Tag: Baltimore County Public Schools

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March for our Schools

On March 11th, 2019 educators and community members join together wearing red, to march for approval of the Kirwan Commission:

It brings together representatives from across the State to review the findings of the Study of Adequacy of Funding for Education in Maryland, hear from national experts on world class education systems, and make recommendations for improving education in Maryland through funding, policies, and resources that will prepare Maryland students “to meet the challenges of a changing global economy, to meet the State’s workforce needs, to be prepared for postsecondary education and the workforce, and to be successful citizens in the 21st century.”

This commission was created to work towards…

“…more effective supports for flailing students; bona fide high school pathways pointing toward remediation-free college and life-sustaining careers; teachers whose preparation, compensation and career prospects will lead abler individuals to enter and remain in this honorable profession. And because of this, significantly higher academic outcomes for our students.”

There were over 8,500 teachers from Maryland came out to march for school funding.  Maryland schools are underfunded by $2.9 billion every year, about $2 million on average per school, and teachers are underpaid by 25 percent, compared to other professions.

I rode a bus from Carver Center for the Arts, in Towson, to Annapolis with other Baltimore County Public School educators. County Executive Johnny Olszewski also road the bus with us down to Annapolis. TABCO paid for and provided not only the transportation, but also boxed lunches. We also received posters, cow bells, and beanie hats! Check out the poster I made below!

 

The march was so inspiring, as we walked side by side, everyone together for one purpose…To see our children walking and cheering for a better future. They deserve better than what we’ve been settling for, and the state of the future depends on making a change.

I am proud to speak up for the hard work that teachers in Maryland do, and how our students deserve happy teachers. Teachers who do not have to work an extra job during the school year, or who have to pay for supplies from their own pockets.  It is mind blowing to me that we are shaping our future, yet there is so little importance given to making sure teachers have all the tools necessary to develop students who are creative, curious and caring citizens.

On April 1st we are organizing a demonstration at the County Executive’s office in Towson. We will present hundreds of postcards to the County Executive and ask the County Executive to find the resources needed to fund our schools, our raises and the additional staff we need so we can provide the world class education our students deserve.

Two things you can do to help:

1. Send Johnny Olszewski an email telling him what you need at your school and asking him to find the resources to fund additional needed staff and our raises.

2. Be there on April 1st (No Fooling!) at the Historic Courthouse in Towson from 5:30 to 7:00pm. Click here to RSVP. Bring your red shirt!

Thanks for the support!

<3

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Full STEAM Ahead

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I recently attended the Maryland Association for Environmental & Outdoor Education annual conference in Towson Maryland. This was my first MAEOE conference, and I’m excited to bring more teachers next year!

The conference theme was Full Steam Ahead, Expanding the Potential of Environmental Education.  It was wonderful to see so much integration between the arts and sciences.

I attended a painting workshop, where we talked about how to create art as an expression of ourselves, while learning techniques to be successful in the aesthetics of the artwork.

The Watershed Charter school executive director Jessie Lehson presented Growing Art through Farming, the intersection of art and agriculture. We learned to make pastels from rocks, and cut turkey feathers into quill pens.

There was an amazing presentation called When Wonder Wins, discussing how important it is to intentionally incorporate wonder into our lives.  In doing so, we are role models for our students so that they too will use the world around them to be inspired to keep growing and following their passions.

I really enjoyed the Earth Powers and Forest bathing lightening session.  Two sessions in one hour, where we discussed allowing kids to explore nature and tap in with their creative mind. We also discussed how to take moments our of our day to spend time in nature mindfully noticing our reactions and responses to outside stimuli.

Restorative Practices was by far the best session I attended, and all of the session I went to were amazing.  Dave Dahl,  from NorthBay Adventure Camp, spoke about using restorative practices and teaching out children using the M.A.E.C.E. method. Mindfulness, Awareness, Empathy, Compassion, and Engage. We participated in hands on team building activities to build relationships with one another in our 2 hour session. We discussed the self determination theory, Carl Rogers, and Dr. Dan Siegel who wrote The Whole-Brain Child.

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This conference was a wonderful learning experience and I am excited about next year!

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Giving up Approval for Authenticity

So this is my eleventh year teaching art at Ridgely Middle School.
I can hardly remember what it felt like to be a new teacher… a bit worried, stressed, and anxious….

About how the students would respond, if they would understand the process, and if they would be as excited as me about it all…

About my performance and how my administration would evaluate me, and see me as a teacher. Would I be good enough?

Eleven years later…

I can say I am definitely more confident in my teaching, and in my students abilities to learn.  This comes from a combination of time spent in the classroom, trial and error, a supportive team of teachers in my building as well as an amazing Visual Arts office in my county, and from a total mindset shift.

Obviously as a new teacher, one has NO IDEA what they are truly in for.
Especially in the day in age where we were transitioning from analog to digital.

I started teaching in 2008…
When we still used TV’s and DVD/VHS players.
When we wrote objectives as “The students will…”
When we used Easy Grade Pro and had to put our grades in ourselves.
When there was one desktop computer and students had to go to the computer lab to look up references.

Life has changed so much…
We have morning announcements streaming in real time on the computer
We now write objectives as “I can and I will…”
We use Schoology and all of our grades are kept online and transferred for us.
Every student has their own computer!

The mindset shift is not only from analog to digital, but from thinking about how I should be teaching… to teaching from the authenticity of who I am. Incorporating my own personal journey and passions into my classroom have really changed the whole atmosphere. The students are more comfortable and excited to come to class since I have started teaching authentically instead of teaching from expectations.

I love seeing and being apart of the shift in our public education system. Baltimore County Public Schools is one of the forerunners for leading our students into 21st century digital creative authentic learning.

Now I no longer worry about how my students or administration will respond to my instruction, as I know I am facilitating a safe and powerful space for my students to creatively learn and express themselves authentically. I am teaching them to live authentically … and that is the best lesson anyone in this world could learn.

Here is to my eleventh year teaching and to all the learning, growth, and fun that will come this year!

Migwetch and Gi’zaagi’in
<3

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Art Art Class Divine I Am Education Existence Revealing Treasures in your Own Backyard

Plein Air Painting

For the first three days of summer break, I participated in a Baltimore County Public Schools Art Educator workshop at the Hampton National Historic Site.

The first workshop was “Painting with Pastels. We got an overview of some of the history of the site prior to choosing where and what to create and were able to roam where we pleased to create art inspired by the park.

We gathered together around 2pm to discuss all of the work we’ve created! The workshop was scheduled to be over at 3 but we didn’t even finish our talk until 3:40! Art teachers really like to discuss each others work.

 

The next workshop was Plein Air Painting for 2 days! The weather was gorgeous and I surely got some vitamin D. I love being able to create art inspired by a place I am drawn to. The Hampton National Historic Site is one of those places. Baltimore County Teachers have come to Hampton for the past 4 years to practice our skills using our very own National Park.  Most teachers use this workshop to create their own art for the Student/Teacher Art Exhibit the Hampton Historic Inc. facilitates in April. Teachers also take their inspiration back to their classroom and teach their students about Hampton while creating art that is inspired by the site.

Last year there were over 100 submissions into the 4th Annual Student/Teacher Art Exhibit. This is a perfect opportunity for teachers and students to be recognized for their amazing work.

This year I decided to do an intuitive painting for the plein air workshop. I used tools, and my color combination layer to create an emotionally fill painting.

When I first started painting I was drawn to the Bee Balm flowers, so I started with them in mind. After making my first two layers of colors I noticed a mark that looked like a woman! I knew I had to keep her, as I felt like maybe she was Eliza Ridgely or her daughter.

 

Eliza Ridgely was an avid gardener, and in the 1830s and 1840s she improved the gardens and enhanced the landscape at Hampton, planting exotic trees such as the Lebanon Cedar which still stands on the house’s south lawn. She is said to have brought this herself as a seedling from Europe, carrying it in a shoebox. She did a lot for her slaves, was which was unheard of in her time. She took care to make sure they were clothed, fed, given gifts during Christmas, church services on Sunday and even marriages between the slaves, not caring that slaves weren’t able to actually be apart of a civil act.

Eliza’s daughter, Eliza, did not want to be the lady of the house and take over the duties her mother had so willingly adopted. Her daughter wanted to be friends with the slaves, and to be free to be a normal girl. She felt trapped in the life she was born into.

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While I was painting I kept hearing, “everyone has a story.” A lot of times the major story focused on at the mansion is the story of the enslaved people at Hampton. I appreciate the awareness and knowledge I gain from the park rangers about the life of the enslaved. I know their story is vital to the Ridgely family history… without their slaves, life for the Ridgely’s wouldn’t have been the same. But it is also important to see that within every experience, there are multiple perspectives, there are multiple stories to be told.

The Ojibwe teach that not one road is higher than the next…that each road shines light on the others. Each of our perspectives, each of our stories are valuable and vital to the totality of our life experiences.

I am grateful to be able to learn multiple perspectives about the history of the Hampton National Historic Site, from life as an enslaved person to the life of the family. I am able to learn about plants, flowers and landscaping along with art and culture in the 1800’s. There is still much to uncover and learn about Hampton and I look forward to how the history at this location resonates with experiences I have in my life.

<3 Migwetch
Raine Dawn

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Schools out in 20 days!

I can hardly believe that this school year will be over in 20 days!
This year has been full of adventure for me and my students.

I realize looking back, that there was a lot that I have not written about!
Here’s a little update on all the amazing work my students have been doing!

Two of my students won prizes in the Anti-Drug Poster Contest held by the Baltimore County States Attorney’s Office.  Sophia won First place in the middle school division and is featured in the 2017-2018 Anti-Drug poster calendar, and Kathy won recognition and is featured on a poster made up of honorable mention art posters.

Two of my students won prizes in the 5th Annual Hampton Mansion Student/Teacher Art Exhibit hosted by the Historic Hampton Inc.! We have the pleasure of being the namesake middle school of the Hampton National Historic Site, as the Ridgely Family owned most of the land surrounding our area. Our mascot is the stag because the family’s crest from England had a stag in it.

My 8th grade gifted and talented art students were asked to paint our school’s steel drums to make them more aesthetically pleasing! They did an awesome job!

We had a great Arts in Action night this year!! There were lots of changes to how we used to do things, but it turned out fantastic! We had a juried art exhibit in the art hallway, a community Flower of Life mural, paper weaving positive intentions, and decorative tile making.

So many amazing things happen here in our ART world!!

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the end of the 7th day, and the beginning for 7 schools…

It is now the evening of the 7th day before work, and I am getting myself prepared for a full day of professional development tomorrow. My school is currently a lighthouse school for a new digital initiative in Baltimore County. It is called S.T.A.T., Students & Teachers Accessing Tomorrow:

“A fundamental shift in teaching and learning to meet Baltimore County Public Schools’ (BCPS) Theory of Action: To equip every student with the critical 21st century skills needed to be globally competitive, BCPS must ensure that every school has an equitable, effective digital learning environment. All students will have access to a digital learning device and personalized, blended, interactive curriculum.”

There are 7 middle schools in the county who have been chosen to join 10 elementary schools in implementing an instructional digital conversion.  Starting in the 2015-2016 school year, 6th graders will each have their own HP Revolve, which will aid in the use of integrating technology to create more diverse learning environments.  Our classrooms and curriculum will also need digital conversions, which we have been preparing since the beginning of last year.  Tomorrow will be our second professional development this summer in order to help in this transition.

Personally I am super excited about this opportunity, and so my list for today will be…
The 7 things that instructional digital conversion has me excited about…

  1. Advocating for and receiving Adobe Creative Cloud in order to have advanced software available for my students to create art, and for my yearbook club to edit photos. (fingers crossed)
  2. Students using their devices to create eportfolios of their work in my class.
  3. Students using their devices to connect their art portfolios cross-curricularly for total arts integration.
  4. Social Media aspects of communication and collaboration with people all over the world!
  5. Having resources at their fingertips (literally). Students used to have to go to the computer lab to find images and ideas for their art…now they can look up what they want and need on their device then turn around and instantly apply it directly to their art.
  6. A new classroom environment!
  7. Learning new things about technology from my students

I really am fortunate to be on this journey with my school… and I am excited to see all that we can do from here on out.

Inspiring creativity, curiosity and caring citizenship…GO STAGS!

<3