Where I am now: PRIDE PREP

The other thing that happened at Deeper Learning 2015:  I met some people from Spokane, Washington who were opening a charter school that would embody the methods and philosophies present at DL2015, High Tech High, and other places on the innovative edge of creative education.

On the day-long Deep Dive workshop day, I switched workshops.  I felt that I hadn't signed up for the  activity that was right for me, and showed up on the workshop where the attendees would work together to publish a book in one day.  The instructor Randy Scherer of High Tech High Media Arts, welcomed myself and a few other additions.  As he sorted out the groups, we talked among ourselves.  I had finally figured out how to introduce myself, and when a guy named Matt asked me what brought me here I said,  "I am a visual artist who I became a teaching artist, and then I became involved in arts integration--using the arts as a learning tool, which is incredibly similar to project-based learning.  Right now I'm teaching art and finishing off a teaching credential program... and figuring out what's next"  

Matt said that was fascinating.  He was helping open a new school.  They would have a building with white walls, and they "needed someone on board to use the school as a canvas and help make the it  look like this."  He waved his hands above his head at the intricate and beautiful bird silhouettes created by High Tech High students suspended from the ceiling.  I said that sounds fascinating.  He said I'd be crazy to leave Maui, though, but introduced me to Brenda who gave me a business card.

Around then, Randy called us together.  "I've never made a book with a group in one day.  " he said.  "I don't know if it's going to work, but today, we're going to try."  At that, I knew I was in the right place.  

That night, I sent Brenda an email, asking if we could meet.  I'd love to hear more about their school. She invited me to eat lunch with her as the conference wrapped up.  It ended up being with her, and perhaps seven others: the team from Pride Prep that they had brought to DL2015.  We talked, and shared.  It was a job interview, of sorts, but there was no pressure, just an affirmation that we were incredibly on the same page, that their energies and mine worked, that I had puzzle pieces they were looking for.  It felt like a family sitting around the table.  

So, that was in April.  Now, it's the end of August, and I live in Spokane.  These people--and the others who subsequently joined Pride Prep--have become a family.  We open a new middle school next week, and just like that day in the Deep Dive, I feel like I am exactly where I'm supposed to be.  

Here is the book, available for purchase on amazon.com, that we successfully made in one day about the experiences of the conference.  

Here is Matt Miller, who stopped to talk to me, being his brilliant self during a TEDx talk about redesigning education.

Here is our Pride Prep staff family (or most of them).  This is when I visited in June.  I knew these people were cool then.  With days until the school opens, I am amazed and humbled by each of them.  We are puzzle pieces that fit together; each person brings a unique set of skills to this experience.  I am so incredibly excited to be a part of this group.  

Art Night at Kula School

Within a week of returning from Deeper Learning 2015 I put on Kula School's Art Night, showcasing artworks by students in kindergarten through fifth grade.  

Macaleigh Hendricks, a Kihei Charter School student in AKAKU'S Youth Media group came to the event and made a video of the event in which I talk about the importance of art in learning.

You can view it HERE.

Deeper Learning 2015: Fuel for Creating Meaningful Learning

Today was the first day of Deeper Learning 2015 at High Tech High in San Diego.  I attended last year, and it was so enriching, I am back for more.  

A few highlights from today:

Chris Emdin opened with a keynote speech that had the power of a freight train, both knocking us flat and raising us up with truth on the ways we teachers both engage and disengage students.  His core messages are around the idea of relevancy.  He uses "reality pedagogy" and #hiphoped as his lense for connecting authentically with urban Bronx youth.  Of course, this idea needs to be customized to each location and culture, but he imparts both a burning mission and a model to get there.  View a taste of his ideas in this video.  

In one workshop I engaged in learning about the eight elements needed for deeper learning to occur. This video gives a fun, animated summary: 

In another, Jim May of New Tech Network and Kelly Willson of the High Tech High Graduate School led us in an exploration of what elements are necessary for deeper learning to occur, and what leadership that supports that looks like.  This workshop was full or rich connections.  Some that stuck with me:

• Leadership begins with one's own intrapersonal skills.
• The level of risk-taking by the faculty operates as a ceiling for the level of risk-taking by the students.  This so well explains the different school cultures I have wittnessed.  The most innovative schools have teachers who are continually doing projects and professional development that gets them out of their comfort zone.  
• Finally, the first thing a school needs is a common vision of student learning, and from there, everything can be designed in relation to that.  

The evening ended with an advanced screening of Most Likely to Succeed.  This documentary recently previewed at the Sundance Film Festival, and it engages with the question of how can students best learn in this quickly changing world where more and more people are loosing their jobs to technology?  The documentary follows the history of education in the US, and contrasts that with the fascinating learning journey of several High Tech High freshmen.  This new model is all about skills rather than the retention of information.  Less content is covered, but the learning journey is collaborative, interdisciplinary and in-depth.  Guaranteed to spark a discussion among any educators or parents.

The Big Brothers Big Sisters Art to Go artworks were on display at Whole Foods Maui from August through October 2014, as well as a large painting of my own.

During our opening, a young member of the AKAKU YBEAM came and filmed an excellent video about the project and exhibit.  Watch the video here.

Eric of BBBS, and his wife Genell, who helped hang the show.  (Working with tall ladders, wires, and lots of art as people eat breakfast, and then lunch at Whole Foods is FUN!)

Kula School Art Show--Approaching Fast!

I'm spending this Spring Break organizing the art that my students, K-5th, created this year in art class.  April 10th, 6pm, at Kula Community Center, will be the show.  I am firing up the kiln, counting artworks, sitting in the community center sketching out how I will arrange the tables and hang the art.  The school used to do an event like this years ago.  Each student had one piece in the show.  I'm aiming for an average of two per student.  I am also coordinating to have students be Art Ambassadors.  They will run tables where people can try out some of the techniques students learned this past year.
I just wish the show would get to be up for more than one night!

21st Century Skills, Technology, and standing Bloom on his Head

This is a video project I did as a part of my coursework for my teaching credential through Teach Now's online project-based program.

Our essential question for this project: How can we use technology to teach 21st Century Skills?

Creativity, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, and Communication are essential parts of learning for the quickly-changing world we live in--and an area of education where I tend to get excited.

This video has two parts.  The first section is a cut-out animation of my philosophy for integrating technology and 21st Century Skills.  From the 1:55 time mark I cover several apps and online tools that could be used to creatively and collaboratively research, collaborate, problem solve, and publish a project, in this case, relating to 4th grade Social Studies curriculum about pre-contact Hawaiian culture.  In re-viewing my project, I feel that, with scaffolding, 4th graders could do it, but that it is very applicable to a middle school environment.  

Talking Kids and Creativity on Hawaii Public Radio

This morning I talked with Chris Vandercook on Hawaii Public Radio about the importance of encouraging our children's natural creativity.  You can listen to the short conversation by clicking here.

Projects from Maui Art Camp

This summer I am posting about the exciting projects of my program, Maui Art Camp over at mauiartcamp.com.  Click Here to see what we've been making.

In case you don't make it over to that site (where there's a full description of the projects and tons of photos), here's a visual taste:

Maui Art Camp!

The wonderful partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters has resulted with me bringing back the summer art camp program I ran before traveling in Asia for three years.  Maui Art Camp will take place at the Big Brothers Big Sisters Mentoring Center in Wailuku for five fantastic weeks this summer (map).

There will be five fantastic themes, and classes for children ages 6-8 and ages 9-12.

Visit mauiartcamp.com to register!

Art On the Go--Partnering with Big Brothers Big Sisters and Honolulu Museum of Art

Before even landing back on Maui I had a project.

Art On The Go is an outreach program between Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Honolulu Museum of Art, which had recently been expanded to include Maui.

The plan was to run art classes for the Littles (at-risk kids in elementary school) and Bigs (volunteering high schoolers) during their after school gatherings at various schools around Maui.

We especially wanted to create projects that encouraged each Big and Little pair to interact and create a closer bond.  The project became mixed media portraits.

Our supplies were: transparency sheets (the kind every office has stashed half-forgotten in some cabinet, leftover from the era of overhead projectors), colored Sharpies, colored paper, oil pastels, and colored masking tape.  We also had scissors, and most importantly, transparent clipboards.

Using the transparency sheets attached to the transparent clipboards, the young artists were able to trace their partner's portrait.

This sounds easier than it is!  If either person moves their head a little bit, the face becomes a Picasso!  So we worked at our cooperation and focus... but if a person's face started to turn abstract, then the artist would make new creative choices to still turn it into a fantastic work of art.  In art, a "mistake" is simply a time when you get to make new choices you weren't expecting.  You get to try a new path and be even more creative!

Another side-effect of tracing your partner's face, is that you can't help but make some very silly faces.  (It's easiest to trace if you close one eye.)

Each artist took a turn drawing the portrait and experimenting with these fun challenges. Once they finished, the Bigs and Littles decide: did they want to continue to color the portrait of their partner that they drew, or color the portrait of their self that their partner drew?  Sometimes they even decided to color both pieces together.  Regardless, each artwork was collaborative to some extent.

 Amazingly, oil pastels work wonderfully on transparency sheets--especially the ones that have a slightly rough film on one side meant for photocopying.  The trick is to color on the opposite side as where you drew with Sharpie.  The Bigs and Littles experimented with blending oil pastels and expressive rather than realistic color.  Once finished, colored paper was placed behind the drawing.

The final touch was a border made out of colored masking tape, which also held all the elements together.  This border often became a project all of its own as the young artists experimented with cutting shapes and making patterns using the tape, as well as coloring the tape with the markers.

Look for these expressive portraits in Whole Foods in Kahului in August--we're taking over their gallery space!

Collaborative coloring at Pukalani Elementary School

The frame pulls it all together! Lahaina students use tape to add patterns.

Completed Masterpieces at Pukalani Elementary.

The Wailuku group at the Big Brothers Big Sisters Mentoring Center

Big and Little artists of Kamehameha Schools, Maui Campus

Princess Nahienaena Littles and Lahainaluna Bigs
talk about their finished portraits.

Kahului Elementary School Littles and Maui High School Bigs

Special Thanks to Rae Takemoto for the clipboards and the key secrets to making this project work!  (i.e. when your partner is drawing you and you are holding the clipboard, lock your elbows to your side so the clipboard doesn't move!)