Why I love Art Teacher Conference....

I just got back from art teacher conference.

 

I love it!!

 

Here are some reasons why.

 

1. When you check in and get your registration bag this is what you start with... a nice little welcome to conference bag.
   
 
2. When you leave conference, this is what your bag looks like...
   You are overloaded with stuff. GOOD STUFF!!! Stuff to use in your classroom, samples and lesson plans.
 
3. What do you gain? Knowledge. Energy. Excitement. This is the one time during the year when I feel like my time is considered valuable and that what I teach is important. At conference, we meet other art teachers, go to workshops and LEARN new things!!
 
4. Some of the workshops highlights for me....
       carving in drywall
       etching in plexiglass
       painting with india ink
       playing with melted beeswax.
   Yeah, just a typical work conference. :)

 

 

And one of the most important parts of this conference for me is the validation that I get that I'm on track, that I'm not shortchanging my students, and that things are in fact going well. Coming from a non-traditional art background, I often second guess how I am teaching things and worry that my students aren't getting what they need.

But going to workshops and seeing other teachers in action, good teachers, I see that I'm doing okay. In fact, I need to chill. One of the workshops I went to had us using techniques that I've used in scrapbooking and crafting, but I hadn't done it with my art students cause I didn't want people to think I was being to "crafty"... the vast majority of the teachers there didn't know what to do and I ended up helping out the presenters... the traditional art teachers... so yeah me!

I'm so doing this lesson with my students and I am going to work hard to allow myself to just be me. Teach what I want, craft what I want and let it go!!

 

And there you have it. Why I love Art Teacher Conference. Oh. even better, this year we had an APP to use with our smart phones! It was super cool.

 

oh yeah, one more thing. I presented too. I didn't just take, I gave too.