As an art teacher, I know the value of letting students have a "voice" in their work, as well as the theraputic benefits of art through times of crisis. I have written about that HERE. My classes have been given the option to alter an old hardcover book (donated by our library and a parent) into a work of art that documents their experiences. This is called an "Altered Book." As of the week of May 18, our assignment is complete, I have encouraged students to continue their work through the summer. Two museums have expressed interest in this project and perhaps this will lead to an exhibition online. I have even started a Facebook Group where other art teachers can join in and explore this project with their students as well.

​I assigned this project on the last day I saw students assuming we might not see them again. That was the first day of Spring Break, March 13. We were due back 2 weeks later but by then our state closed all schools and the rest of the country followed shortly after. You can read more about the assignment HERE and HERE. These links include additional links to my Google Documents, Video support, potential themes, and more. My video series to support this assignment is HERE.
 
This post will be where I pull out specific samples of my student's work for display on this blog. It will grow as the assignment progresses. I have encouraged students to continue working on this through the summer as they document their experiences through this global pandemic.  If you and your students are doing this project too, or you would like to consider it, please join my Facebook group HERE.

There have been a couple of museums that have expressed interest and are following our progress for a future virtual exhibition, and perhaps more when this is all over. I will update this page as that solidifies. 

"France in the Year 2000," is an example of a series of paintings, made by Jean-Marc Côté, 100 years ago predicting the future. Jean-Marc looked at the everyday issues that he felt would be solved in the future. Automated cleaning, farming, communication, and manufacturing are all included here and are part of our everyday experience.

What problems today might be resolved in the future? How might they be solved? Write down a few common issues you face that have no simple solution. Then brainstorm a few ideas for solutions they might have in the future. Tray a sketch, and then a final artwork.

​Perhaps you can work in the style of by Jean-Marc Côté!

​Here are some of his examples of automation...
(All but the last one are essentially true now)

For more free resources, please visit the tabs to the left, or for books you can use to teach art, copy and share with your students, visit Firehouse Publications HERE.

My "opinion" is that we will not return to "traditional" schools till the fall of 2021 based on what the epidemiologists are saying. It is not a popular opinion, nor getting traction in the press because it's depressing. (Epidemiologistsare however are the same people, who in January 2020, warned EVERYONE that this was coming, and it was going to be bad.)

We know children show fewer, less severe symptoms and make up the largest portion of asymptomatic carriers. THIS STUDY shows that about 30% of children are asymptomatic carriers. Children tend to attend schools. Therefore we can say schools are hotspots for transmission...

Consider this... not going back this September is, at the least, a possibility... you got to admit that. The only way it is NOT a possibility is if a cure is found before then, OR everyone in the USA gets tested, 350 million like in a small Italian town in this article HERE.

There are two options here:

#1. If I am wrong, what I learned about distance learning will not have gone to waste, and I'll be thrilled to go back earlier than experts are saying. Perhaps we have no more "inclimate weather days" and do distant learning in the future...

#2. If I keep insisting to myself we will go back THIS September, I am less likely to prepare, and use the short time I have now, to really dig deep and figure it out... and IF September comes and we do not go back, I'll be unprepared as well as my students. 

My feeling is, you benefit more by assuming we are not going back because the converse is damaging. Pessimism is Helpful...

Lesson plans in PDF form can be downloaded HERE. You are welcome to print, share, scan, and use these with your students. Please don't remove the attribtions. There are links too within the video descriptions on YouTube. I will be uploading many more, so consider subscribing to my YouTube channel.

I read 8 poems from each book, about 7 minutes for each video. This is enough for a project introduction if you find it helpful. Links to the books on Amazon are below should you desire a full edition. If you would like a set of all 4 books, visit HERE.

Zoo Book:
Amazon English Version: https://amzn.to/2wzEf4y
Amazon Chinese Edition: https://amzn.to/2UXnCcq
​Amazon Spanish Edition: https://amzn.to/2XykYeC

Sea Book:
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/2VhhZVi

Vacation Book:
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/2UWIiRM  

Christmas Tree Book:
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/2wuYdx9
(This book is secular) 

Because this pandemic hit in the second half of the school year, many schools have opted to go for enrichment over grades. If parents have lost jobs, or have no access to the internet, it creates a host of problems that makes traditional schooling impossible... That said, as this pandemic continues, before there is a cure, we will likely move to more rigorous online modes of education. I would encourage you to use this time now to experiment, collaborate, explore, and figure it out while the stakes are low. This is a tiny gift in a difficult situation. If there is talk in your district of cutting the arts in favor of "academics," stop reading and go HERE now.
 
Moving forward, lessons that focus on specific materials, used in specific ways, to create a specific product, will be difficult, likely inequitable, and potentially harmful. It's like requiring a cook to make you an omelet knowing they might not have eggs. If all students don't have the same material, at the same time, with the same access to the internet, we need a new way of thinking. Those who have a background in T.A.B. or Choice-Based education know where I am going... Open-ended, media-non-specific lessons that are open to broad interpretation. This may be new and uncomfortable territory for some, but I assure you, it is the most equitable, fair, and easy way to create art in this new environment.
 
So what does that look like? It usually starts with a broad theme. Let's take famous quotes about art as an example. Here's the lesson:

Share a few famous quotes about art or by artists. You might even be able to provide a list students can choose from that are completely "school appropriate." HERE are many. Demonstrate via a video, Google Slides, or even via a printed packet how a few sample quotes could be illustrated (Many are  HERE.) Focus on the fact that there is no "correct" answer.  

You can also see that this assignment could be done in pencil, crayon, markers, paint, and even a sculpted item could have a quote included on the surface. Work can be abstract, realistic, non-objective, simple, complex, and all will have solved the problem put forth. If you worry students might be slapdash in their approach, let them know your expectations... For my students, I'd like to see a sketch, a final image, and if the final image took them little time, perhaps they should make a second one.
 
This is just one example of an open ended prompt that is not media dependant. I have many more HERE you are welcome to use.

Some people are faced with time as an issue... "How can I teach art if it's just 20 minutes, once a week online?" Use those 20 minutes to introduce your lesson and students can work on it while they are at home at their own pace. There is no way to reasonably assume that in 20 minutes you have to walk 30+ students, from start to finish on a project. But a 20 minute introduction is enough time to walk students through your open-ended lesson and take questions. You can extend that time with video tutorials they can access while they work. I have a YouTube Channel set up for just this purpose... and if I get 1000 subscribers and enough attention, I can even earn a little money for my channel. You can it HERE.

Art is supposed to be an expression of the artist, their point of view, or process of discovery. The process is truly more important than the product. We have said that for years, but now it is time to live it. So as we move forward through this pandemic, be open to letting your students interpret your assignments more broadly. Only 2% of our students will enter an art-related profession. There is no need to think of the art room as a training ground or atelier. We must reach all our students where they are. Those with talent will let you know through their work. Your feedback on sketches will help them push to more sophisticated works of art. For the other 98%, they need exposure to art, to problem solving, and to feel safe to create without the constraints of making something that looks like their teacher's example.
 
More open ended, COVID19 lessons can be found HERE. 

The Chinese word for "crisis" is wēijī , composed of two Chinese characters signifying "danger" and "opportunity" respectively.
 
This pandemic crisis, now in its early stages, is a time of confusion. Schools were closed for a few weeks, then those were extended to a month, and currently we're looking to close the year with remote teaching. Many social media posts have a tone of "I can't wait to go back after this summer." Hopeful, but that's not based in reality. Experts agree, we are about 18 months from a vaccine or cure. One year might be possible if all the planets line up and we have no missteps. This post is not about blame but about the reality we, as educators, should face...
 
We will likely not return to a traditional teaching format, in schools, until the fall of 2021.

If everyone wore a mask, and everyone was tested, perhaps we could return, but how realistic is that? It's hard to hear. It is NOT what the press is saying, but it is in the subtext of what the experts are telling us. Epidemiologists have been clear, a vaccine is a long way off. We may have therapies developed to lower the incidence of death, but a cure is not coming soon. How can we re-start schools anywhere if children are the most asymptomatic carriers of this virus? 20% of those infected have no symptoms at all. Evidence is pointing to the notion that people are infectious days before they feel any symptoms at all. To reopen schools would not only be irresponsible, but would cause another wave of infections and deaths globally.
 
So now what? We use the time we have now as an opportunity to test and experiment with distance learning. Many districts are moving to pass/fail. Many have stopped grading all together. Many are just providing enrichment opportunities for their students. But at some point, this will need to move to a more rigorous model so a whole generation is not left behind. Right now, when the stakes are at their lowest, is our time to "figure it out." This is a good opportunity in a dangerous situation.

Another bright spot are studies that show that detailed feedback of student learning is more beneficial than grades. Students who were provided detailed feedback on their work succeeded to a higher degree than those who got just grades, and even better than those who got feedback AND grades. See just one study from ETS HERE. 
 
Teachers are putting in long hours, far more than we are contracted to do because we care more about our students than our "personal time" during this crisis. We are sharing, conferencing, meeting virtually, blogging our successes and struggles, all in the name of doing better for "our children," our students. I see posts by teachers, living on a single income, buying supplies for their students in low income districts. It's dangerous because we have not been assured that "The Arts" will remain in favor of "Academics." I have a detailed blog post HERE about why cutting the arts is actually the most destructive decision a district can make, but it is possible that shortsighted people in offices will be unable to see the critical need for "The Arts" in this crisis.
 
​We must begin to advocate NOW while we still have a voice. It is quite possible, over the summer, officials in remote offices may decide to focus on academics and furlough arts teachers. It has already happened in some schools. The blog post HERE details 5 arguments they will use to cut the arts, and 5 data-based rebuttals to these arguments. The post is written in a way that you can copy, paste, and share with those in power so they don't even consider dangerous cuts. 

For my art teaching colleagues, I propose this. If your budget can handle it, purchase simples supplies that can be divided and given to your students, particularly those who cannot afford supplies. Something to draw with, something to color with, and something to draw on. This could be as simple as copy paper, pencils, and crayons. If your budget would allow for water color paints, consider small yet simple sets that include a brush and promote color mixing. Make videos (Some Here) about how to use materials rather than "follow along" lessons that require specific media. Instead of copying Monet's bridges, explore Monet's use of color daubs, and have students create an artwork based on their garden, back yard, local park, etc. If packets are helpful due to a lack of internet, an open-ended prompt can be printed on the footer of blank copies so the student have both the paper and the starting point from which to work. I have well over a hundred available HERE.
 
If you find a resource you would like to use, contact the publisher or author and see if they will allow you to read from it or copy it for your students or record it while also giving credit. Firehouse Publications has loosened their copyright restrictions for just this reason on all their art education resources. See if suppliers would offer additional discounts due to the pandemic. Use social media to encourage your community to donate money for supplies. (Donations of unwrapped supplies though makes it harder to ensure items are virus-free.) It is time to think creatively, to reach out, to build a community. There is a lot of good will out there we need to tap into.
 
I will continue to share resources for art teachers on this blog. There are many lessons that may work for your distance learning activities HERE. This list will grow as well as lessons on my regular blog where you are now reading. I would urge all teachers to make connections on social media with other teachers. I would avoid Pinterest as a resource for "copy me" lessons that are often too dependant on specific materials, and do not often allow personalization or choice. We can give students a voice in this pandemic. Here is how I am giving my students a voice. How will you step up and do it too?

Please comment below with any resources others will find helpful.
Thank You.
Stay Safe & Stay Strong.