Site B Reflection

! For site B I was placed at Henry Karrer middle school. This site was located in a

more affluent community and had a lot of resources to offer to their staff and students. I

appreciated being able to see the difference of a well funded school. Here I had the

opportunity to work along side Mr.Schafer who taught me more about collaborative large

scale installations and what it takes to have students work together to get big projects

completed. While at this site I had the opportunity to understand the differences

between elementary and middle school and how big of a transition it can be, I also was

able to assist in a challenging large scale project. I worked with students through fatigue

and roadblock to find success. I was also fortunate to experience the impact the

installations can have on the school community. Overall, the time at Karrer continued to

deepen my understanding and appreciation of the education profession.!

! Here I discovered I really enjoyed working with 6th, 7th and 8th grade because of

where they are in artistic development. I feel this stage is a great time to instill

confidence and studio practices into the students, which will hopefully encourage them

to continue creating art through life. Aside from obtaining new comprehension of artistic

stages in development, I was also able to continue to work on my skills in understanding

the varying needs of each individual student. During class I would work to provide them

with the tools they needed to overcome and be successful. This came up in different

ways from developmental differences to physical limitations. For example, for students

with limited mobility I would make sure to have their art space set up prior to their arrival

so the paired professional didn’t take additional art time to find everything. This involved

planning and setting aside storage space specific for the student to be able to meld into

my time management and transition between classes. If any student was unable to

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Site B Reflection

complete a task I would find ways to encourage and empower them so they were able

to obtain equal goals as their peers and still experience the success. !

! While I was successful at meeting students where they were and providing for

their individual needs, I still found challenges at this site. One thing I was not well

practiced at was creating large scale group projects. Within my first few days at Karrer, I

was co-teaching an inflatable project which produced a sculpture of bugs bunny that

reached to the cafeteria ceiling. I have never worked on a project so large, being tasked

with instructing groups of students to create and attach pieces made me practice

creative innovative approaches to art on the spot. When things didn’t work I then had to

continue to keep my spirits up while problem solving and encouraging the students to

move forward as well. Due to the complex design the project went longer than projected

which also caused fatigue within the student base. Keeping a positive attitude and

reminding the students the value of the project before they could see their labor was key

to being successful during the crafting of this inflatable. I am very appreciative to have

had the experience Mr.Schafer provided me, from the material to a creative way to

challenge students.!

! The most enjoyable experience I had at this location was seeing the students

artwork as school installations and being able to witness the reactions of staff and

students walking by. It was very gratifying to see the community be engaged with the

work after the students hard effort to develop it. The inflatable, snap-chat portrait

project, and paper-mache sharks all had very positive impact on Karrer. I deeply

enjoyed seeing viewers walk by and make comments on the work. Even the students

who participated would excitedly bring their friends over to show their contribution. It

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Site B Reflection

was also a great way to have more connection with staff as they offered positive

feedback and future suggestions. Seeing how much the art work meant to the

community revitalized me after working with the students to try their hardest to complete

their best works.!

! My experience at Karrer and working under Mr.Schafer contributed to my

practices as a future art educator immensely. It provided me with new perspective to

take on skill focused art work challenges contrasting my previous choice based

experience. I will continue to implement and value having students practice focused

techniques, including large scale collaborative work, as the value of adding to students

learning and development out weighs any potential complications or fatigue. I will also

continue to hone my efforts in meeting students where they are and providing them with

equal learning experiences. I look forward to seeing future installations of my own

student body and to continue to inspire communities to produce and be engaged with

art.

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