From the Perspective of Chicago Semester Student Teachers

Monday, November 16, 2015

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 3rd 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!

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