Bringing Joy

What are your thoughts and experiences?

I Invited past Maine Arts Leadership Initiative (MALI) Teacher Leaders and Leadership Team members to answer 4 questions – both personal and professional. Each day this week another set of answers is being posted. Today’s blog post includes answers to number 3. Please don’t hesitate to share your answers to the 4 questions. To the teachers who responded (so far) – THANK YOU for your honesty and sharing your new reality. One word that came up for me as I read your responses was BRAVERY! I am grateful that you’re being brave for the learners across the state!

1. Name one thing that has been an ‘ah-ha’ moment for you during ‘teaching away from school’? One success.
2. What have you learned that you didn’t know before the school shut down?
3. What are you doing to bring yourself joy/to take care of yourself?
4. When this is all over – what do you imagine might be a positive that comes from the pandemic?

TAKING CARE

• Drawing, painting, photographing with other people in mind, and writing hand written letters almost every day to my students and families. Walking in the woods with my dog, watching baby chicks grow and spending time in the garden. ~LINDSAY PINCHBECK
• I get outside, I get up and move/exercise, I make art and I spend more time with my family. CHARLIE JOHNSON
• I run everyday and have set workout routines. I am also in an excelerated graduate program for ESL certification, which requires extensive reading and writing. I am loving the courses and am super excited to be making this transition. ~CARMEL COLLINS
• I’ve made art for myself, and cleaned the basement! ~SUE BEAULIER
• Long walks, reading, listening to music, Zooming with my group of girlfriends every Tuesday night, and curling up at the day’s end with my furry friend. ~JENNI NULL
• I read, run, walk, learn to identify bird calls, video conference with distant family, and reach out to friends I haven’t talked to in a long time. I’m learning to give myself grace. ~KATE SMITH
• Walking – I walk every morning by myself and again mid-day with a family member or friend – I average 7-8 miles a day…it keeps me sane!  ~SUE BARRE
• This took me a few weeks to figure out… I can’t be everything and do everything. It would be easy to work 16 hours a day in order to get better at remote teaching however that’s not fair to me or my family. The needs of family HAVE to come first— no matter what! In order to help with this I have made sure that when the school day “ends” (3:00) it REALLY ends and the screen goes off! ~JEN ETTER
• During this stressful time, I am finding joy in some simple activities at home. I am baking bread, sewing masks, finishing some home improvement projects, preparing the garden for planting, playing cards and boardgames, reading, and going for walks. I look forward to kayaking and paddle boarding as the weather warms up. ~HOPE LORD
• Running, taking my children to the ocean to explore and keeping tabs on the geese by our house who are nesting on some baby geese eggs.  ~SHANNON WESTPHALL
• I have used this time to get back into the studio and create work. I am striving for at least an hour in the morning and then any other time I can carve out later in the day. ~JEFFREY ORTH
• I’m taking more walks and getting my life organized. ~LINDA MCVETY
• WALKING every day. Fortunately, a lovely set of trails just opened up last fall across the field from our house. I have walked the 2.5 miles of trails every single day since March 17th. They are wider than a car and I can walk with a sister or two and still stay distant. I’ve been photographing the frog and salamander eggs in the vernal pools to see what changes are happening. I’ve also been dedicated to drawing every day in a sketchbook. It is not bringing the joy I expected, but seems more like a chore. I’ve got to change how I do it to bring back the joy, but I don’t know what will help. ~ALLIE RIMKUNAS
• I have been running, hiking or walking every day and that has been helpful to dispel the feeling of isolation. ~GLORIA HEWETT
• Exercise generally gets removed from my weekly routine during the school year!  A K-6 art room is a fast moving place and my mind equates that daily rush with enough physical activity!  This time period has allowed me to re-set that thinking as I have been working without students in the physical space. Yoga online (Yoga with Adrienne) has allowed me to stretch without hurrying and tone muscles that get “short” attention during the 40 minute rushes within the art room day. One Saturday a month a group of family and friend artists gather for Art Club in my cellar. During this time, Virtual Art Club has been created for EVERY Saturday!  We check in twice a day through Zoom! Due to COVID19, I found that coworkers from other areas of education have been relying upon the arts to balance mindfulness; and, they have joined the art club! ~LYNDA LEONAS
• I am doing the things I never seemed to have the time to do. I am painting and drawing with a passion, jumping into abstraction not caring about what others would say or how it comes out, painting for fun and as a form of therapy through these hard times. I have also been doing outdoor projects that I have been putting off for years which is my exercise. ~HOLLY LEIGHTON
• I enjoy working outdoors in the garden, so my wife and I have spent much time in the yard trying to coax spring along. I have to constantly remind myself that my flowers and peas have their own timeline that I have to be patient for. I’m also working on getting caught up on reading Steve Berry novels. And I’ve started to challenge my physical flexibility by starting yoga. So far it’s been relaxing and worth many laughs.  ~BILL BUZZA
• I love walking in the woods by my house, spending time with my daughter, and reading for fun! Being outside is for sure the biggest thing I do to improve my mindset. ~EMMA CAMPBELL
• I have been working on our grounds (both camp and home) with my husband. Being outside as often as I can energizes me. ~JANE KIRTON
• I am actually scheduling times, throughout the day, to take breaks. I create events in iCal to remind me to exercise, go outside, play with my son, etc. As silly as that sounds, I’ve found that it’s easy to sit down in front of my computer and get swept away by emails, zoom meetings, and other professional responsibilities. Scheduling these opportunities to step away has really helped my physical and mental health throughout this process. ~DORIE TRIPP
• I live in a very rural area and enjoy being outdoors so I have spent much of my time taking in the fresh air. We are usually very busy people, during the week with busy schedules, and often out on adventures on the weekends. This “opportunity” has given us a lot of much needed home time, being together, working on “back burner” projects, and enjoying the space we call home. Researching ideas, creating “virtual” learning opportunities, and just experimenting with ideas has been inspiring. I have finally set up my “at home” studio, something I have been planning since I built my garage 4 years ago. I have had the time to create examples that are detailed, creating a bar of excellence for my capable students. In reality, I have been creating more art than I had been able to do working at school. I miss teaching in person very much, however this has been an opportunity for me to experience student processes and create art that is reinvigorating for me and more effective for students. ~ANTHONY LUFKIN
• Honestly, I haven’t done the best at self-care because I have felt a need to respond immediately to every communication, training opportunity or video meeting immediately.  If Maine golf courses were open I would be caring for myself much better😉  I have been to our camp a few times to keep an eye on the water level and seeing the returning loons has been awesome. ~DIANNE FENLASON
• I stick to a routine every day. I continue to dress for work (on the top!) including jewelry. I ride my stationary bike between meetings. I eat lunch with my educator husband as often as possible and I sit outside in the sun when I take a break. ~BARB VINAL
• I have been doing a LOT of walking, taking a couple breaks each day to get outside. Of course also making art! Recently I tried rug hooking. It has been fun and I am working on making my first pillow. ~SAMANTHA ARMSTRONG
• I love being outside. The school closure has allowed me to spend more time hiking, biking, nature walking, gardening, playing basketball with my kids, having epic bonfires, and some days simply sitting with the sun on my face. ~ANDREA WOLLSTADT
• Self-care is so vital right now. I am doing a lot of walking and making sure to be outside as much as the Maine weather is allowing me to be. If you were in the neighborhood, it is now a routine to see me pushing my daughter in her stroller first thing in the morning and then again for her nap in the afternoon. Setting a routine and trying to hold myself accountable has helped. I am teaching online while also juggling my own two small children so those quiet walks have become my time to take a break from technology and enjoy the outdoors! ~IVA DAMON
• Going for runs when the weather cooperates, zoom meetings with family and friends.~ROB WESTERBERG
• I love my home. I am thankful to have a happy place in which to weather this storm. ~LISA INGRAHAM
• I have worked hard to stay healthy, increased my exercise routines, started a garden, read a novel, realized that the time I can give myself makes the time I give to students that much more energized. ~DANETTE KERRIGAN
• I’m reading a variety of ceramic books! There is so much to learn about in ceramics. I have a space in my home to create so vacation week was really fun working with clay. Exercise is also happening every day.  I take walks outside and appreciate the beauty here in Maine. ~LEAH OLSON

RAMS Art Project

Great work Anthony Lufkin – 2018 Knox County Teacher of the Year

Art Educator and Maine Arts Leadership Initiative Teacher Leader Anthony Lufkin teaches grades K-6 in MSAD #40 and with students at the Rivers Alternative Middle School. This spring the middle school students took on an amazing project. They focused on social and health issues that impact individuals and communities. Students quickly got into a deep level of learning and the connection with these topics and issues on the brain. The topics were challenging ones and each students selected a topic to research and create a response artistically. Two other teachers worked with the students along with the Farnsworth Art Museum. This is a great example of students engaged in and taking the lead in their learning. Take a look at this video and gain an understanding of an amazing project for middle schoolers.

MALI Teacher Leader Story: David Coffey

Music Educator

This is one of several blog posts in 2018 that include stories of the Maine Arts Leadership Initiative (MALI) Phase 7 Teacher Leaders and Teaching Artist Leaders. This series includes a set of questions so you can learn a little bit about each leader. CLICK HERE  for more information on MALI. CLICK HERE  for more information on the 93 Teacher Leaders and 8 Teaching Artist Leaders.  CLICK HERE  for Arts education resources. CLICK HERE  for the MALI Resource Bank. Search in the “search archives” box on the bottom right side of this post for past teacher leader stories.  Thank you David for sharing your story!

David Coffey currently teaches music grades 6-12 for RSU 71 in Belfast. He is in his 15th year of teaching but only 4th year at RSU 71. He currently teach choirs grades 6-12, 6th grade general music, and high school modern band serving around 170 students. Outside of the school day he serves as music director for the middle school and high school musical productions, teach an a cappella group called Belfast Voices, and serve as Department Chair for the high school Visual and Performing Arts Department.

What do you like best about being a music educator?

I like the opportunity to open student’s minds to new discoveries.  Though it’s great when those discoveries are academically focused, social and civic discoveries are equally important to the building the lives of our students.  At the beginning of my career I adopted a vocal music motto; Building lives and voices with song. That is the essence of what I believe as a vocal music instructor and it brings me great joy when I am privileged enough to see it happen.  

What do you believe are three keys to ANY successful visual and performing arts education?

How have you found assessment to be helpful to you in your classroom?

The assessment practices I have developed over the past three years, online individualized vocal assessments based on voice type and level, enable me to enter into one on one digital conversations with students in ways that I was previously not able to in an ensemble setting.  Using Google Classroom as a platform I am able to assess students individually without losing any rehearsal time. The assessments I offer provide students an experience where they are able to learn a song on their own, record a video of it, receive feedback from me, reflect on and respond to that feedback by correcting their performance until standards are met.  This allows them to see and hear vocal growth as they continue through the choral program.

David’s students performing at Point Lookout for the arts and economic impact Maine Arts Commission luncheon.

What have been the benefits in becoming involved in the Maine Arts Leadership initiative?

By becoming involved in MALI I have encountered new colleagues, been given access to new resources and new ways of thinking, and because of those things I have grown as an educator.  The ultimate goal is growth, whether it be mentally, physically, spiritually, professionally or in the case of MALI, a growth fusion. In order to grow we must first acknowledge that there is room to grow (there always is!) and then seek or seize the opportunities as they arise.  I didn’t really know what to expect when I agreed to be involved but I am glad I did.

What are you most proud of in your career?

I am most proud of the relationships I have built with the staff, students, parents, and the communities where I have worked over the course of my 15 years in education. Though not always easy and while this taken many forms it is always wonderful when the people involved feel a sense of satisfaction, self-worth, and joy. Whether it be working with students and audience members at concerts, preparing students for festivals, getting volunteers for our annual mattress sale, or lending a voice at a school board meeting we, as an education community, have academic, social, and civic responsibilities that we must see through together. What we do as educators, administrators, parents, and community members matters. How we support one another matters. Though not always perfect I am choosing to focus on the positive (or should I say “Accentuate the Positive”) things that have happened to me as an educator and hopefully the contributions I have made have helped to positively shape the lives of the educational communities I have been a part of.

What gets in the way of being a better teacher or doing a better job as a teacher?

David’s students taking a break from performing at Point Lookout for the arts and economic impact Maine Arts Commission luncheon

One word answer, me…okay, so maybe the answer isn’t quite that simple but that is pretty much the case.  Is it true that there are plenty of external factors at work? Yes, but ultimately it is me. Time is one of the biggest things I complain about; not enough time to do this because of that and not enough time to do that because of this. Let’s face it, there’s a lot on our plates. However, while all of that is true, I am starting to realize that maybe there isn’t enough time because I haven’t set limits for myself. Why haven’t I set these limits I might ask myself? Do the words guilt, pride, or ego ring a bell? I want so badly to do a “good” job and help as many people as possible but at the end of the day I haven’t always done a very good job of taking time to take care of me. It’s the whole analogy of putting on your air safety mask in the case of an emergency on an airplane. You can’t help your neighbor until you have put your mask on first. I don’t want to sound selfish or come across as thinking only about myself but this year I am trying to put my mask on first. Yes, I am very busy still but I am taking some time to focus on things I want to do, things that help me feel more refreshed, more energized. Do I have it all figured out? No, of course not, who does? Am I trying, am I doing my best given the circumstances I have to work with? You bet, it’s all I can do sometimes! What are you doing you might ask? Exercise was completely squeezed out of my schedule last year and it has taken its toll. While the toll was more mental than physical, it was noticeable. Knowing that exercise was an important part of my life that was missing I had to make some adjustments to my schedule and expectations of myself to add it back in. I am still working it out but I am glad I am trying, it has helped me and those around me immensely.

What have you accomplished through hard work and determination that might otherwise appear at first glance to be due to “luck” or circumstances?

Before I moved to Maine I worked for 10 years as a choral and eventually modern band (rock band) director serving students grades 6-12. I also directed the music for the fall musical, had an extra curricular a cappella group, and served on various committees here and there. Pretty standard fare for an Ohio music teacher.

However, when I moved to Maine all of that changed. I found myself teaching concert band grades 6-12, high school chorus, guitar class, directing music for both the high school and middle school musical, directing pep band, jazz band, an a cappella group, and trying to do all of the stuff that comes along with being a teacher. Can’t you just hear the Simon and Garfunkel song “The 59th Street Bridge Song?” “Slow down, you move to fast…Gotta make the moment last….” Needless to say, I was not “feelin’ groovy!” Staffing cuts in our department prior to my arrival had eventually led to an unsustainable system with holes in our course offerings and a ½ time position in our band program that we feared was going to become a revolving door (not helpful when trying to build a program). Over the course of 4 years and in collaboration with the district music staff, administration, and school board we were able to shuffle the staff around in a way that better served the needs of our students, schools, and us as music teachers. It wasn’t easy and I even resigned and got rehired along the way but it was worth it in order to provide a higher quality, more consistent music education to our student population.

Look into your crystal ball: what advice would you give to teachers?

David’s students performing at Point Lookout for the arts and economic impact Maine Arts Commission luncheon

Be patient and don’t spread yourself too thin, set limits. In our efforts to provide high quality arts education we can sometimes fall into the trap of trying to do everything at once. In my case, I see a new lesson or concept and want to try it out right away but without considering the artistic process of preparation, incubation, illumination, and implementation. It usually is more like instant implementation that leads to serious inflammation! Be patient, sit with the lesson or concept for a while, let it incubate, so that you can enter deeply into it not just scratch the surface. You have plenty of time to do it.

Arts educators do amazing work and are often give less time to do it. That being said I know that I am guilty of spreading myself so thin that I get to a point where I feel overwhelmed by it all, crushed under the pressure (again, can’t you hear the chorus of “Under Pressure” by Queen and David Bowie….”Pressure, pushing down on me, pressing down on you, no man ask for”). I say yes to this and yes to that and by the end I am doing way too much at once and can’t really do a great job at anything. We have to learn to set limits. We don’t set limits because we aren’t willing to be helpful, we set limits because we want to be able to be helpful. Think about the oxygen mask emergency training given on airplanes (yep, here it is again!).  In order to be able to help others you have to put on your mask first. You won’t do any good passed out on the floor.

Be yourself and listen. You have a core, a center to who YOU are. Am I saying not to look to others as role models and guides?  Absolutely not, but I am saying to follow your inner voice and to be corny and quote Shakespeare, “To thine own self be true.” Always, period! You can learn a new concept but learn how to put it in your own words, use your own voice. People crave authenticity, they can smell phony a mile away. Don’t forget to listen to those older and younger than you, you might learn something. Age doesn’t always mean more wisdom, sometimes the greatest learning you can do is by listening to your students. Trust me, they love to know that they taught the teacher something new and what a lesson that is for them to learn!

Imagine you are 94 years old. You’re looking back. Do you have any regrets?

I regret the way I approached my first year of teaching. I was trying so hard to be like my mentor and try things in a way that wasn’t true to myself and I ended up doing some damage to my program that took a couple of years to fix and rebuild. I forgot to take the advice I would now give to new teachers, be yourself and listen. I wanted to build a program the same way other people did and not listen to the advice of those around me. That being said, if we truly believe that education is lifelong and is about growth then we must also learn to apply that to ourselves as educators and be insistent, persistent, and consistent in that belief. I desire and try to be flexible in all things but to me it is important to always be a learner, that is non-negotiable!

I Love This

Making a difference

I just love it when a teacher (especially a young one) shares an arts education story. Here’s one from Maine Arts Leadership Initiative Teacher Leader Elise Bothel. Be sure and click on the image so you can get a close look at the response. Hopefully this will provide an opportunity for you to pause!

“Came across this response from a second grader at the end of this past school year. I love this. This student was not interested in art at all at the beginning of the year and I was in constant contact with family due to behavior issues. At the end of the year he enthusiastically circled all materials as his favorite and ended with this perfect response to my question about being an artist.”

Please share your stories so others can learn from your experiences.