Living Within Words: One Teacher's Approach to Poetry

I just finished reading "Within Words", an essay written by Michael Bazzett, a teacher in Minnesota. Bazzett's essay was the 2008 winner of the Bechtel Prize, a competition Teachers and Writers magazine holds each year to honor an extraordinary essay on teaching or writing.

Bazzett writes about his AP English class in an old ivy-covered school. In his classroom, he makes the most of a strange ceiling, beginning to cover the upper walls with words. Not just words though-- quotes. Quotes found in books, in readings the students complete. Words become places to rest your eyes and ideas to get lost in.

Throughout the essay, Bazzett tells us of three lessons he taught in his classroom-- all about poetry. One lesson deals with how poems are constructed, another with line breaks, and the third with Shakespeare's iambic pentameter. In each lesson, Bazzett breaks it down in a way that another teacher can easily recreate, but more important, he recounts these classes with joy allowing readers to see the true magic of the words. In his essay, the words come alive. One can only imagine how this firsthand learning must have affected his students.

For anyone who teaches, or anyone who writes, read this. It will change the way you think about teaching poetry.

MAC Presents Arts-Integrated Workshops as Part of the Teaching Artist Project

Below is the text copy of an email received from MAC. The Teaching Artist Project (TAP) puts on great workshops, with people often coming from all over the state. In the past two years, I've been to two or three of these, and I'd highly recommend going. One of the great things about these workshops is it pulls together classroom teachers and teaching artists, providing for dialogue that is often missing in other professional development opportunities. Through the generous funding of the Missouri Arts Council, these workshops are free, which is awesome. Dates and registration info are listed below in the body of the email. Check it out, there's always something to learn.
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(email copy as received from MAC)

How to Develop Arts-Integrated Lessons and Study Guides

With support from the Missouri Arts Council (MAC), the Missouri Alliance for Arts Education (MAAE) is planning workshops for teaching artists, classroom teachers, and fine arts specialists. Workshop leaders will include MAC Program Specialist Julie Hale and MAAE Executive Director Deborah Fisher.

For registration information go to click here.

Goals for Teachers:
Learn how the arts can transform learning in any classroom
Learn how to create arts-infused lessons that are easy to implement
Develop a draft grant application to bring the arts to your school
Teams with one classroom teacher and one fine arts specialist are encouraged to register together.

Goals for Artists:
Learn how the arts can transform learning in any classroom
Learn classroom management strategies that work
Develop or revise a study guide to meet MAC School Touring qualifications
Working with a group, develop a draft grant application
Local and regional visual and performing artists, including folk artists, are invited.

Schedule:
October 2 9:00 am - 3:00 pm Columbia: Activities & Rec. Center (ARC) Room still available!
October 14 9:00 am - 3:00 pm Springfield: Hammonds Hall (MSU)
October 16 10:00 am - 3:30 pm Cape Girardeau: Holland VPA (SEMO)
October 20 9:00 am - 3:00 pm Kansas City: Kauffman Center
October 21 10:30 am - 3:30 pm St. Joseph: Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art
November 13 9:00 am - 3:00 pm St. Louis: CSD Offices, 1460 Craig Rd.


There is no charge to attend the seminar and lunch is included.

What is a Teaching Artist? Here's the Wordle answer.

To make your own or see other Wordles, click here.

What is a Teaching Artist?

If you’ve never heard the term “teaching artist” or can’t quite define it, don’t worry, you are not alone. I’ve been a teaching artist for many years and have only recently started using those words to explain to people what I do. Moreover, when I look for data or statistics about teaching artists, information is little and far between.

So, what is a teaching artist? Well, it’s pretty much exactly what it sounds like-- part teacher, part artist. Teaching artists are professionals who work with students to provide arts training and arts experiences. Teaching artists are practitioners in their chosen field, and they are typically people who are highly skilled and respected within their field. A teaching artist might be a classical painter with works in galleries across the country... AND someone who wants to share that love of painting with teachers and students. So perhaps they are hired to teach students more about color, or to integrate the art of painting with the regular curriculum.

Teaching artists come from varied backgrounds and have a variety of training. Teaching artists regularly teach within the following disciplines: visual arts, dance, drama, creative writing, and media arts. While there is not a national board or a national certification process, the majority of teaching artists hold degrees in their artistic field and have also undertaken extensive training and professional development from local arts organizations in their city. The training and professional development is necessary to better acquaint the artist with students’ developmental process, state and local policies, curriculum alignment, academic trends, and special needs. Teaching artists might seek professional development to learn more about lesson planning, collaborating with school teachers and faculty, and classroom management.

Because the title of Teaching Artist envelopes so many possible duties, responsibilities and definitions, it is difficult to succinctly outline what an average day looks like for a teaching artist. One thing remains certain, teaching artists work with schools and classroom teachers to define curriculum and learning activities that enrich students, make connections with the outside world, and aligns with what students are already studying. For instance, if students are learning about world cultures, a teaching artist who specializes in dance might be contracted. She might then lead the students in lessons about the culture of India, using dance as an entry point for students. Students would learn short dances, see Indian dance costumes and authentic dress, and hear stories of India. This enriches the curriculum and helps students make connections. Teaching artists bring what students are studying to life.

Almost all teaching artists lead students in lessons that are hands-on, engaging, and challenging. Working with the classroom teacher or school that hosts them, a teaching artist might visit a school for a one-time performance, a short workshop, or a multi-week or semester residency. Most teaching artist visits are arranged by local arts organizations who hire, train, and facilitate the work of teaching artists. A teaching artist might be a member of a dance troupe, the local symphony orchestra or opera, the zoo, or a non-profit dedicated to arts learning in schools.

Most teaching artists work with students during school hours, but some also work with after-school programs or teach on-site for art centers, community centers, or other organizations.

Teaching artists have several things in common, regardless of what or where they teach. All teaching artists love their art form, have enthusiasm and excitement about the learning process, and enjoy sharing what they know with others. Becoming a teaching artist is a valuable and rewarding career choice, and best of all, it’s one where the teacher learns as much as the student every day.