Interesting Dynamic of the Art Ed Program at SUNY NP

Since being accepted into the art education major a few years ago I have enjoyed most of my classes and have definitely taken a lot out of them up to this point. I do have to say though that I haven't felt this pushed and challenged at any point in college, as I am now in Theory and Practice. I was talking to Tanya today actually about how interesting the dynamic of our art ed classes changed as we progressed in the program. We realized that in Intro, Beth created a really supportive, nurturing, and easy-going environment for us newbies, almost like a kindergarden classroom would be like. Then as we got a little further and a little smarter, we entered Jessica's Curriculum and Instruction class. Here, we still had the nurturing support but it was shown in a different way; there was a little more sarcasm, the class was a little drier in terms of how Jessica interacted with us in comparison to Beth, and we were treated as more knowledgeable students, frankly because we were. We definitely still had the comfort from Jessica but she pushed us a little more than Beth, and it seemed like we were growing up to maybe a middle school environment. Then came Theory & Practice. This is our last class before student teaching and we know what the observations are like, we (think we) know how to write lesson plans, and so here is the time for Aaron to really kick our butts a little and get us totally prepared for what the realities of being a teacher are. The nurturing support and babying us through it has gone out the window, because it's really time for us to grow up and get stuff done. We are working with High Schoolers, and it's time to be treated as such! I really enjoy how we grew up in the program similarly to the order in which grades we observed. I feel like the different teaching styles helped ease us into the program, then prepare us for a little harsher environment, before completely throwing us into the ropes before student teaching.

Anyway, the real point of my post was that I haven't felt this challenged in a long time, and although it can be frustrating sometimes, I know that this is a really good thing for me. Aaron pushes us to really do our best work, and even when we think we are satisfied with something, there can always be room for improvement. I have learned that every little aspect of a lesson plan should be purposeful, and if something isn't important to the overall benefit of the students, change that part to something that can be helpful to them. I now take every minute of a presentation or a lesson seriously, even the last few seconds before the bell rings. Every moment is an opportunity for learning. And lastly, life doesn't stop for anything and things will always be thrown at you from any direction - so just accept that and be ready for it. I think Theory & Practice has pushed us in ways that will help us when we are in the real world, and people are pushing responsibilities and jobs and work on us left and right. So thanks, Aaron, for pushing us to be our very best!... Even if it's a lot of work :)