Opening Up the June Mailbag (Ep. 372)

Welcome to Art Ed Radio, the podcast for art teachers. This show is produced by The Art of Education University, and I’m your host, Tim Bogatz.

As promised, we have a mailbag episode for you today. Amanda Hein is here, and I will bring her on quickly for the first in what are going to be a series of monthly mailbag episodes. Before I do that, though, I want to tell you just quickly to be on the lookout later this month for a, We Use Celebrate with a Splash giveaway. Now the Celebrate with a Splash is going to be all about sharing our art room wins, celebrating the great things that have happened in our classrooms this year.

So you can celebrate by sharing an art room win from this past year to enter to win a hundred dollars. AOEU is going to select 10 winners, and you can enter by commenting on the Instagram post. Keep an eye out for that with a win, and you can tag any art teacher friends. And then you can also get an additional entry by submitting a video and a written excerpt of their win via form that we’ll have out there.

So like I said, be on the lookout for that in the next couple of weeks. All right, we have a very full mail bag with questions coming in from all over. So let me bring on my partner in crime and we can get this started.

All right, Amanda Heyn, welcome to a very exciting mailbag episode. How are you?

I am great. It is summer. It is my kids’ second to last day of school, so I’m feeling good. How about you?

I’m doing great. My kids and my wife are already out of school, so life is good here. We’re about to go on vacation, so things are great, actually.

Amazing.

Obviously, I’m excited to answer all sorts of mailbag questions, just an overwhelming response from people. And we’re sorry to everybody whose questions we can’t use because we just had so many, but these are some good ones. But one thing that we want to do with these new episodes is we’re going to share some kind of a story at the beginning, maybe fun, maybe hilarious, maybe gross. We don’t know what it’s going to be, but we thought for the inaugural episode here, we should maybe just kind of tell the story of what these podcast episodes are going to be about, how this kind of came to be, and just telling the story of what we think our art teaching community can come together and do.

So Amanda, I’ll give you the floor for story time today.

Yeah, sure. Oh, I love story time. I do want to tell a story another time about how I came across ketchup and mustard flavored Doritos and it ruined my life.

That’s so gross. That’s so gross. Let’s not talk about that.

Let’s do community instead. Okay, so for those of you who don’t know, I have worked at AOEU for over 10 years now. I started writing for the blog when I was a classroom art teacher. And so I have sort of had a front row seat to community and how it’s blossomed here, and it’s been really cool. It’s always been a part of AOEU. When AOEU started, there was not quality PD for art teachers. And AOEU really looked to fill that void.

And in the beginning, like, in the beginning, teachers found community at AOEU in our courses, at the conference and in the comment section of the magazine. So if you are an OG reader, you might remember that the comment section of the magazine really used to be happening.

That was a thing. That used to be a thing.

And then of course, as social media bloomed and sort of took off, so did our online audiences, and now we have tens of thousands of art teachers who regularly connect with us on social media.

So anyway, all that to say, this year we’ve been thinking a lot about how to connect and really connect more with all of you and help you connect to each other. And as part of that process, we’re doing this mail bag. And so we hope it will help you feel less alone to hear from teachers facing really similar things and struggles and give you an outlet for your own tricky nuanced situations and questions.

Yeah, that’s really well said. And if I can just say a piece on that tricky nuanced situation thing. We originally thought we were going to do just a super fun mailbag that was all about summertime, what we’re going to do over the summer. But we just had a really, like I said, overwhelming response with questions. And a lot of them went way beyond that summertime theme. So we’re going to jump into some of those tricky nuanced situations.

Right? We asked for it. We did ask for it, specifically. We got it.

So yeah, we’ll see what we can do here. So question one is going to be from Carrie in Georgia. And she emailed in and said, “I had big plans for my kids this year, but they didn’t really live up to what I wanted from them. The work just wasn’t that good. I think they were a little bit disappointed, and I know I was disappointed. I kind of feel like I failed them as a teacher. I know I should let it go, but I’m afraid it’ll just be stressing out about this all summer. LOL. Can you give me some advice that can help me move on?” So Amanda, advice for Carrie.

I can. First of all, I love that LOL. It’s like the lowercase LOL that really means I’m crying inside, but I’m laughing outside.

Right. Like, you just know your personality so well that this is going to bother you all summer. We know where you’re coming from, Carrie.

Yeah, yeah, I definitely know where you’re coming from. So first of all, I want to validate that this is hard. It can be really hard when something doesn’t go the way you want it to. Of the story that immediately comes to my mind is a cross-curricular project I did for Pioneer Day, which is where the fourth graders dress up like pioneers and go back in time to the 1800s for a day.

Can I interrupt?

Yes.

I had to do this once upon a time. It was third grade for me, but I won the spelling bee amongst all the schools in the city who are going to Pioneer Day. And I was very proud of myself for far too long for winning that [inaudible 00:06:47].

Did you have to compete in pantaloons or knickers?

That was the option. You could dress up in daytime clothes if you wanted to. I’m pretty sure my mom had found me stuff at the thrift store that I wore.

Amazing. Amazing.

That was great. Anyway, I’m sorry.

Okay. So anyway, I had the bright idea that we were going to make rugs, that fourth graders were going to make rugs, which is the dumbest idea I’ve ever had. And I made it this whole big thing. I had people donate old T-shirts, we made T-shirt yarn, and then we started this process of braiding and sewing, and it was just an epic failure. The kids were stressed, there were tears. I was crying after school, and no one made anything recognizable or functional. It was a hot mess. And we ended up just scrapping that whole thing.

So first I want to stress that it is okay that things don’t work sometimes. That is just a part of teaching. I think part of the problem my project didn’t work is I didn’t try it beforehand, but the other bigger part is that my kids weren’t developmentally ready for it. And I think that second piece is something we need to be looking at, especially heading into next school year.

I think the pandemic, I don’t think, it did throw a lot of what we knew and assumed about student capability and readiness out the window. You and I have talked to so many teachers who are in the exact same position as Carrie here.

Yes, yes.

Where kids are just not able or willing to do the type of work they had been doing three or four years ago. So I actually have some advice. One, recognize you’re not alone. I mean, we have heard from dozens of teachers, which means there are thousands of them facing this exact same issue. I think another important piece here is to treat yourself like you would a fellow teacher who came to you looking for advice. Would you tell them to stew about this all summer and think they’re a terrible teacher? Hopefully not. You would tell them to have some praise for themselves. So don’t beat yourself up either.

And then understand you might have to rethink some of your strategies. So look at this year as sort of a gift. What can you learn and tweak for next year? So maybe you reflect and you find you need to build in more skill building exercises before you jump into projects. Or maybe you open up projects to more student choice so that they feel more invested. Or maybe you poll the class at the beginning of the semester next year and figure out exactly what they’re excited about and what they’re more invested in learning.

So it’s okay to modify and go back to basics a bit if that’s what your kids need. I don’t think there should be any shame in that of making things easier or less rigorous. That is actually what may make your kids more successful, is going slow to go fast, essentially. And finally, the last thing I want to say is I want to recognize that even by just asking this question, by you taking the time to ask for advice about this, that it’s clear you are a wonderful reflective teacher. So you’re going to figure it out. Be gentle with yourself. And please go enjoy your summer and do not think about this until the fall.

Yes, excellent, excellent advice. So I don’t think there’s much I can add to that. So I will pull out question number two. This comes from Jenny in Arizona, and Jenny says, “I originally was going to do a lot with curriculum over the summer, but as the end of my school year comes closer and closer, I just feel more burnt out. Is it better for me to take a break this summer so I can come back fresh next year? Or should I keep working on things to help think about new ideas and new projects that will in turn keep me excited about teaching?”

I love this question. Can I take a first stab at it?

Please do.

Okay. So as someone who just dropped out of a grad class that I had been planning to power through, I am all for taking a break. You know the saying, “You can’t pour from an empty cup.” That is absolutely true, and it is absolutely okay to take the time you need. You might find that you take some time and you find yourself more ready to jump into things in a month or two. Or you might find, hey, you can start the next school year with a couple of tried and true projects and take the beginning of the school year to figure out your new exciting things you’re going to do.

So essentially, if you’re looking for someone to give you permission to take a break, Jenny, I will give it to you. Take a break. It’s okay. Do you have anything to add, Tim? Do you want to give Jenny permission also?

Well. Okay. What I was going to say-

Two votes for taking a break.

Yeah. This email came through and I just wrote some notes down. And what it says on my notes is literally take a break in all caps. And so Jenny, I’m going to second that. I think you’re on the right track. Thinking about new ideas and new projects that you want to refresh that keep things moving for you. I always try new projects in the classroom and that’s always what kept me going. But those projects that are going to keep you excited about teaching, those are still going to be there in August.

And so especially if you are feeling burnt out, if you’re feeling tired of what you’re doing, please, please just step away for a little while. Give yourself a break, a physical break, a mental break, and you can start fresh in the fall.

So yeah, please step away for a little bit. Give yourself the time you need to come back stronger and better next year. And all of those exciting things will still be exciting in the fall.

Absolutely.

All right, Amanda.

All right.

Yeah, would you like to take question three here?

I would. Okay. So our next question comes from Hasina Salton on Instagram. And first of all, she finished her very first year of teaching, so huge congratulations.

That’s very nice.

Round of applause.

Congrats.

That is a huge accomplishment. She was looking for some advice for next year about a couple of things, but the piece I’d like to focus on is summer school. So Tim, I’m wondering if you can give us some thoughts about, I actually never taught summer school, so I’m going to throw this to you, but how to make summer school run smoothly?

Yeah. So just thinking about different things I’ve done in summer school, I would just say keep things fresh and light and easy. That’s good for you, that’s good for the kids. Just trying not to get too in depth. Because summer school attendance, at least what I’ve taught, not that great. And so if you get really in depth and you have a limited time where kids are just not able to be there all the time, or not able to dive into really in depth projects, you want to kind of avoid those. So just keep it light. Just some ideas off the top of my head, I would say use drawing prompts, find some fun drawing prompts. If you go on to the AOEU website, we have lists of serious drawing prompts, we have lists of silly drawing prompts, we have lists of other drawing, just all sorts of great ideas that can just get your kids working on fun, simple stuff.

I would say get outdoors. Try and take advantage of the really nice weather. And try and do what you can do to get kids outdoors. I just recorded a podcast on what you can do outdoors. We’ve had a ton of articles for nature-inspired lessons, so all sorts of resources out there.

I always like to just try out new supplies, stuff that maybe kids haven’t tried before or using materials in different ways. Things that you maybe aren’t confident enough in to teach during the school year, just try them out. It can be a learning experience for you. It can be a learning experience for your kids as well.

I think anything hands-on is really, really good. Whether that be clay or even air dry clay or Model Magic or whatever you have access to. Natural materials are great if you’re outdoors doing some sort of nature-inspired sculpture, just letting kids get dirty, it’s good for them.

And then I would say even if you just have blocks or craft sticks and want to let kids create or build, then I think that’s always good. And then I think just a really fun one to tie in some art history, is just have kids try and recreate a famous painting. Just look through all sorts of different paintings from art history and have kids work with a friend or a team to recreate poses or recreate different famous paintings with costumes or backgrounds or whatever it may be.

I’m sure you’ve seen those all over social media, but it’s a super fun thing for kids to do. So anyway, just all those ideas are just sort of light and simple. And I think any of them can help your day camp or your summer school or whatever you have run really, really easily. So, Amanda, anything to add to any of those?

Well, no, but, well, yes, not to that extent, but it jogged a memory, which goes with, I think the third thing you said, which was trying out new supplies. So I never taught summer school, but I did participate as a student in summer arts enrichment camps. And I distinctly remember, it jogged a memory, of trying glass etching for the first time.

So the teacher got all of these glass pieces from the thrift store and we experimented with masking and this etching fluid. It was so fun and felt so cool when you were nine and they were like, “This can burn your hands off.” But when you have a smaller group of kids, you can do some of those more fun things. And I think the overarching idea of keeping it fun for yourself, because really what you don’t want to do is teach all year and then have that same level of stress teaching all summer. So I think whatever you can do to make it enjoyable for yourself is also a big win.

Yeah, excellent, excellent idea. Yeah, just do things that you enjoy.

Right.

It’s going to make summer school so much more fun. Okay, question number four. This came from Ms. Mooneylogs on Instagram.

Great handle, by the way.

Yeah, great name. And Amanda, I believe we pulled this question because you had a good story that goes with it. But the question is, “Hey, is it usually the job of an art teacher to make props for staging? Love the resources, by the way.” So Amanda, can you speak to props/staging/whatever else you want to talk about.

I sure can. This question made me laugh so hard because we have all been there, right?

Mm-hmm.

My first year teaching, I had a teacher casually, she was just picking up her class and she casually asked if I could just create a Chinese dragon boat for a school performance.

As one does.

As one does on a Thursday afternoon. And I was like, “Well, maybe. How big does it have to be and when does it have to be done?” And she was like, “Oh, just like about eight feet long and it has to be done tomorrow.” And I was like… Do you know what I did? Guess what I did? It was my first year of teaching.

This is first year of teaching, I was 23 years old and I didn’t know any better. And so I did it. I did enlist the kids’ help. So I drew it and then the kids painted it throughout the next day with Tempera. But okay, here’s the thing. A, don’t do that. No, that is an unreasonable request. I don’t think it should be assumed any art teacher will make props, sets or anything else unless it is outlined in your contract or you have an extra contract. Just because you are artistic does not mean that people get to take advantage of you and your skills, okay?

So it is best to set up those boundaries early and often. No is a complete sentence. Or I do have some ideas for choosing how and when you help, because I do understand, I have taken on those kinds of things. I helped with the float for the homecoming parade, right? Because I enjoyed that and it was fun and whatever. So I’m not saying never do anything extra. However, here are some examples of how you can make this a little bit more manageable.

So number one like I kind of did, you can draw the outline or get the basic set up and then let the person leading the production figure out how to finish it or bring a group of students together to finish it. You could commit to a one-hour brainstorming session where you lend your expertise, but you’re not actually doing the 30, 40, 50 hours of work that it takes to get it done. Or you can partner in a way that is beneficial to you or your students. So do you have art club kids who are interested in that sort of work? Do you have a cross-curricular connection where you have a project you would do anyway that would be good to display for a school performance? Those types of things where it can be sort of part of your curriculum or your plan, and it’s not just you sitting at school by yourself for 20 hours to make a castle that is going to be used for one performance. So those would be my suggestions.

No, those are all good suggestions. I wish I had received that advice as a new teacher. Like I said, it’s very difficult to set those boundaries and is difficult to say no because you feel like you should. I mean, all the reasons we talk about ad nauseum that you want to do that, but it’s not good for you. So yeah, like you said, it’s important to set those boundaries and be able to say no.

Mm-hmm. All right, let’s move on to question five. So as we said, we asked for tricky nuanced questions. And this is one. It’s a really important and a really big topic. It comes from Sierra Resh from Instagram and says, “What are some working solutions to sub shortages at the elementary level when homeroom teachers are absent? In our district, the art, music and PE teachers are canceling their curriculum for the day and covering homerooms. It is not working.” So Tim, you want to take a stab at that one?

Yeah, thank you for giving me the tricky-

Yeah, sure.

… nuanced question I’ve had so far. No, I know Sierra asked for solutions here and I have a couple of them. But I would just say that like we said back at the beginning, this is not a spot where you’re alone. This is happening everywhere. This is what you said to Carrie earlier. And this is a bad situation, but there are sub shortages all across the country and this is happening to art teachers and specialist teachers everywhere across the country.

And as much as we wish that we didn’t have to cover other classes or give up our planning period or give up our days, at some point, it’s what you have to do as a professional. And it’s just sort of the unfortunate reality that you’re a part of a staff and a team that is hopefully working together. And if your principal is needing you to do something, like that’s what you do as a professional.

And I would say the best thing you can do is just try and make the best of a bad situation. And I think if your kids can’t come to art class, try and bring art class to the kids. If you are in fourth grade for however many hours that day, spend some time with things that you can teach or things that you know. If you want to adapt the science curriculum and add a little bit of drawing to it, then that’s awesome. Or if something they’re doing with reading and writing sparks an idea for an art project, then do that.

And if there are ways for you to bring supplies, you probably don’t want to bring paint down to somebody’s homeroom. But if you have certain things that you can teach or certain things that you had planned that maybe translate into that homeroom, or if you have ideas for a lesson that can fill some time, bring those to the kids. And I think those are going to be really worthwhile.

And like I said, you’re just kind of making the best of that bad situation. Obviously, covering classes, giving up your curriculum is not what anyone wants, but I think until we can solve some of the bigger structural issues, you do what you can on a smaller level. And I think when we’re talking about doing what we can, there are smaller steps where you can advocate for yourself.

And Amanda, you and I were talking about this off the air, and they’re just, I think ideas of what you can do to advocate for yourself. So if you are the only teacher that’s getting pulled to cover other classes, ask to rotate, ask if there are other teachers who can cover classes. If you’re getting pulled for a full day, ask if there’s some way you can only do half a day. And just try and work with your principal to see if that can be adapted. If you’re giving up your planning time, you should be getting paid for that. And if you’re not, see if your district or your union can fight for that extra pay if you’re giving up some of your planning time. So I would say just think about all of the ways that you can make that situation better and just take those small steps to work toward it for the time being.

Mm-hmm.

All right.

Absolutely. I think finding where you can have even a little bit of agency in that situation is going to help you feel better about it.

Yes, for sure. All right, Amanda, we’re going to go back to you for the next nuanced conversation. And I’m just going to read this question and let you answer because I think this fires me up more than anything in education right now. And I don’t know if I can answer with just a rant full of vitriol, so I’m just-

Got it.

… ask the question and then step out of the way. This comes from Hip Waldorf on Instagram, and the question is, “This is the first year my school’s experienced this phenomenon. Parents are always, quote, unquote, ‘right,’ and the teachers are being called out and asked to defend every little thing a parent doesn’t agree with to their principal.” A and then in parentheses she says, “Because if parents don’t get what they want, they complain directly to the principal.” And then that comes with a shrugging emoji and a face palm emoji, which I think sort of encapsulates how most teachers are feeling about this phenomenon, which is going on everywhere for I don’t know what reason. So Amanda, if you could just speak a little bit to this phenomenon, if you would.

Yes. I feel like this is karma for me giving you that last question. Okay, big sigh. So first I want to acknowledge, again, these are super tricky situations. They can be so nuanced, sometimes they’re messy and they’re often fraught with strong emotions from multiple angles. So this is hard. I’m going to give you a big picture reframe that I hope is a little bit helpful, and then dig into some potential sort of action items.

So the big picture reframe here, first, is that in many of these cases where we have people criticizing teachers, it is a relatively small group. And I’m not trying to minimize anyone’s experience, but I’m trying to just step back and have an objective lens to this situation. I think in anything, pick any issue these days, the loudest, most critical voices are often the ones we hear the most. But the reality is, is that there are many, many more people that support teachers that then don’t. They may not be loud voices, but the support is there. And we’re going to kind of talk about that in the actionable items section in just a second.

So the first thing to remember is that many, many parents are supportive of what you’re doing in the classroom. That doesn’t help if they’re not really voicing their support. So what can you do? So I have a couple things here. One, I think you need to be really, really clear on the why behind your curriculum, especially heading into this next school year. We all know we teach art. We know it can be tricky because it’s about more than just how to draw or how to sculpt. Excuse me. Art is inherently personal. We’re often asking students to share parts of themselves through their work. So be very clear about why you are teaching, what you are teaching in case anyone asks. And if you do live in an area where things are contentious right now, you might consider sharing that syllabus with your building principal just to get their perspective on your plan and any areas that they might flag, right?

Okay. Number two, then, would be to work to understand your local climate. So research who is on your school board. Be sure to know your state and local policies. This is part of your job to understand what the parameters are. Are there themes or ideas you need to be more sensitive about teaching or get prior authorization to talk about in your classroom? I think it is worth doing your due diligence here so that you’re not surprised by any pushback you may receive. And again, I am not saying people shouldn’t trust you as a professional to teach what… I do believe teachers have the best interest of their kids at heart, but I’m saying you should be aware of anything that’s sort of heightened in your area just so you are aware and are not surprised. Okay.

Number three is to get involved. If you are unhappy with the direction of how things are going, be it on your school board, your local, your state or national level, how can you enact change? And so there are two easy ideas. The first is to find your supporters. So find your supporters and encourage them to show public support for your program. This is important. They could write a letter to the school board, they could call your principal, they could come to your art show, they could post on social media.

As I mentioned before, many, many people are there to support you, but they may not be doing it publicly yet. So if you have a few trusted people who you know are supporters in your community, asking them to take that step can go a long way. And then the second is to vote. This is an easy thing we can all do. You can vote for local, state, and national candidates who match your values and support your vision for education and art education. So again, this is a complicated question with a complicated answer, but I hope I’ve given you a few concrete things to think about.

Yeah. Those are some excellent suggestions. If I can follow up on just one thing there. You talk about thinking, reflecting on the why and the what of what’s going on in your classroom, what you’re teaching. I think being proactive and taking that why and the what to your principal, your admin and having a conversation with them is worthwhile. So they have an understanding of what’s going on in your classroom, why you’re teaching what you’re teaching.

Just they’re empowered with a little bit of knowledge and that can sometimes help. So I think that that’s worth a conversation with your admin after you reflect and kind of figure that out.

Absolutely.

All right, Amanda. I think this is the final question for our mailbag here. This came from Jenna in Illinois, and this was an email that came in and it’s kind of a long one, but she says, “I have a question about coping with and managing student behavior and attitudes toward myself and my art class and school in general.

I’m a third year teacher and I’m struggling big time. I consider myself to be sensitive and empathetic. I tend to take on other people’s emotions and feelings. And when teaching middle school, emotions all are all over the place.”

“This past year…” Right. That was what I thought when I read that as well. “This past year has been an emotional, physical, and mental struggle as misbehavior and rude and negative attitudes have been through the roof. I have tried having restorative conversations, contacting parents, admins, other teachers, but I’m feeling like I’ve hit rock bottom and can’t imagine another year of this.

Every Sunday night, I’m overwhelmed and sad about the days to come. Any suggestions on how I might begin to remedy apathetic attitudes and rudeness or advice on how to get out of this I-can’t-do-this-anymore mentality that I’m struggling with. I don’t want to give up on my students or my career, but I no longer feel like I can sacrifice my wellbeing.”

Yeah. That sounds like a problem.

Yeah, that’s a tough one.

It’s a tough one. Okay. So I would say very gently, I would suggest finding someone you can talk to, preferably a licensed clinical therapist who can really help you wade through some of those feelings. I’m a pretty open book in terms of mental health. I think I have talked about this on the podcast before, but if you don’t know, I struggle with anxiety in a very real and clinically diagnosable way. Not just like, oh, I worry. It can get really intense.

And so I want to say I have been exactly where you’re at. And taking on other people’s emotions is not helpful to anyone and is an unsustainable way to live. That was literally the greatest lesson. All of the therapy I’ve gone to over the years has taught me is other people’s situations are other people’s situations. And you don’t have to take on other people’s emotions.

If you have anxiety, you probably have enough of your own to deal with already, right?

Right.

And once I learned how to do that, and I do say learned, because there are very real ways to change those patterns in your brain and does take work. But once I learned how to do that, I freed up a lot of space in my brain for more productive and healthy ways of thinking, which I think would help in this situation for you as well. And the other thing I would say, and I will turn it over to Tim for some more, hopefully, practical actionable steps here, but your job is not your identity. So if you do come to the conclusion that you want to switch careers or look for a different teaching position at a different school or with different students, or maybe you go to museum education or an adjacent field, that is also okay.

Just because you started your career as an art teacher doesn’t mean you have to finish it that way. Look at Tim and I, we both worked in the classroom for many years. And I don’t know about you, Tim, but I felt really apprehensive about leaving and what that meant for me as a person. And I’m still very fulfilled in my job right now. So that is also an option if you feel like you need to do that. So, Tim, do you have some more tangible advice here?

Yeah, no, I think it’s important to do, but this is a question that requires personal advice and also professional advice.

Yeah.

So yeah, thank you for the personal. So on the professional side, I would say that you should continue to have those conversations with admins and with colleagues. And I would say what I found is when I ask for help, I need to be very specific in what I’m asking for. If you go to your admin and say, “Oh, my kids are behaving terribly.” Like, what? There’s not a lot that they can say to that. But if you can go to an admin and say, “Hey, this class is having this problem.” Or if you can go to a colleague and say, “This kid is doing X, Y, and Z, have you seen that before? What would you suggest I do? How can I solve that?” If you give them specific problems to solve, then that’s way more helpful than just complaining or venting about what’s going on.

That being said, complaining and venting can also be really worthwhile. Sometimes you don’t want to let it get too negative, but if you have colleagues that you can talk about those issues with and you can brainstorm and you can share solutions, then that can be worthwhile. So I would encourage you to just find those connections and find, like you talked about in the beginning, Amanda, find your community. And that might be other art teachers, either in your building or your district. I have no idea, Jenna, how many people you teach with, if you have other art teachers or what it looks like. But just try and connect with other art teachers wherever you can.

Connect with colleagues that are in the building right there. Maybe there’s a community of artists that you want to connect with, and just kind of focus on that outside of the building or an online community of other art teachers on Instagram or at AOEU or wherever that may be. And you can ask questions, you can share ideas, you can share knowledge. And I think all of those things can make the teaching side a lot easier. And then I would also say just find something that can make you better at what you do. Whether that’s as an artist or as a teacher or whatever the case may be, I always found that doing professional development as a teacher is really worthwhile. Obviously, I’m going to recommend the Now Conference at the end of July.

Yes, come hang out with us.

Yes, we love the community side of that, we love the professional development side of that. There’s so much great stuff there. But even if you just want to spend more time thinking about what you do as an artist, whether you’re creating your own art, whether you’re going to new classes, just going to gallery talks, connecting with others, just anything that keeps you creating and keeps you creative, that’s going to kind of feed into what you do as a teacher and that’s going to help you along as well.

So any of those things can be really worthwhile and make you enjoy your job a little bit more.

Okay. Can I give two more? Can I give two more quick ideas?

Yes, please do.

Okay. So as you were talking, I was pulling up PRO Learning. So if you need professional development or even if you don’t technically need it, there are two PRO packs I would highly recommend for this situation specifically.

One is called Deescalation Strategies for Challenging Behaviors. It’s done by Chris Kissack who’s a social worker who gives really good concrete tips about some of this stuff. And then the other one is by Shannon Loffer called Behavior Management at the Elementary Level. And that really talks about behavior as communication, which is something that I for sure did not get enough of in my teacher training.

So if you are looking for specific ideas, we have some really amazing things there as well that you can dig into for things that might directly address some of those behavior things that you’re seeing in the classroom.

Yeah, excellent suggestions. So, all right, Amanda, we are going to wrap it up there. Thank you so much for coming on, answering some of these questions. And looking forward to doing more of these mail mailbags in the future.

Yeah, absolutely. Send us your questions. We can’t wait to see what we get next month.

Right. As Amanda said, we will be back next month. We will take more questions. We love hearing from you, and you can email me at timothybogatz@theartofeducation.edu, or you can send us a voice message at 515-209-2595. So we’re going to talk about everything that’s happening in our art teaching community, the good, the bad, and the ugly, and we want you to be a part of that conversation as well, so please send us your questions.

And until then, that will do it for us. I hope you enjoyed the episode. I hope you found something helpful in there, and we will do it again soon.

Art Ed Radio is produced by The Art of Education University with audio engineering from Michael Crocker. Thank you as always for listening, and we’ll be back with you next week.