Miss Art of Teaching

I used to stress about what to wear as a beginner teacher and as a teacher on pract. During my five-year double degree (Bachelor of Art Education and Bachelor of Design), I completed four practicums. The first three were roughly two weeks long, and the final practicum lasted around fourteen weeks. Besides getting ready for practicums by preparing programs, activities and general background knowledge check, I would plan out my teaching ouftits. I have a friend who will be starting her first practicum in April, and she is trying to organise a teaching wardrobe for herself. This reminds me of my practicums where I tried to dress more formal with button up shirts and work pants. Five years down the track, I am dressing for myself- more relaxed. I only dress formal when I have a bigger event (parent teacher night, leading presentations etc). I normally wake up and have a quick browse in my wardrobe and pull out anything that I can wear. My biggest challenge is to wear clothes appropr...

Last year I wrote a proposal to get funding for new furniture, paint etc. Each faculty was asked to write a proposal to change an old existing classroom into a 21st-century learning room. By enhancing the learning environment through design, it allows students to be an engaging learning environment. Studies show that by changing the learning environment it allows for understanding, recall and recognition, engagement, problem solving and communication. It is important that we make a learning environment that is exciting and attractive as it makes students more interested in learning. We were granted $10,000 by the school to use it to improve the space. Our school has an equity funding program that allows teachers to apply if it benefits the school community and its learners. The before picture: Above: The above picture is not a true indication of the state of the classroom. The walls were filled with hundreds of staples. Each inch was filled with laminated A4 posters create...

I've been writing blog entries to reflect on my daily teaching practice. I must admit that sometimes I forget about the readers. My intentions are not to grab views but rather to document my own journey and share my passion. Thank you if you are popping by for the first time, or returning here for another post. I want to share a few photos of the 'before' and after shots of my Visual Arts high school classroom. I teach in an extremely old demountable. It smells a bit funny. Everything is still in progress as I am always looking at new ways to improve the classroom. A reader asked if I have funding for all the furniture and stationary items in my classroom. I have been using the same furniture for years. Recently, a coworker's father closed his book contacting business and I have been going CRAZY with the free supplies. I have been contacting walls and tables with the assistance of fast finishers. My friend's work place was disposing off tissue papers, col...

I was digging through my albums and found some DIY projects. A few years ago I planned a 'Superhero' childcare day with my Year 11 Exploring Early Childhood students. I also took my nephew along to one of the two days.  Here are some photos:

Student artworks from 2016.  Above: Year 7 Self Portrait grid drawing. Above: Year 7 creating Insect theme drawings. Above: Year 8 wdog drawing unit. Above: Year 8 dog drawing unit. Above: Year 8 found object cyberpunk masks. Above: Year 8 Cyberpunk masks created with found objects and plaster bandage. Above: Year 8 Cyberpunk masks created with found objects and plaster bandage.                                      Above: Year 8 Cyberpunk masks created with found objects and plaster bandage.                   Above: Year 8 Cyberpunk masks created with found objects and plaster bandage. Above: Extra mask created (fast finisher) Above: Year 9/10 Skateboard design                             ...