even speak about it to their own kids. I believe in the first article " Even babies discriminate" She states that 75% of white families don't speak about race to their young kids, which makes them color blind. I believe that if they grow up without being taught about different color people and our culture, they will grow up being scared of the different culture.  Honestly I don't know how to talk about race in a classroom because I'm scared that I might offend someone without even knowing about it.
What I like about the second article " Facing Race Issues in the classroom: How to connect with students" because how the students said things like "The teacher treat us like we're peers and we respect that." Which I would like to hear as a teacher and I want to make my students feel like a peer or a friend. To respect each other. Also how the article list out steps to make the students feel safe. I also really liked the article " The Gender Spectrum" because they listed out the terms that I didn't know and now that I do I can confidently say it without being scared i'm saying it wrong or in a wrong context.

Observation 1

I haven't been to Washburn or in that neighborhood for a while now, so when I came back it brought back memories of my high school days. I stayed there for about 2 hours, just walking around, not talking to people..
Washburn is located right behind Ramsey, in a neighborhood called Tangle Town. Its a neighborhood where the roads are all tangled together, that's why it's called tangle town. In this neighborhood there is this huge water tower were all the kids go hang out after school just to chill and talk. Near Washburn there is the Minnehaha creek I believe.. I only been there once my freshman year in biology. Around Washburn there are a lot of small diners and shops. There is the Malt Shop, Xin Won, which is only a few blocks away where we would go out to eat for lunch. What I like about this neighborhood is that there are a lot of trees, In the spring and fall it looks so beautiful. Also there is a park a block away from school so we would go their and play on the swings.
The families that live around the school are very nice and always helpful when it comes to event held at the schools. The Washburn library is a few blocks away from school were they showcase some of the art the students made which is very nice when trying to connect with the community. The only negative thing about the neighborhood is that it is hard to go through tangle town, for a first timer going through it's hard to navigate.
looking at the demographics, the majority of the people are white of 48.5%, then it's African-American with 25%, Hispanic at 20%, Asians at 4.8% and American Indian in 1.4%.
Most of the student here are one free or reduced lunch which is at the 42.6% mark.
2.1% of the students are homeless. I never looked at the demographics of Washburn, but I always knew that the majority of the people are white.
The teachers there are most white people. In the past few years I know that Washburn has been on the news for bad things but it's not the school itself, Washburn is a great school. I had the best teachers and amazing friends.

So What?

What I learn was that the past has always affect our present, the whole butterfly affect. Way back when segregation happen the students of color didn't get the same type of learning opportunity as the white student. Now we all get the same education, but now it cater to our age, If you are twelve, you get the same education as all the other twelve year olds out there. And no matter what you move on, even if your falling behind. Yes there are programs out there to assist you when your behind.
Another point I wanted to talk about is the medication they give to these kids, the video "RSA Animated: Changing Education Paradigms" talked little about this. How these doctors are giving these kids pills because of the rise of "ADHD" in kids. These pill constrict these kids of them selves, to bring out a "calmer self" which is not them at all. We should embrace who they are, to find ways to help them be who they are with out these drugs.
I remember this one time were this teacher called me outside the classroom, and she told me " Oscar have you been tested? I think you should be tested. I know people." I was confused because she was the only teacher that asked me that. I felt disrespected and hurt. I told her no, I don't want to be tested.
I feel like teachers who says that think it's easier for them to deal with "dead" students then these lively students.
We shouldn't let these drugs control the kids, but to let them be and be themselves. Its like hiding  stars from the sky. Why hide a beauty thing from the world?

tech toolkit 2

Today  I will talk about YouTube.  YouTube has a lot of benefits that we can us. There are many different types of videos online its crazy. There are tutorials that can help you with anything you need help in. I know Khan Academy has a YouTube channel, on their channel they help explain concepts. That is one of the reason I like YouTube, it help explain concepts that teachers are having hard explaining to the class. This is very helping in many types of classroom too not just in math, in history you can use it to show the students the type of environments they past had, or in language learning class you can help the student hear the dialect from multiple sources. Also you can play music in that language as well so it can stick in the students head. I know that worked because my Spanish teacher made us learn the lyrics to " Vivir mi vida" by Marc Anthony. I know how to sing that song all the way. Using videos in a art classroom can be very useful as well. I can show the art history of the topic I'm teaching, I can how the different types of technique as well.  The students can watch videos of other people using a technique to help them use it. The reason I don't like YouTube is like with every technology it can be a distraction. But as a teacher I can show them what to watch in class but now when they are out of the classroom.

History Lesson

        When learning about the boarding schools in AMIS class I got touched by all the stories the teacher experience and from the stories I read. How they were treated poorly and had to work, pray and then go to school made me sad. Also how they were separated from their family.
Another thing that shocked me, I forgot which part of the video that tells us this but, the male teachers back before woman taught was the men who couldn't do other work that helped the village or men who were bad which was interesting.  

Tech ToolKit Numero Uno

So the tech toolkit I am talking about today is, Tumblr. Here is a link to one of my art blog http://thycompanion.tumblr.com/. Basically what tumblr is it's a blog website where you can follow people and they can follow you back. You can post anything from pictures, videos, and quotes. When you post something, anybody that follows you will see it on their home page. You can like a post or you can reblog that post.  I like this website because this is where I get my inspiration to do art from. I follow a lot of art blogs so they will post up their art and that will motivate me to do my own. I think this would work for me as a teacher because I can make a class blog and the students can get the opportunity to follow me and I can reblog art, links to other artist, and even videos on how to do art. What I like about Tumblr is that when you reblog something there is always a link to the original blog that posted it so there is no stealing credit. Also what I like is that there is an option where you can make tumblr notify you when someone is posting, so that can be very useful in a classroom. What I don't like about tumblr is that their is no privacy setting, so anyone with a tumblr can see what you post. I feel like tumblr is one of the easiest to understand, it is not that hard. Basically what you do, is that you follow the blogs you like, you can either like or reblog the post if you like it, and if you want you can post you own stuff. I personal don't post a lot. If I do, it's my own art. How I will use this in my classroom is that the students can follow me if they want to, it won't be "a you have to" thing, and it will just show art that the students can get inspirational from, For example, If we were doing a project on expressionism, I can reblog or post pictures and videos that has expressionism in it so it can help the kids understand and see how it looks like outside of the classroom. Also their are many people who do different types of art so there are many different arrays of styles out their on tumblr from professional to just regular people doing art. Also they have the freedom to follow their own blogs, they can post and reblog the stuff they like, and I can see that and understand what the students like, and also to keep up in culture as well. This is a big step from using books in the art class because in text they show us popular art, art from famous artist, but from tumblr it shows us art from all types of people and they are so many different types of styles in art that people can share online through tumblr.
So this is why I like tumblr.      

EDUC 1500, Why Teach?

"What brought me to teaching? How do I see myself in the work I do? What are my blind spots?"

   I want to specialize in art education. The reason for that is because of my high school art teacher. She influence me to become a teacher. The main reason I chose to pursue to become an art teacher is because when I was going up, into my high school year I had a hard time expressing myself. So I bottled it up inside, which is very unhealthy for my well-being. I want to show the kids that art can help you release you of stress, anger, sadness, and many more feelings that you bottle up inside. I know this is cliche but I want the kids to make a different in their community, I want the kid's art to make people feel uncomfortable, to make feel many different emotions through the arts.  

  I can see myself inspiring the youth and the youth inspiring me to be the best artist we could be. Also to help our community grow, to help the kid's grow as artistes. Also to teach these kid's the roots of the arts, to show them the original message was and how they can create and use art as a medium for change.

  I'm not going to lie, I am very emotional. I feel like my weakness is being to passionate to a point where I will go easy on the kids and they might take advantage of me because I'm to nice.