First Observation at Carmel HS

I had my first chance to observe art classes at Carmel High School today! The morning was a little chaotic. I was supposed to meet with the department head, Jen, at 7:15 and when I arrived, no one in the main office could find her. So I waited for 30 minutes, 5 minutes before school began, until the film photography teacher, Kevin, came and walked me to her classroom. I was really nervous that I had come on the wrong day or that she had forgotten and that she'd be all grumpy because she had one more thing on her plate, but apparently she had forgotten that she had a progress meeting for a student with an IEP so she had a para wait in her class until she got there. When she did arrive she was so welcoming and sweet so that relieved a little of my anxiety. She asked me if I wouldn't mind introducing myself and talking about the studio art classes at IU and I totally botched it. Next time I will be more prepared and have more interesting things to say about IU's art classes, but all I could think about at the time was how frustrated I was to have paid $280 for oil paints and $1,000+ on a digital camera for class. I figured that wasn't a positive picture to paint for them so I just kind of stammered without saying anything specific (it probably wasn't that bad as I am super self-critical, but still...).

The first class I visited was Jen's AP Art History class. It was huge! I was really surprised that so many students were taking it.This morning was a little hectic as I was supposed to meet the department head, Jen, at 7:15 and she had forgotten that she had a progress meeting for a student with an IEP and wasn’t able to meet me until 15 minutes into her first class at 8:05. She was very welcoming and sweet.Today was a review day for their unit test on ancient art. For a review activity, Jen had them get into groups and then gave each group a paper with three artworks that would be on the test and a situation. For example, one paper said, “a Kouros, Cycladic figure, and Minoan Snake Goddess at Starbucks on a blind date. (Cycladic figure introduced Kouros and Minoan Snake Goddess for a blind date).” Then the students had to create a short skit that contained important facts that would be on the test in a humorous way. I thought this was a great way to help students remember key ideas because during the test a student will remember her classmate holding fake snakes while pretending to be at Starbucks better than facts straight from their notes. I thought Jen was great, she was very smiley and upbeat and the students really liked her.

The next hour and a half was a little weird because it was prep hour so I basically wandered the halls because Jen had another meeting. I killed an hour wandering and then the photography teacher Kevin, ran into me and invited me into his classroom to hang out until lunch. He completely reminded me of my digital art teacher in high school so we got along really well. When it was time for lunch he pulled out his own tray, plate, cup, and silverware to get food. He told me that the school switched to disposable serving plates and utensils instead of washing plates and that he didn’t like all the waste.

During lunch I sat with all the teachers in the department and got to chat and talk about my experiences. I told them my story, going to a school in Chicago that I hated my Freshman year and then transferring to IU. Now usually I trash talk the school I went to in Chicago, but I was much more reserved, just saying it wasn’t the right fit for me, and thank goodness I did because I was in Jen’s office to grab my purse later in the afternoon and saw that her undergraduate degree was from that school! I couldn’t even imagine how embarrassed I would’ve been if I had let loose everything I felt about that school in front of her! I will definitely remember that for future visits to other schools!

After lunch I observed a ceramics class that was handbuilding boxes from slabs of clay. I didn’t appreciate the sarcastic tone while she was speaking to her students and demonstrating, but she had told me this was her rowdiest class, so maybe there’s merit. I really enjoyed my last two classroom visits though. I next visited a fiber arts class taught by Nicole and I completely loved the vibe she had going with her students. She is also a graduate from IU so we had a connection that made it easier to relax and open up with her. She was the first teacher I really began to ask questions like if she ever had to accommodate kids without smartphones because she incorporated them in her teaching and if she loved using Canvas, etc. So I was able to get a better feel of the type of teacher she was than some of the others. She was very authentic and conversational with her kids. It was fun to watch and be a part of!

The last classroom I visited was Kevin’s and it was by far the most impacting. In a span of 20 minutes he managed to organically and effectively incorporate everything we’ve been talking about for the past four weeks. He was introducing a new assignment to his students where they had to go to a new location outside of Carmel to take photos. Exactly what we’ve been talking about! Getting kids into nature! He had a handout that encouraged them to visit Turkey Run State Park, the Canal walk and cultural trail in Indy, etc. He was so funny because he said, “Explore the world outside of your white, gated could-de-sac !” All the kids laughed because they understood he was referencing the fact that Carmel is a well-off city full of white, privileged people, but he did it in a way that didn’t make them feel attacked. In my M300 class, I often felt attacked and like I was the source of all the world’s problems for being a white, upper-class female, and I just think there is a way to effectively get students to understand that privilege with out making them feel ashamed for what they were born into. I’m finding that humor was a great way to get this across. Then he started talking about the sculpture in Carmel and how they aren’t locally made and how that’s ironic because Carmel prides itself as an arts district. So why pay someone who’s not even native to Indiana to build absurdly expensive sculptures that aren’t unique because he went down to a town in Florida and recognized the same ones by the same artists! It was just amazing how fast he was able to incorporate so many important issues in a casual dialogue with his students. You guys would’ve loved it.

Overall it was a great visit and I loved the last to teachers, but there are several barriers preventing me from selecting one of them as a mentor. First of all, I didn’t want to scare them away by saying I was looking for a mentor, so I only briefly explained what CoT is about and what the mentorship was, but I just don’t understand how you instigate the next steps into asking a teacher to be your mentor. Like for all them at Carmel, this was a one-time visit, and it very well might be, but how do I open the door at other schools with teachers I may want to stay with without being weird? Also, I am feeling discouraged because Center Grove’s art department head has not replied and brown county school has not replied either. I sent follow up emails already this past week, so I will be sending my third one next week. I’m just having trouble and starting to get a little disheartened.