The December Mailbag: Student Slang, Struggles with Subs, and Keeping Up with it All (Ep. 496)

Tim:

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

Alright, welcome to Day 2 of December, and the first Tuesday of every month. As you know, we have a mailbag, so it is time for the December mailbag. Amanda Hine is with me. Amanda, how are you?

Amanda:

I am great. I like that it’s the second.

And it’s this… and it’s… mailbag.

Tim:

It’s perfect.

Amanda:

Correct.

Tim:

Yeah, yeah, we’re starting off the month right, and that’s the way to go. Also, I’m just curious, not to be so basic, but how’s the weather? Because for me, like, it took forever for fall to get here.

But it’s finally here, and I love fall, and I wish it would have started, like, mid-October, but we’ll take December.

The fall temperatures are finally here, and I’m happy.

Amanda:

Yeah, I mean, in Wisconsin, we get, like, one week of fall, and I feel like…

Tim:

Thank you.

Amanda:

That already happened, which is my favorite time of year. But I feel like we’re… we’re going into winter pretty hard. It’s, you know, we’re… we have pulled out the winter coats. Okay. I haven’t pulled out Papa Puff yet.

There’s a jacket that I have that my kids call Papa Puff, as opposed to Baby Puff, which is my thin down jacket. Papa Puff is, like, 7 inches thick.

And it’s great, and we don’t need him yet, but Baby Puff has made an appearance. So, you know, we’re on our way.

Tim:

Thank you for giving us the context for Baby Puff and Papa.

I think long-time listeners will appreciate that, but people who are just joining us are like, what’s this lady talking about?

Amanda:

I know. It’s the best.

Tim:

But that does give us a good reason to introduce ourselves. My name is Tim Bogatz, for those of you that are maybe just joining us for the first time, and I host the Art Ed Radio podcast here.

And do the Art Ed Now Conference for the Art of Ed. I taught a little bit of elementary art, I taught a lot of high school art, and been working for the Art of Ed and doing a lot of things for quite a while now. So, Amanda, can you give us a quick introduction?

Amanda:

Yeah, I’m Amanda Heyn, I’m the Director of Community Engagement here, and I started my career as an elementary art teacher.

Tim:

Alright, thank you. Now, before we get into some good stories and some good questions, I know you have a few housekeeping…

I know you have a few housekeeping things, so can I turn it over to you to give us the rundown on everything we need to know for December?

Amanda:

Yeah, really, you only need to know one thing, which is that December is our holiday giveaway extravaganza in the community.

Tim:

Yes.

Amanda:

Okay, this month has everything. It has. You can win so many things, because… well, let me back up. We are doing this to show our appreciation, right?

Teaching is hard. Teaching art is even harder. Teaching art in December is maybe the hardest. So, we are just… we just want to bring some joy into your life, and so we are giving away so many things in the community in December to show our appreciation. So, right now, we have available…

Some free things for everybody. So we actually brought back an old keynote presentation from Dr. Sandra Dalton-Smith.

Did I get that right?

Yes, called How to Not Wake Up Tired. It’s an excellent presentation on the 7 types of rest, so you can go ahead and go watch that. We have store discounts going on, and then we are giving away so many things this month. AoE store gift cards, free art ed now registrations, free access to curriculum and professional development for an entire year, university swag prize packs.

Twenty-five teachers are gonna win $100 to fulfill their classroom wishlist. We have sponsors, including Blick, NASCO Education, Jellyarts, Sculpey, and QUAL, so there are prizes from them. Just don’t miss it. If you are not a community member yet, head to community.theartofeducation.edu. In the side panel, in the side navigation, you will see…

The giveaways right there. They are highlighted in pink. Go find them.

Tim:

Yeah, I was gonna say, it’s tough to miss them.

Amanda:

It’s tough to miss. Fill out all the things, register for all the prizes, and then also come to Art Club on December 4th, so later this week.

We are going to be learning about monoprinting with Gelli Arts, and they are going to be giving away a special prize during that. And then we have Pop-Up Studio on December 15th, where you can win a $50 gift card. So you can come hang out for either of those events, like, maybe you’re addressing your holiday cards, maybe you’re wrapping gifts, maybe you’re working on a gift, maybe you’re just working on some art for yourself.

Whatever you’re doing, we would love to have you hang out, so…

And then I have one other… okay, no, I said I had just one, but there’s one other housekeeping item, which is…

Tim:

Can I guess what it is? Can I guess what it is?

Is it the new trailer?

Amanda:

It’s the new trailer. Yes. And I don’t mean we’re hauling logs. I mean Framed, which is our newest YouTube series. Lindsay McGinnis, huge shout-out to our media content manager, has made essentially an art game show for us to all watch and enjoy, and it is…

Tim:

It’s so entertaining.

Amanda:

So much fun.

There’s smack talking, there’s art making, there’s insight. Go to YouTube, subscribe so you don’t miss it.

You’re gonna love it.

Tim:

Yeah, the trash talk was, like, an unexpected highlight for me.

Amanda:

I know, it’s such a delight.

It was fantastic.

Tim:

Any… any quick stories that you want to share before we dive into the mailbag questions here?

Amanda:

Yes. Okay, so recently, in November, I turned 40.

First of all, I feel like my truest, most powerful self.

Also, my birthday was great. I went to a dance for old people called Hot Flash with my friends. Yes, everyone needs to hear about this, because it’s such a great concept. I love it.

Starts at 7. It is wrapped up by 9:30. They play hits from the 90s through today. It really is the most life-affirming space I’ve been in in a long time. It is great.

Also, one of my friends got me the best present ever, which is a Rainbow Brite doll, because guess who also turned 40 this year?

Tim:

Are you the same age as Rainbow…

Amanda:

I’m the same age as Rainbow Brite, who was my favorite cartoon as a kid, so that was amazing. And then my husband… okay, for 20 years, all I’ve wanted is Dance Dance Revolution in my house. Are you familiar with this arcade game?

Tim:

I was gonna say, this is not a skill that I have, like, I’m not good at DDR, but of course I’m familiar with it.

Amanda:

So, we always… you know, when I first wanted it, we lived on a second-floor apartment, I was not gonna be that person.

Then we had kids, and it got too busy. Anyway, my husband has… you have to build it, so you have to order… you have to get a separate computer to run it, you have to buy this metal mat from Poland, like, there’s open source software.

Tim:

Okay.

Amanda:

And Toby Heyn, my husband, has made me Dance Dance Revolution, and me and my family have never been happier.

Tim:

I was gonna ask, like, are the kids into it?

Amanda:

Oh my gosh, we have to tell my 9-year-old, you have to take a break.

He’s dripping sweat, and I’m afraid he’s gonna, like, have a heart attack. He’s going so hard. It’s been very fun.

Tim:

They’re gonna be in great shape this spring.

Amanda:

We’re all gonna be in great shape, yeah.

That’s the hope.

I love it.

What about you? Do you have any stories to share?

Tim:

I guess two things really quick. I went to a great exhibit that just opened at Jocelyn Art Museum here in Omaha, and the artist’s name is Kannapa Hanskel Luger.

And he’s a Native American artist that makes these incredible sculptures. I don’t know.

I wanna say sculptures, but it’s multimedia, it incorporates so many things, and it was so fantastic. We’ll link in the show notes if anybody is interested in finding out more about him. He’s also on Art21, so a lot of good information about him, but…

If you’re familiar with Nick Cave and his sound suits, like, that was the first thing that came to mind when I saw these, but they’re, like, even more elaborate and even more…

I guess multimedia, and it’s fascinating because he mixes traditional Native American regalia with future technology, and, like, it’s really tough to explain, but it’s fascinating. And so I went to this special exhibit, and it was…

I loved it. I loved it. So, just an artist doing some very cool, very interesting, very unique things, and something that I would recommend everybody check out.

And that was a highlight for me. And then the other thing I’m looking forward to is next week, I’m going to interview Austin Kleon.

Amanda:

For those that did not see the announcement, Austin Kleon is our featured presenter for the Winter NOW Conference. He is the author of Steal Like an Artist and a bunch of other books, and a writer, and an artist, and a creative. I think he embodies the term “creative.”

Tim:

Yeah.

And I get to go talk to him for 3 or 4 hours, and I’m really, really excited about that. So I’m going to Austin, Texas, to interview Austin Kleon. It’s Austin in Austin, which is…

Perfect. But I’m really looking forward to doing that. So I’m about 3 days away from hopping on a plane and going to do that interview. Really looking forward to it.

Amanda:

That’s so fun.

Tim:

Okay, all of that being said, are you ready to answer some questions?

Amanda:

Yes, let’s go ahead and open up the mailbag.

Tim:

Alright. Now, when we did our live recording in Chicago, we started off with our hard-hitting question about favorite candies. Yes. And so we wanted to start off this month, December, with another hard-hitting question.

Which, if you’re writing in, give us more of these—they are so much fun. This is from Bryce, and Bryce asks: What’s your favorite and least favorite slang that you’re hearing from kids right now?

Amanda:

I love it. Okay, I’m going to start with a Love/Hate, which is 6–7.

Tim:

Of course.

Amanda:

Of course 6, 7… okay, because…

Tim:

I love how both of us… it’s an audio podcast, but we’re both doing our hand motions.

Amanda:

This has become such a thing at our house because, ironically, our kids hate it, and so my husband and I have actually been the ones to adopt saying it because they hate it, and that’s fun, you know, when you’re a parent?

Yeah. So… but I think it’s silly, and it’s probably my least favorite. But I also like to troll my own children with it. Okay, in terms of loves, there’s a lot I’m loving right now. I’m very into vibes.

I like talking about vibes.

I love talking about crashing out. I think that’s very fun and relatable to me and my life. Something I can use more often than I’d like to.

And I also really love Delulu. Delulu is great. It’s fun to say, you know what it means, I think it’s top tier. I also like “sus.”

And “it’s giving,” but I’m not sure if the kids are actually still saying those two.

Tim:

Oh, that’s a good point.

Amanda:

You know?

Tim:

Well, I should ask my research team… my kids, my research team—is my senior and my sophomore. But yeah, I wanted to get their perspective on what’s going on with slang, and I did notice this: Fire seems to be making a comeback. I really like Fire…

That’s a good one. My son told me that everyone hates 6–7, but they just can’t stop doing it.

But it’s so ubiquitous. It’s everywhere, and so it just continues on, even though nobody really cares about it, nobody really likes it that much. But it just… it’s a compulsion at this point. It’s not gonna stop.

I just learned one a couple months ago—I think I shared this at Art Club when we were there—op. Are you familiar with op?

Amanda:

Yes, yes.

Tim:

So again, this is somebody who… similar to a frenemy, if you remember that one. Maybe a little more antagonistic, but somebody who’s your opposition, shortened to op.

High key, low key…

That gets used a lot, and I asked my son, I was like, here’s what I think this means…

Kind of, but kind of not. And so I don’t know if we have a clear definition for when we should be using high key and low key.

Amanda:

I’m just staying away from it. Are they interchangeable?

Tim:

No, they’re not. And again, there are rules for high key vs. low key, but… yeah, that’s not for me. I’m not loving that. And then my daughter is not using this, but my son is—a lot of things are tough. Like, things that are really cool, really fire—that’s tough.

Amanda:

Interesting.

Is it spelled like tough? Or is it like—

Tim:

U-G-H, T-O-U-G-H: tough. I don’t know. Although he’s never texted it to me, so I don’t know.

Sure.

But yeah, I do hear that one a lot, rather than “that looks good” or “that’s going well.” Yeah. That’s tough.

Amanda:

Okay, okay. While you were talking, I did a little investigative journalism for us, and I do have an answer on high key/low key. Do you want to know it?

Tim:

I do, because I… again, I had a full conversation with my son about this, and I was like, can you put it succinctly for me?

He could not. So I would love…

Amanda:

Okay, this is according to the internet.

High key is used to express something you feel strongly about and are not ashamed to admit, okay?

The example given is: I high-key want to quit my job and travel the world.

Okay, low-key is used to describe something you feel but are hesitant to admit, or want to keep private. Like: I’m low-key obsessed with that TV show.

Tim:

Okay, okay. That makes sense to me—that is not what I was told.

Amanda:

Well, the internet might be wrong.

Tim:

No, I’m gonna guess my kid is wrong, but that’s fine.

Amanda:

What that sounds like, though, is someone our age writing what high key is…

Tim:

You’re right, you’re right.

Amanda:

So, I don’t know. But for whatever reason, talking about slang is endlessly fascinating to me.

Tim:

Yes.

And I think it is for most teachers as well, because it’s partly catharsis—like, I’m so annoyed by this, let me just vent…

Amanda:

Trauma bonding.

But also it’s fun to watch it develop and see how kids are using these things.

Tim:

Enjoyable, so always happy to talk slang, and always happy to get fun questions like that. I really like those.

Our next question is from Todd, and Todd asks: How do you manage the feeling of always being behind—whether it’s grading, displays, or lesson planning—and still find success in your art room?

This one feels very familiar to a lot of teachers. So, Amanda, what are your thoughts?

Amanda:

Yeah, this is so normal for so many teachers. Even if you are on top of things, you often feel like you’re not, because it’s never done. I feel like it’s akin to laundry, which is my least favorite chore, and it’s my…

Tim:

I was gonna say dishes, but… yeah.

Amanda:

Whatever your least favorite chore is…

Tim:

You’re always… it can never be fully complete.

Amanda:

Yeah.

And so I think we need to maybe reframe what successful means so that you can check it off the list.

I’m a big fan of prioritizing and sitting down for 5–10 minutes at the beginning of each week and determining: What does success look like for that week?

What are the 3 to 5 things you need to accomplish? Now realistically, you have 15 things, or 25 things, or 40 things to accomplish, but I would encourage you to pick 3 to 5 that will help you feel successful that week.

And what are the big wins that you need to get done? And it doesn’t have to be huge. It could be: I want to connect with a certain student this week—that would make me feel successful.

Or: I want to swap out a hallway display. It doesn’t have to be big. But picking a few things to focus on gives you control over what success looks like.

So that would be my suggestion.

Tim:

Yeah, I think that’s a great suggestion. Well, a lot of great suggestions, because my answer looks very similar to yours. I think…

Normalizing the feeling of having so much to do—as you said, there are 20 or 40 things on the list every week, and you’re never going to get through all of them.

So just realizing that the to-do list is not going to get done—like, that’s fine. But you can prioritize.

And I think it’s important to figure out what your priorities are. Like, that hallway display you mentioned—that would be low on my list, because…

Nobody is going to be walking through like, “Oh, that has been there for 5 weeks now?” Nobody is judging that.

So that would be low priority for me. For others, advocacy and showing work is huge, so they want to change that out. They’re going to feel better when they’re celebrating their kids. And that’s awesome! But you have to make those choices for yourself.

I love the idea of figuring out those 3 weekly “success items.”

I would also say: having small systems that are self-perpetuating. Like, I hate cleaning brushes. So if I can assign that to a couple kids I trust in 6th period—like, “Hey, can you clean up 2 minutes early and take care of the sink?”—they’re in charge, and it’s not on my to-do list anymore.

Figuring out small systems can be super helpful.

If you want that feeling of being successful—find those goals, meet those goals, and celebrate them.

If the room is finally clean—celebrate that before it gets messy again. If things are organized—celebrate before the routine makes it messy again.

Whatever you need to do to take care of yourself and your room—do that, and be mindful of the demands on your time.

Amanda:

I think that’s a really good point. Think about what can come off your plate, because chances are you’re doing things you don’t actually need to be doing.

Or find one thing that can make your life a little easier. I remember—trigger warning—the pandemic, when I was spiraling out of control, and my therapist asked: “What is one thing you can take off your plate?”

The only thing I could think of was dishes. So we ate off paper plates for probably 3 weeks until I could be on top of that again. And that was fine. Take the shortcuts. Take the help. Take something off your plate that doesn’t need to be there.

Tim:

Nope, I think that’s great. And I think everybody listening probably has at least one thing they can think of that they can take off their plate.

Amanda, can you read our next question from Matt?

Amanda:

Yeah. I was gonna say we have a similar—an adjacent—question from Maggie, who wants help juggling multiple hats in the school and classroom while trying to keep up with all the art prep and organization so everything flows.

Tall order. Tim, your thoughts?

Tim:

This is an adjacent question, because again: there are 20 things to do, 40 things to do—how do you keep up and make things flow?

Prioritizing is huge.

Maggie said she’s wearing multiple hats. I would encourage you to focus on your main hat: being an art teacher. Yes, you still need to do lunch duty, bus duty, hallway displays—but focus on the art room.

Think about prep work, cleanup, routines, procedures. What can kids do? What can you take off your plate? What can run itself?

Kids knowing what to do and following routines is what creates flow in your classroom. You don’t want to be chasing kids from table to table at cleanup time.

Figure out routines and procedures, teach them, follow through consistently.

Every classroom is different—supplies, kids, layout, personality. You need to figure out what works for you. But when you put the time into routines, that’s what helps keep you on top of things and keeps the room flowing.

Amanda:

Yeah, that’s a good point. Think of this like any other skill you’re teaching—scaffolding from youngest to oldest. In the art room, we often get to see kids year after year, so they retain these routines.

Start building routines and procedures from the get-go, and don’t let them deviate. Don’t be afraid to reteach or reset expectations.

We’ve talked a lot about going back—whether it’s behavior or setup or putting work away—don’t be afraid to reteach.

Now, will you still have a fifth grader ask where the scissors go when they’ve been in the same place their entire school career? Yes. Definitely. But overall, routines help.

My suggestions are similar. I like to think about automation. What can you automate?

Breaking my to-do list into time-based tasks—5 minutes, 15 minutes, longer—helps me choose what fits in my day. Completing little tasks clears space for bigger ones.

If a class is coming in, could I fill water cups while the current class works? Could kids take on more? Kids are capable!

Don’t be afraid to change things up if it isn’t working.

Then I wanted to mention three learning opportunities in Pro Learning: Organizing Your Elementary Room for Success, Elementary Art Hacks, and Surviving Your First Year of [blank] Art

All of them have great tips on organization and procedures.

Tim:

Those are excellent suggestions. If I can follow up: even if you’re not a first-year teacher, I would still recommend watching the “Surviving Your First Year” packs if you’re thinking about routines. You may be able to skip parts you already know, but there are great ideas for how to run your art room.

Our next question is from Tyler, and this one is rough:

I just came back from being gone, and the nightmare substitute happened to me. Materials used up that weren’t supposed to be out, horror stories about behavior, even my Halloween candy stash was gone. What do I do in this situation? I feel like I did everything right with plans and directions. What do I do after a terrible sub messes up my room?

Amanda:

First of all, Tyler, thanks for the excellent question. It’s so succinct—he told us what he didn’t want, what he did want. I appreciate it.

I appreciate you being assertive.

First, the candy. I’m… sorry about all of it. But you can maybe pretend that you don’t know what supplies to use if you’re a sub—but you cannot pretend to not know that you’re not supposed to eat someone else’s personal candy. That’s crazy.

Tim:

And—I don’t want to be flippant, but this feels important—because yes, someone out there is saying, “You’re an adult, just buy more candy.”

After Halloween, it’s a mix of candy. From so many places! Yes, I can buy a bag with three things. Maybe a bag with five. But your Halloween stash has a dozen different candies.

Amanda:

Priceless. Different.

Tim:

You can’t get it back.

Amanda:

No, you can’t.

Okay, so: first, feel your feelings. This is supremely annoying and unprofessional. It sounds like you did everything right and had very bad luck.

I have a 5-step plan for you.

Step 1: Document everything. Pictures, notes—what was destroyed, what plans were ignored, what supplies were used, what personal items were taken.

Step 2: Share concerns with admin. Draft a message.

Step 3: Stay calm and factual. Focus on the impact to students. You can talk about how the lesson you planned is no longer possible because materials were used, or that unsafe supplies were accessible, etc.

Step 4: Offer to meet. Have the meeting if needed.

Step 5: Let admin do their job. You control your communication. After that, it’s in their hands. Hopefully, they won’t let this sub back in your room. You can request that as well.

Tim:

Yeah, I think that’s good, and I don’t have much to add—this is the most Amanda Heyn thing ever: “I wrote a 5-step plan for you.”

All really good advice.

The last thing I’d add is to discuss it with your kids—but don’t dwell on it.

Prep for subs is important, but Tyler said he didn’t want advice on that.

But you do need to address the situation with students. You don’t need to speak badly about the sub. Just: “Hey, things didn’t go the way I wanted. Moving on, here’s what we’re doing.”

Talk about respect, work, cleanup—whatever fits. Address it quickly, then move on.

Yeah, depending on age and maturity… could kids have behaved better? Sure. If the sub gave free rein to paint and they’ve never used paint independently? That’s not entirely—

Amanda:

That’s not on them.

Tim:

No. But a general message about respect is a good idea.

Now, our final question today is from Shannon: How do you get a para to actually do their job? I have a para assigned one-on-one in 6th period, but she doesn’t do much. She’ll help if the student really needs it or if kids ask, but mostly she’s scrolling on her phone. How do I talk to her about doing her job without drama? Should I involve my principal?

Amanda:

This is a tricky one.

First, validating: this is frustrating. What’s supposed to be support becomes extra management.

This was supposed to be helpful, and now it’s extra work.

Right. So as hard as this is, the first thing is: assume good intentions. Many paras want to do well but didn’t have expectations set clearly.

And the art room can be intimidating. If someone doesn’t see themselves as artistic—which many adults feel—they might feel uncomfortable.

I would start with a one-on-one conversation. Do not go to your principal first.

That said, you can start documenting in case you need it later.

Focus the conversation on supporting the student. Ask her thoughts. Make it clear you’re a team.

You could say: “I’d love to chat about how we can best support Johnny in the art room. What do you think is going well? Where might he need help?”

This can reveal why she’s disengaged.

In the conversation, provide a list of expectations. To keep it from feeling confrontational, you could frame it as something new you’re implementing.

Outline expectations for each phase: intro, work time, modifications, cleanup.

Provide a list of tasks she can help with if the student doesn’t need support: sharpening pencils, organizing, taking down a display—whatever helps you.

Another idea: some paras stay more engaged if they’re making their own project. Not the student’s project—but their own sketchbook, etc. It builds rapport and keeps them invested.

Tim:

Yeah, I’ve had success with that—encouraging them to make art.

Giving direction is key. For most paras, you need to say clearly what you need them to do.

As far as the phone use—that’s likely happening because they don’t know what else to do.

When you bring it up, frame it as a student-centered issue—not “stop being on your phone.” More like:

“I think Johnny is most successful when the adults are fully engaged with him. Can we make sure phones stay away so he has our full support?”

That’s a much easier conversation.

If the conversation doesn’t solve it, then escalate. Tell admin: “Here’s the issue, here’s what we discussed, here’s what’s still happening.” Ask how they’d like you to handle it.

Amanda:

Yeah. And you may not need to go to your principal first—someone in special education (case manager, lead teacher) may oversee the para, and you can talk with them.

Two resources from AOE, the article 3 Ways to Cultivate Successful Relationships with Paraprofessionals in the Art Room, and the PRO Pack Collaborating with Paraprofessionals.

Tim:

Yeah, both great resources.

Anything else before we wrap things up?

Amanda:

I don’t think so—just excited to see everyone in the community and give away so many prizes!

Tim:

It’s gonna be awesome. And for everyone listening: you can make it through these last 3 weeks before break. You can. We’re almost there. The giveaways may add some excitement. But in any case—you’re almost through the first semester. Good work.