Art Ed Radio

We all know art teachers need to actively look for ways to promote our programs. We have to show off all the great things we're doing or we run the risk of being easy to cut when budgets get tight. A great way to advocate for your program and reach students and the community at large is by adopting social media in your classroom. In this episode, Andrew brings on his good friend and teaching soulmate, Ashley Cardamone, to discuss ways you can leverage the power of social media to best promote your art program.

Andrew and Ashley go over some practical tips and tricks for choosing the social media platform that's right for you and your classroom (8:15). They discuss possible pros and cons to using social media during the day (13:00), and finally, some time-saving tips and best practices to make sure sharing doesn't become too time-consuming in class (14:30).

• Teach Your Students to Use Art as a Tool for Social Advocacy
• The Art of Creating Digital Citizens
• 5 Instagram Hashtags to Use in the Art Room

We do so many superfluous things as art teachers--what can we get rid of? Tim and Andrew talk about the best ways to turn down requests when necessary and to focus on what we need to do to be great teachers. They discuss dealing with the politics of your building (8:15), focusing on your passions in teaching (11:15), and the best way to deal when you NEED to say yes (14:30).

• Andrew's Article on Saying No
• Avoiding the 'Disease to Please'
• How to Say No to Taking on More Work

What do you do on the first day of class with your students? Why not start creating? Rules, procedures, and expectations are undoubtedly important, but so is making art! Janine Campbell, one of the best middle school teachers around, joins Tim to talk about the ins and outs of starting your year the right way. They talk about why Janine breaks out clay on the first day of school (5:00), why we need to avoid the "sit and get" syllabus (9:30), and why it's always important to try something new (16:30).

• More Ideas for the First Day of School
• Check Out Janine's Blog on First Day Activities

Why would we want our students to think like artists when they could think like designers instead? Andrew talks about how to get students into this mode of thought by incorporating more design thinking and design curriculum in the art room. Kathryn Rulien-Baries, from the Wisconsin Visioneers program, joins Andrew to discuss modifications and alterations teachers can do right now to be more design inclusive. They talk about what makes design curriculum unique (6:45), art-making with a purpose (11:00), and whether art teachers are the most qualified to embrace design thinking (13:15).

• What happens when kids engage in design thinking?
• Check out the Visioneer Design Challenge

Tim and Andrew take on a question that every teacher struggles with: how important are the Elements of Art and Principles of Design? AOE writer and choice-based education guru, Melissa Purtee, joins the guys to discuss the "E"s & "P"s. They debate whether getting away from the formal focus on the elements affects the quality of students' work (14:00), how to run critiques (17:00), and the essential ideas that should guide our program (20:30).

Is procrastination an important part of the creative process, or is it simply laziness and avoidance? If it's integral, how do we show students deadlines and time management are important while also allowing students the time to incubate ideas? If it's not important, how do we help students deal with the down time they need to come up with their best ideas? Andrew opens the show by making a great case for why creative personalities need the chance to procrastinate, but then Tim comes on the show to tell him why he's wrong (10:00). The guys also talk about what procrastination looks like in the art room (12:30) and the best strategies for finding a balance between both sides of the argument (19:30).

Resources and Links: On the Benefits of Procrastination: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/17/opinion/sunday/why-i-taught-myself-to-procrastinate.html?_r=0

Procrastination Makes You More Creative: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/17/opinion/sunday/why-i-taught-myself-to-procrastinate.html?_r=0

No Way, They Were Totally Lying in that Last Article Right Above This: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/dont-delay/201601/procrastination-virtue-creativity-why-its-false

Do Creative People Procrastinate More?: https://www.quora.com/Why-do-creative-professionals-seem-to-procrastinate-more-than-other-people

"Craft" is a contentious word in many art rooms and art programs. Craftsmanship is an important part of what art teachers do, but "craft" is also synonymous with googly eyes and pom-poms. Many parents and members of the community have a negative association with "crafts", so how do we accurately depict what we do while also letting it be known that craftsmanship is important? Tim comes on the show, and the guys talk about the difference between art and craft (8:30), Andrew's problem with craft-based curricula (10:30), and how to turn crafty materials into a viable form of creative expression (16:00).

• A great article (and discussion) about art vs. craft
• A good 5 minute TED lesson that explains the difference
• Moving beyond Art vs. Craft
• Why Preschool crafts are a waste of time

AP Studio Art is tough to get a handle on. Questions abound about the best types of work to submit, portfolio scoring, and the role of teachers in helping students develop their concepts and their work. It's time for us to unlock those secrets and start sharing our best ideas on how to teach this class. Jeanne Bjork, a longtime AP Studio Art teacher from Pewaukee, Wisconsin, joins Tim to compare notes on the structure of their AP classes. They talk about building community to start the year (05:45), their best projects and when to teach them (08:15), and what makes for a good portfolio that will score well with the College Board judges (17:30).

The article Tim promised at the end of the episode is here--every AP Studio Art resource you could ever want.

Tim has written a few articles on teaching AP. His favorite is called Is Teaching AP Studio Art Really Worth It?

Jeanne has an incredible website for her art room that you can see right here.

If we want to offer up choice and student voice in the classroom--which just about everyone agrees we should do--how do we deal with ideas that might need to be censored? Andrew talks about how to know when students are pushing the envelope too far, and how to deal with the issue when they do (4:00). Ian Sands comes on to talk about how student choice affects expression (10:30), what he allows in his classroom (14:45), and what compromises you should be willing to make (20:00).

• Here are two great articles by Ian, and two more that deal with how we deal with censoring artwork.

https://www.theartofed.com/2015/04/27/what-happens-when-your-students-work-is-censored/ https://www.theartofed.com/2014/09/02/when-if-ever-is-it-ok-to-draw-a-gun/ https://www.theartofed.com/2016/04/19/april-naked-vs-nude-discussion/ https://www.theartofed.com/2013/09/20/to-censor-or-not-to-censor/

• If you'd like to see more from Ian Sands, check out his old articles or visit his website.

Summer offers great opportunities and possibilities to better ourselves as people, artists, and educators. This episode is the perfect tool to help you decide exactly what you are going to do this summer. Holly Bess Kincaid joins the show to talk about her Fulbright-Hays Seminar which allowed her to spend last summer in China. She talks about experiencing educational culture in China (3:00), seeing art from throughout China's history (4:30) and sharing cultural understanding with her own students (5:30). Alecia Eggers also stops by to share her six tips for making the most of your time off (9:15). So what will you do? Learn new media or techniques? Take classes? Spend time with your family? Recharge and relax? Listen to this episode, make a plan, and get the most out of these two months--no matter what you choose to do.

• Here are some of AOE's favorite articles about summer:

12 Signs You're Ready For Summer Vacation

10 Ways to Get Summer Break Started Off on the Right Foot

5 Ways to Get Inspired at a Summer Arts Festival

A Must-Read Guide for Artistic Summer Vacations

• If you are interested in the Fulbright Hays Program, you can get started on the G5 website Holly Bess mentioned
• You can follow Holly Bess Kincaid on Twitter and Instagram
• Check out her blog and one of her posts from China.