Art meets Hip Hop

I received this link from Nicole Marroquin, about how a contemporary photographer/ advertiser Cecilia Azcarate juxtaposes images of rappers with images from Art History.  The juxtapositions are striking.  I just thought this was really cool and an interesting idea for an art project to do with students. She also use tumblr to publish her findings, which would be a cool platform to use. 

Left: “The Adoration of the Magi,” copy after Hugo van der Goes (late 15th century); right: Wiz Khalifa (all images via BFXVI on Tumblr)

Mallonnee, Laura C. (Apr 15, 2014). "Hip-Hop meets Art History". Hyperallergic: Sensitive to Art and its Discontents.  Retrieved from http://hyperallergic.com/120555/hip-hop-meets-art-history/. 

Teaching Grit

I found this article on edutopia.com. Zakrzewski states that grit is, "...the interplay of thoughts and emotions, demanding a wellspring of inner resources to overcome the inevitable obstacles that arise when going full-force after a goal"(Apr 28, 2014).  Grit also helps to create more positive "self talk" which allows students to be more positive. This teaching of grit or toughness isn't often cultivated in schools, at least not in my student career.  The drive to pursue a goal even if it is difficult is hard to create and maintain in adults as well as in students.  It is hard to work through frustration and many times I think schools coddle students rather than help students work through these obstacles themselves. 

Zakrzewski, Vicki. (Apr 28, 2014). "Teaching Grit: Social and Emotional Truth." Edutopia.com. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/grit-social-emotional-truth-vicki-zakrzewski. 

Mortified Nation

So I just watched this documentary called Mortified, which documents adults reading from their childhood diaries. I have been struggling with a fear of working with high school students, not my main demographic. But thinking back and watching this documentary allowed me to access my inner adolescent and maybe make them less scary.



Anyways it is awesome and you should all watch it.

Using multiple intelligences in Arts Education

Woodrow Wilson Elementary in Bartlesville, Oklahoma utilizes art through out all the school's curricula. But through using the arts they target all 8 of Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences.  Not only does the arts keep students engaged but they also target different ways students may learn.  This caught my attention because often we, or at least I,  think about art education and arts integration and thats it. But bringing in this other element to be cognizant of complicates arts education, but will make the curriculum richer and maybe more accessible. 


Smith, Fran. (2009). "Oklahoma's Arts Program Develops Multiple Intelligences." Edutopia. Retrieved from 
http://www.edutopia.org/arts-oklahoma-multiple-intelligences. 

Saw this on edutopia. It is really relevant to things we have been talking about when it comes mapping, critical geography, place and relvant/meaningful design all used to let students discover their personal power.

(2014). "How design Thinking can Empower Young People." Edutopia. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/is-school-enough-design-thinking-video.

On the teaching channel I watched the video, Using Art to Help Students Express Social Issues, that showed a high school art classroom. The instructor talked about ideas of  physical wall and physical barriers. Then she moved to more conceptual abstract ideas of barriers. I really liked how the teacher was able to move from the physical  thing to the conceptual, which is often hard to accomplish.
Students used the artist reference, El Anatsui, in order to create a multi media piece students joined together three pieces of  recycled plexiglass.  
Students first researched a conceptual barrier, i.e. glass ceiling. Then they presented it to the class, so students were researchers and instructors, helping to co construct a body of knowledge. 
The teacher also utilizes peer critique for students to discuss each others work. She also talks about how her class is a lab, in which there is an important internet based element. She also says that keeping her website up to date is really important for struggling students or English Language Learners. 

Yamashita, Kathy. (2014). "Walls & Barriers: Using Art to Express Social Issues."

The Teaching Channel.  Retrieved from https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/art-and-express-social-issues.

Making education relevant

"You need to start education from things that make a difference to them in their settings....So you need education to be relevant and help people to make a living there and then, often. And you also need to make it intrinsically interesting.(Leadbeater, 2010)"

This quote is from a TED talk with Charles Leadbeater. He is discussing education within urban areas of rapid growth, mainly speaking to slums and in this case Favelas in Rio de Janeiro.  What I found in  the transcript of the TED talk that resonated with me was the irrelevance and uselessness of making students learn in a prescribed compulsory fashion. Students who walk into school all over the world often have far more to worry about than their homework. I know of students who have to finish chores before they can do their homework.  When they are finished it is dark outside and they don't have electricity. So homework never gets finished.  How can we restructure school to meet our students, rather than have them submit to our will?


Leadbeater, Charles. (Apr 2010). "Education Innovation in the Slums." TED Talk. http://www.ted.com/talks/charles_leadbeater_on_education/transcript. 

Financial Literacy

      According to USA today, students who are have to take a financial literacy class in high school are much more likely to be financially responsible in college. But only 17 states require this class in high school, which seems like a wasted opportunity.
       Financial literacy is amazingly important, so many of my peers and myself are in insane amounts of debt due to crazy student loans or reckless use of credit cards. I know many adults who don't even have a checking account, most living in poverty ridden rural areas. It is not that they are reckless with their money, they just have never been exposed to the idea of putting money in a bank and saving for the future. I know I grew up knowing that credit cards are dangerous and you only use them once in a while on larger purchases to be paid off. But many view it as free money. Financial literacy wouldn't only enhance the quality of many peoples' lives, but would also make certain academic subjects very real and relevant for students.

Malcolm, Hadley. (Apr 8, 2014). "Financial Literacy Education Has Lasting Impact." USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2014/04/08/financial-literacy-college-students/7296185/. 

Bad Baby

I recently listened to This American Life's most recent episode Bad Baby. It is all about children who use their "power" to make their families' lives hell.  On the top of the show a mother speaks about her eldest son who tried to kill his little brother. Her eldest son also is violent and aggressive with his mother. The other two children are not at all aggressive.  The eldest son often asks to cuddle, but his mother claims that it is difficult to do so when he is a danger to her safety. She has to force herself to be affectionate, because she knows it may help with his violent and aggressive behavior.

What stuck out to me was when the mother explains how she is often blames. She must have done something wrong. This reminds me on how as teachers we often times have deficit based thinking when coming to students but also when it comes to families. When I have entered schools where many students come from low socio-economic households, the teacher always says well they have no support at home. We blame families, and then we refuse the culpability.

What if as teachers we aimed see parents not as lacking? Instead, we see them as people who care about their children, which in my experience is often the case. Sadly, some parents don't care about their children but this is rare, and when this does happen as teachers need to act. When have deficit based thinking the children who do need our extra support will be taken as seriously as we need to.  Rather we see them in a see of poor unsupported children.