12000 lbs of onions and Two Grecian Urns (trickle trickle trickle)

Jacob Ward – Franklin Fine Arts

Greetings and salutations again, dear reader!  Here’s the skinny on what’s been happening this week in the life of Jacob Ward!

Before I begin let me just say Christmas came early this year and here’s what Chicago gave to me: four weeks of coughing, three presentations, two head infections (nasal and ear)… and a partridge in a pear tree!  Keep reading for a deeper explanation:

At Franklin Fine Arts:

I can’t say that there has been much happening at school this week especially since there were only three days (Wednesday was off due to Veterans Day and Friday was end of the quarter in-service) but the brightest highlight of those three days was finally getting to melt and mold Plexiglas with 6^th Grade for the Dale Chihuly project they have been working on.  Super cool and super easy project (all we used was a toaster oven set to 450 degrees to melt the Plexiglas until it was pliable and the students wore multiple layers of protective clothing so they could manually mold the piece).  It’s definitely a keeper project!

  While the other student teachers were in regular in-service, Ms. Koreman and I were at the Chicago Public Schools Department of Arts Education conference co-presenting on assessment in the art room.  This was our 3^rd presentation(2^nd for CPS Dept. Arts Ed.) in one week’s time so we have been nothing but go go go.  The presentation was over how to structure formative assessment in the art room for your advantage and was a total success.  For those who don’t know there are two main types of assessing student learning: Summative & Formative. When I explained the two types of assessment to our audience of 35+ art teachers I used the apropos analogy of Thanksgiving: Summative assessment is like “the dinner”.  Why didn’t my pumpkin pie set?  Nobody is eating the green bean casserole, what do I need to change so they will next time?  Formative assessment is “in the kitchen”.  Taste the mashed potatoes, do they need salt?  Turkey not brown enough?  Leave it in the oven longer or turn up the heat.  All of your formative assessments should be used so that when you reach “the dinner” things are how you as the teacher want them to be.

In Chicago:

It has been a busy week in Chicago Semester terms.  On Veterans Day, the students and staff of CS volunteered at the Greater Chicago Food Depository where we repackaged almost 12,000 lbs. of onions to go out to those who are in need of fresh fruits and vegetables.  Pictured is fellow student teacher Natasha Holsinger as we rocked our hairnets and aprons. 

For Thursday’s fine arts event we went to see the Duncan Dance Chicago dance troupe perform original pieces choreographed in the early 1900s by the famous and ill-fated Isadora Duncan (One Grecian urn, two Grecian urns, and trickle trickle trickle…)

Student teaching is starting to hit some of us hard health-wise.  Good news: the humidifier has eradicated my cough.  Bad news: I now have a dual ear and nasal infection to deal with (Future Student teacher note: CVS’s Minute Clinic is your best friend in these situations, they’ll do pretty much anything shy of sewing a body part back on).  Luckily these infections aren’t contagious or affect my ability to move about the country so even though I feel gross, I don’t feel sick (which is nice and I am still faring better than some of my comrades).

Additional adventures this week included: Terrence McNally’s The Lisbon Traviata at the Athenaeum Theatre and The Nerdologues story telling event “A Night with the Stars” featuring cast members of Improvised Star Trek.

Until next time, peace out!

Magic Shows and Fish Bowls

Jacob Ward – Franklin Fine Arts

Greetings and salutations again, dear reader!  Here’s the skinny on what’s been happening this week in the life of Jacob Ward!

At Franklin Fine Arts:

This week has been insanely busy at Franklin! Not only have all of our lessons been running at full speed but Ms. Koreman and I also had to prepare for two sets of special visitors all while both being sick.  On Thursday, 15 Assistant Principals (APs) from across Chicago Public Schools came to Franklin to learn how to assess arts teachers.  We began the day running the APs through a lesson (the Barbara Probst Photography project) as if they were students to get a feel of what a day in art feels like.  After rearranging the entire room to fit everyone (students and APs), they observed my lesson for the sixth graders about Egyptian Canopic Jars and two sessions of Kindergarten creating imaginary playgrounds.  The whole day was like being in a fish bowl and having 15 strangers watch and assess your every move.  But the reviews were good and the APs loved the whole day.

Friday was the Chicago Semester Spring Student Teacher visitation day.  Also a bizarre experience seeing as last March I was in their shoes and now I am one of the examples of what’s to come.  The tour went through Franklin as well as Canterbury Court to see where some of them may be living next semester.  Future Student Teachers, if you are reading this have any more questions just ask Lisa for my contact info and I’ll be glad to share some more.  ALSO keep your eyes peeled toward the end of the semester for a “Jacob’s List of Things to Do” blog post/Chicago bucket list.

 

In Chicago:

Finalizing edTPA and being sick have taken the forefront this week so adventure time has dwindled (note: bring a humidifier if you live in Canterbury, it’s very dry and dusty).  But the definite highlight of the week was that the Koremans graciously had me over for dinner again this week (featuring homemade sausages made by Mr. Koreman).  It really is nice to just decompress in a home setting, talk about the week, play with their dogs, and eat a delicious home cooked meal.  They even sent me home with a goodie bag of homemade bratwursts, Italian sausages, and chorizo.  We also ate some of the treats from Ohio that I had my parents bring as a thank you to Ms. Koreman and her family for all of their kindness and help.

Through my Saints adventures this week I also managed to see:

·        The Story of a Story: The Untold Story at the Chopin Theatre.  A tongue-in-cheek musical written by one of the original writers for The Colbert Report and the composer of Fifty Shades the Musical.

·        The Tempest at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre.  THIS SHOW WAS AMAZING!!!  First of all, this show has been sold out since the beginning of October (and there was a long line of people sitting outside the theatre just to be put on the waiting list to get in) so being able to usher the show was the only way I would have been able to see it.  Second of all, some of the audience members did not show up so I got a 3^rd row seat for the first act.  Third AND most of all, this production was co-directed/adapted by Teller (of Penn and Teller) so Prospero and Ariel did real magic tricks throughout the show.  Beyond that, words cannot describe how crazy cool, blow your mind, wicked awesome this production of The Tempest was!  I wish it would continue to run so I could see it again and again!!!

Some of the future student teachers were really interested in The Saints so I did some math… Counting all the shows I have ushered so far and all the ones I am currently scheduled to usher (total of 20 shows) against the $35 I paid to join The Saints that comes out to be $1.75 per show.  And even if I had paid the usual $70 to join, that would still be $3.50 per show and that is a pretty good deal if you ask me!!!  Join The Saints, it’s well worth it!

Until next time, peace out!

Art and Antici……..pation

Jacob Ward – Franklin Fine Arts

Greetings and salutations again, dear reader!  Here’s the skinny on what’s been happening this week in the life of Jacob Ward!

At Franklin Fine Arts:

One thing I have seemed to notice (and have slight difficulty with) during my time at an elementary/middle school is the pacing of lessons.  Pacing in K-8 is much harder to do than with high school, where my last two placements have been.  High school pacing is like flying a plane: you see students every day (or at least every other day) and there’s this nice smooth arch of consistent progress.  Elementary/middle school is kind of like driving a train: you pick up steam and then it’s time to stop and you don’t see them again for 2-3 days.  Then you start slowly chugging again to regain momentum but then you have to stop again and you don’t see them for 3-4 days.  It’s very stop-start and there is a lot of time spent reviewing/re-demonstrating.  

These pacing issues have taken an unexpected toll on my edTPA plans as well.  For example, “Day 2” of edTPA lessons has stretched out and become days 3 & 4 in reality and “Day 3” of edTPA lesson plans probably won’t happen for another two class sessions.

Those things aside… THIS WEEK WAS HALLOWEEN AT FRANKLIN!  Students and staff went all out with a morning costume parade, spooky activities, Dia de Los Muertos sugar skulls, and the Dance teacher & I even broke out our scissor shoes to cut a rug with the 6^th graders and dance to Michael Jackson’s Thriller!

In Chicago:

Balancing being a student teacher and living life is important.  It is important because the opportunity to live in the thick of Chicago may never happen again.  Future Chicago Semester students heed this message: Do your work and be responsible about doing it, but also take the time to live life.  I have traveled to every corner of the city, as far as the buses and trains would take me.  I’ve seen the inside and outside, the brightest and darkest parts of the city, and I still have a month left of exploring.  Chicago is a city that is well worth conquering if you’re up for the challenge.

This week’s “conquest” has been packed to the brim with arts events.  Chicago Semester’s event of the week was a trip to the Art Institute during their weekly free day (Thursdays 5-8 for Chicago residents).  Since photography was allowed in the galleries, I managed to document the trip on my Snapchat Story and I also paid a quick homage to a scene from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off since the Institute is the home of George Seurat’s Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.  

Another free day in the city was an open house of the Chicago Lyric Opera House where guests were allowed on the stage, backstage, in the orchestra pit, and under the stage to see the props, scenery, and costumes AND were given a free performance by one of the singers.

As a “Saint” I serve as a volunteer usher at theatres around the city.  This week I also managed to see:

·         Million Dollar Quartet (a Broadway hit musical about the real-life event of the one night only recording session between Elvis, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Cash) at The Apollo Theatre.

·         Pop-Up Magazine & Ira Glass’ Three Acts, Two Dancers, One Radio Host (both took other mediums of entertainment, magazine and radio show respectfully, and turned them into performance pieces) at The Athenaeum Theatre.

·         Mariposa Nocturna (a puppet show incorporating traditional bunraku & shadow puppetry to tell the tale of San Pasqualito honoring the wish of a little girl to protect her abuela as she moves into the afterlife) at the Berwyn Cultural Center

·         Rocky Horror (It would not be Halloween without this cult classic, live on stage) and Zanna Don’t (a musical satire on society done by using some creative role reversals) at the Mayne Stage Theatre.

Future students (and anybody for that matter) remember, take time to live life.  As Ferris Bueller said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”


 

Until next time, peace out!