Friday, October 20, 2006

Whoa


I'm taking it all back about the learning curve on the CCAC project. I have truckloads to learn before I can effectively communicate with these preschool teachers. I haven't yet discovered what is at the core of what they do, in their heart, or their head. So far, their love for kids or passion for teaching hasn't shined through. That's what I thought I'd see, along with their desire to discover. Haven't seen that either. There are qualities in them that I'm not seeing yet. I need to find a different way to look and listen. I asked to be schedule to do some classroom oberservation before the training which happened yesterday and today, but that didn't happen. I am totally surprised at how structured they are. I understand that their classroom time must be structured, but I assumed they would be able to look outside those boundaries. There is fear of losing control that I certainly understand, but infusing creativity into structure is going to be a challenge.

There are some differences in my work style and the structure of the project that I also need to talk about and work through. Monday at 3:00 is our debriefing meeting about the training and the project so far. I will work on putting my thoughts in order this weekend.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Recovering!

I haven't blogged in 9 days . . . Can't sleep tonight. I've been recovering from no longer being at DCCA, and missing the work and the people very much. Yes, change is hard. On the other hand, I experienced one of the first mornings that I didn't have to be anywhere. I slept late. In fact, I got up at 11am and went back down for a nap at 2pm. Got up for dinner and went back to bed. Apparently, sleep was part of my recovery. Lots of weird dreams during those sleeps, but that's another blog altogether. . . Terrific material for some short stories!

Working lots on my lesson plans and preparing for the Teacher Training on Thursday at Christina Cultural Arts Center. As a teaching artist (for the first time in my life, hired as such!) I'm feeling huge pressure, even though I know the material. The kink is taking it down to a preschool level. Ariel surprised me on Monday with a book about the art development of preschoolers! Coupled with the Creative Curriculum materials that CCAC uses, I think I'm now on track. I have way too many handouts, and haven't yet created the CD for my presentation. Down to serious work later today.