Fun with junk.

A sign that they're getting it... A student yells, "I found a neck!", while pulling a battery out of a box of junk.

student quotes.

"wanna see what i did during spanish class today? thumbnails. you've corrupted me."

student quotes.

this interaction occurred between me and a student who i had spent 15 minutes brainstorming with at the beginning of class.

me: "what have you produced today?"
student 1: "i've gotten two good ideas for the new project. first, i'm going to...."
me: "show me a sketch."
student 1: "no, no, let me just explain..."
student 2: "when she says make a sketch it means she's done talking to you."

student quotes.

"the snow is dancing miss roberts."

student quotes.

student 1: "if i donate my painting supplies back to the program will it help my grade?"

me: "wouldn't that be a bribe?"

student 1: "what are you? a cop?"

student 2:"well, she kinda is."

student quotes.

the thing about teaching art is that the vibe in the studio is often like that of a quilting bee but with teenage energy. as the hands are busy so are the mouths. sometimes this is great because i find myself in teachable moments that extend beyond my subject. sometimes it's awful or exhausting to monitor what's being talked about. 

yesterday my 10th graders had a very heated discussion about who they would take a bullet for. i have no idea how this came up. i missed the beginning of it. the conversation moved into what would you grab if your house was burning down. it was fascinating to listen to. highlights included the logical analysis of how much a life is worth. for example, according to one student, your dog only lives 10 years so it is not worth as much as a human. another student pointed out that the worst thing a parent could experience is seeing their child die before themselves (very insightful) so you should never take a bullet for them (?). one student said the thing she would grab in a fire would be her computer. hmm. 

they could not understand why i would grab photographs and the quilt my mom made me when i left for college which reminded me how much work there is to be done here. if people ever need any insight into the world's problems they should look to our children and our schools. they're like the canaries in the mine.

student quotes

important note: all of the students who participated in this conversation or were sitting near it were 10th grade boys.

one student describes to another his science experiment which will test the effect of noise on foul shooting in basketball.

second student says: "i love basketball. i'll be one of you testees."

long pause.

giggles.

if you don't get it. read the quote aloud.

yes, this is my job.

student quotes

"miss roberts, i had a dream last night that there were no more shop towels left on earth and i was searching everywhere for them."

i've finally brainwashed them.

student quotes

"of course miss roberts' dog is well behaved. i can totally picture your kids miss roberts. they'd all be using napkins and stuff."

t.g.i.f.

student: "are we gonna make any abstract paintings in this class?"

me: "no."

student: "that's too bad. i was hoping we would. abstract paintings are so easy."

t.g.i.f.

great speaker thoughtful question

our entire school, middle and upper, and the entire faculty comes together once a week for a meeting in the old fashioned assembly hall in my school. most people think these meetings are kind of a drag and often they are. but, having come from schools where we were never able to come together physically in any kind of organized way, i always get almost emotional when we do this. there's something powerful about literally laying eyes on the whole community.

we often have very interesting speakers come to these meetings because i work with interesting people who know lots of other interesting people. today an economics professor from m.i.t. to talk to us about the current financial crisis. i was worried it would be way over the 6th graders heads which probably most of it was. the speaker was really dynamic and had sneaky ways of explaining things so the kids could understand.

but during the q&a time one 6th grader stood up (in front of all 450 people mind you) and asked, "if all these people are going to lose their homes, where will they live? will they live on the streets? will they be homeless?" so so sweet and thoughtful.

student quotes

me, teacher: do you see the progress you've made in the last three weeks?

very, very shy girl who has lots of trouble seeing things accurately, smiling: yes. yes, i do.

1 down, lots to go.

student quotes

"i always thought you seemed like a cat person miss roberts." uh-oh, maybe i need a makeover?

"you were the subject of my dinner conversation last night. my mom said you never seem so happy after school and i said it's all cause of my art teacher." said by a student who had a major a-ha moment when i threw some new agey ideas her way in response to her struggle with oil paint yesterday.

student quotes

in response to a teacher "being in a bad mood"...not me, although it easily could have been...

"teachers should leave their personal lives at home."

student quotes

in response to the insanity of me not letting my oil painting students (some of whom are "know-it-alls as i've mentioned before) use black for the first two months...

"but i've been living without payne's gray for three weeks."

maybe that's only funny to the painters out there...

this is september.

we've been together for about four weeks now...450 teenagers and however many adults...maybe 80? the temperature has started dropping and we're all sick, including me. i hear sniffling everywhere. uggh.  this is september. where's my airborne?

in response to my not feeling well a student said to me this morning, " well miss roberts it's getting colder and you are wearing short sleeves." noted.