Impressions of The Rock-ELSS
The Rock stands opposite the Elliot Lake Secondary School. It was there to watch the school first be built and the student population to grow to over 1000 students. It has watched the same population shrink to about half of that. Teachers and students have come and gone. Some students have returned as teachers themselves. One past student is now the music teacher, while another has become the Vice Principle, still another has become the school nurse. Other students have returned as parents of students now attending the school.
The Rock has seen it all. Graduation, dances, the great Elizabethan Banquet, school plays, the Aboriginal Culture week, first days and final exams. It has witnessed the highs and the lows. It has seen enter those who would lead the young to greater self-knowledge and self-worth through a wide education in the arts a, technology, sciences & mathematics, business, computers & mass media, and the humanities. It has seen those who tried to hide in the shadows of trees and bushes or a in parked car, ready to lead young minds down less favourable paths. Success and failure, the Rock has been witness to both.
Tears of laughter and grief have fallen on and near the Rock. Not all students graduate, not all students grow into adults. Not all teachers get to a well-earned retirement. Thankfully such events and the tears they give birth too are infrequent, though it would be better if no such tears need fall. Better the tears of teenage heartbreak or a minor set-back in the road to independent adult life. Better still the tears that come from joyous laughter that echoes through the halls, out the doors, and across the parking lot to be heard on The Rock.
What If Wednesday: My Wife is Wonder Woman
What if my wife was Wonder Woman ? Well, technically Wonder Woman would not get married. She would be too busy fighting the monsters and saving the world.
But, if she did, and if she married me, what would she be like ? She would handle impossible odds and raise children with learning challenges.
She would be an artist & teacher, who challenged herself and her students to excel, no matter what their skills or level.
She would walk the talk. Whatever art medium, technique, and project she would assign, she would make sure she had sufficient mastery to instruct, and demonstrate. Wherever possible, she would use those skills in front of her students to demonstrate how it was done.
Whether it was surreal or steampunk, she would try her hand and explore along with her students.
Her Art room would be full of resources and examples of possibilities. The imagination would flourish.
Somehow she would find time to share cooking duties with me. She could whip-up dinner like her art work, full of spontaneity and improvisation. For example, she might come up with a pasta & chicken casserole and some fresh guacamole.
Well so much for what if, …. oh yeah, she is Wonder Woman.
Recipe: Mix sautéed vegetables with cooked pasta. Add drained can of water chestnuts & peas. Cover with Alfredo sauce and gently stir.
Cut up and season pieces of chicken breast and grill or stir fry. Layer on top of pasta mixture. Cover with mixture of cheeses – for example cheddar and Havarti- Jalapeno.
Bake until golden brown on top, the pasta, not you.
Angelika Award
This post is tagged under a number of headings including photography & art. The most important though is education. This is a story of 21 men & women from vastly different parts of the world, different backgrounds, and ages who, through the power of blogging, have shaped the education of a young person. They have never met this person nor have they directly communicated with them.
On March 23, 2012, I posted Existential Friday: Duelling Philosophers. It was about an assignment I had given my small group of Philosophy students (secondary school Grd. 12). I included a sample of what one of the students had composed, a debate between two philosophers in the form of a rap duel.
There were six responses and nineteen likes, as of Tuesday, March 27. I showed the student the post this morning. At first s/he was a bit surprised that I had actually posted it. Then I pointed out the likes and responses. The student’s face lit up and excitedly told their friend. Other students also took note. Near the end of the period another student dropped by. When she was told that her friend’s rap assignment was “published” and it had 19 likes and 6 responses, she wanted the address so she could check it out.
My student wanted to make sure s/he had the address too. I asked her if her parents would be coming to interview night this evening. At first s/he said they were going to be too busy. I mentioned that I had hoped to tell them about their “blog”.
This evening they were there to see me. They came right over and said their child insisted they come and see me to find out about the rap-blog. This was a special interview night for myself and my wife. We are retiring. This is our last parent-teacher interview night in our teaching careers.
It was a slow night. Second semester tends to have a low turn out. Those parents were the only ones I had. I have a very different mix of students because of the Assisted Study Program and the number of students are small. Let’s just say this last interview made the evening and the job very worthwhile. I was able to tell our principal about this whole incident before the evening was done, extra bonus.
As for the student, 21 individuals have touched that young person’s life. As with any teacher, they have no idea what seed they may have planted and nurtured through their small action of clicking the like button or putting a small comment to indicate that they took the time to read that student’s efforts. In acknowledgement for their actions, I present them with the Angelika Award, they are all angels in the shadows. The shadows of their wings have spread very far indeed.
Existential Friday: Duelling Philosophers
I have mentioned in a few of my posts about my background and current work as a secondary school teacher. Teaching can put a person in a box. Depending on where and what you subjects you are required to communicate ( you teach students, not subjects), it can be difficult exercise flexibility both in content & methodology. The most effective teaching requires an opportunity to create and innovate. You need to adapt to the students and the situation. Teachers try to nurture and take advantage of the teachable moment. That is when the student is sparked with curiosity and the desire to know, understand, and apply.
In my capacity of my final year as a teacher before retiring, I have a range of students and subjects. These students are acquiring courses through what is called, an Assisted Study Program (ASP). They are working independently on different subjects at different levels. A small group, spread over several periods are doing an introduction to Philosophy course. This is very challenging in a regular classroom setting, independently takes the work to another level. It leaves them with lots of reading and writing, but little back and forth discussion.
The challenge for me, is to provide instruction on a one to one basis, when required, and to make sure that there is a variety of assignments. One weekly essay after another will have their brains leaking out their ears. I have to mix it up. What I came up for one lesson was debate. Instead of your typical debate, this debate of duelling philosophers would be done in the form of a rap. The following is an example of what one of the students produced. ( Images provided by myself for this post.)
Aquinas: St. Thomas Aquinas here to rap,
I’m just gunna give ya a little recap.
The five proofs of God yo,
They outshine anything you’ve learnt in bio.
The first proof begins with motion (motion, motion),
It can be compared to the domino (domino, domino) effect yo,
Where one thing in motion is moved by something (something, something) else,
Like the fire that started from the log of wood (wood, wood).
But the sequence can not go forever,
Because there ain’t no explanation for the first mover,
This right here is where God comes in,
Using his powers to be moved by nothing else.
Sartre: Nah bro you’re totally wrong, We are wholly responsible of our own belong There ain’t no such thing as this God man None of our actions originate from a plan
Instead, humans believe in this thing called intentions (intentions, intentions) Where everything we do is on purpose (purpose, purpose) And there ain’t no such thing (no such thing, no such thing) as an accident Rather the idea that we deserve (deserve, deserve) everything that happens
Aquinas: Well lemme explain to you,
The second proof which will stick with you like glue,
It’s called an efficient cause yo
Where one item is the cause of the next item ya know
But what if the causes stretch all the way back? (back, back)
There will be no first (no first, no first) efficient cause
Without the wonderful thing everyone calls God (God, god)
So you better believe (better believe, better believe) its him who makes the first cause
Sartre: The causes don’t need to stretch back, Everyone is to blame for their own track, Because they make intentional choices With or without the help of any inspirational voices
Aquinas: The third and fourth proofs,
There’s no possible way that they can be spoofs
The third proof, God is accountable for necessity (necessity, necessity)
And in the fourth he is the cause of goodness (goodness, goodness) and perfection
Sartre: Both necessity and goodness come from people (people, people) themselves
God does not play a part in our lives (no part, no part)
Every cause can be traced back to us (us, us)
We never encounter anything except responsibility (responsibility, responsibility)
There is no such thing as compulsion,
It is only you who caused the most recent explosion
Everything is a matter of choice,
Like whether you’ll date that girl named Joyce.
It’s all up to you,
Do not try to blame it on little boy blue.
Or your friend named Drew,
Or even the fact that you had the flu.
Aquinas: I have to disagree with you Sartre, (disagree)
Many things in life wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for God (weren’t for God, weren’t for God)
The fifth idea proves this exactly, (fifth proof, fifth proof)
It states that intelligence is the workings of God (intelligence, intelligence)
God directs our goals,
Watching every one of our souls
And being in charge of every “first”,
So don’t try to argue or you’ll be cursed.
Note ; Students had a selection of topics and subjects to choose from based on the material provided in the lesson. The readings are quite dense, though brief. They dip their toes into the history and related concepts. This assignment was challenging in form and content. It allows them to be both creative and analytical. Hopefully it was fun and didn’t make their brains run too much.
To learn more about philosophy you may wish to read Action Philosophers! by Evil Twin Comics.
Free PDF downloads are available:
UPDATE: For those who arrive at this blog & this post for first, make sure to see the impact it has had both online and in the “very real world of my classroom”. Angelika Award I’m Honored by Angelika Award
Art of the Drum
In my previous post I featured sketchbook pages done by my wife, Elizabeth Kanski. Besides being an art teacher, Elizabeth has been an artist in Elliot Lake for many years. Liz’s work has concentrated mostly on the animals found in our area of Northern Ontario. Over time she has gravitated to working on a unique range of material. She has been asked to paint animals, Northern Ontario scenes, and specific personal pieces on such materials as, mirrors, walls, milk cans, paddles, saws, and various sizes and shapes of wood.
Her willingness to experiment and adapt has allowed her to expand her range and expose her students to many types of media. As mentioned in the last post, she worked with leather & hides and introduced traditional First Nation art & artisan-ship to students who were unfamiliar with it. This also helped promote First Nation culture within the school, helping to raise the profile of our students who come from nearby First Nation communities.
While you would think that there would be a greater appreciation of these traditions in the Northern Ontario community, it has not always been the case. We have seen many gradual changes in the relationship between First Nations and non-native Canadian communities. Our native students have only recently formed a Native Student Alliance at the school with the support of staff and community elders.
Even Elizabeth’s early work with other materials was not always welcomed. Years ago she entered a juried art tour. Artist from outside our town were brought in from one of the nearby cities to act as impartial judges. She was not accepted . Her work included some painted cans and a table that she had constructed from local wood cut by an individual in town. The only critique given at that time was that she should try using more “traditional” materials. At the time, she was devastated. I was flummoxed. I suggested the next time she should paint on cave walls to ensure she met the criteria.
I suppose the lesson in this is that as the Stephen Sondheim song goes, “Art isn’t easy”. One person’s innovation is too “untraditional” to another. One person’s cultural worth is unrecognized by another. Society is full of assumed beliefs, values, and ideologies. They have unintended consequences on everyone., whether you are a local art teacher & artist, senior citizens or teenagers.
The pieces presented in this post includes some of recent work, as well as some older pieces. Elizabeth signs her work using her family name Braune.
Surreal Thursday: From My Wife’s Sketchbook
My wife, Elizabeth Kanski, is a Secondary School Art teacher and artist. We are a small composite school in a small northern Ontario community. This means my wife is the art department. She instructs grades 9 -12, all levels, and all ranges of students. This year she initiated two new programs that she had to create from scratch. She is constantly expanding here range of skills and adapting to a wide range of students. They go from the potentially university bound art student to the special need student.
Last semester she initiated the Native Studies Grade 9 Art course. There was supposed to be extra government funding to help support getting materials and accessing local First Nation artists, artisans, and elders. The application went in last june. We are still waiting. Our principal must somehow balance his school budget to accommodate the shortfall. Some of the money came out of my wife’s pocket and the school is trying to reimburse as money arrives. Government funding is surreal.
The program my wife is initiating this semester is an integrated arts class for Special Ed students. They are creating masks and a variety of puppets. They are developing stories based on faerie tales and native folklore. The goal is perform at feeder schools in the area. Once again the ministry has wide open parameters, but she needs to create this from scratch.
As a teacher and artist she must continually learn new skills and then figure out how to present and instruct a wide range of students. This year she learned drum & moccasin making. She is now acquiring skills and information on black-light theatre.
This year my wife and I are both retiring. She thought she might go one more year. Her health and the recent sabre rattling coming from the Provincial Government has reduced her steam. She worries about the students she leaves behind. She will make herself available for the new much younger teacher who will be challenged to fill her shoes.
Enjoy these pages from her sketchbook. To teach you must be able to do and then figure out how to instruct to the needs of the student. Sometimes you sketch out or doodle out ideas. The art of teaching is staying surreal and real at the same time. Enjoy the day !
Versatile Blogger Award
First thanks to Nia of photographyofnia and J. A. Robinson of The Daily Graff. They both nominated me for The Versatile Blogger Award, it just took me awhile to figure it out. I kept tripping over my Procrastination and Confusion Awards. I blame it on my diabetes and Seasonal Affective Disorder (age). That is why I purchase products to help my memory.
Now I have revealed 3 things about myself, just need five more points. Let me see,…… my left eye has an artificial lens. I was born with a cataract in the left eye. Unfortunately due to other health issues it was not spotted till after I was 5 years of age. it was considered too late to perform surgery. I only had an artificial lens put in a few years ago. My brain is now hard-wired to interpret a single lens view of the world( like a camera). This could explain my interest in photography and digital constructions of reality – did I mention I’m a secondary school teacher with a teaching background in English, Developmental Literacy & Special Education ( Specialist in all three), and an extensive experience in Media Studies & Literacy . My wife is a Local Artist and an Art & Drama, and History teacher with extensive experience working with Special Needs Students. We met during our first couple of teaching years.
Both our children have special need challenges. Our oldest, Alexander is presently taking a post graduate program in Character Design & 3D Animation at Fanshawe College. Here is a short sample of his work. He story boarded the concept, acted out the two roles using motion capture, created the short clip, and composed the music himself. Being a LD learner does not mean you can not think, create, or produce. You just have to work harder than everyone else.
Our daughter is a Downs person with a hearing loss. She is a master of electronic games and the computer. Her present favourite comedians are Laurel & Hardy. Big brother was researching Charlie Chaplin and other slapstick artists to prepare his animation short. Natasha was hooked on performers that had her Baba laughing at the motion picture shows a long, long time ago.
Now comes my nominations for Versatile Blogger. There are so many possibilities and I really encourage people to check out both this list and the others who have links featured on this blog.
3.n e w d i g i t a l s c a p e s
7. iltana
10. Astrawally
11. Images Straight from the Lens
14. Warped Prism
15. HoaiPhai
* I had a double nomination so here are a few more.
16. Aberrant Art
17. Bird and Baking
18. Eden’s captures
Enjoy the Day !
Letting the Spirit Soar
Arts on the trail was held in Elliot lake September 24 & 25 this year. As part of the art exhibit and sale, the local schools were asked to participate. My wife, Elizabeth Kanski, is the art teacher at E.L.S.S. . Her grade nine and grade eleven art classes participated in this exhibit by producing collaborated mixed media murals based on famous Canadian paintings. There are a couple of things that make this a remarkable project. To begin with this was early in the school year, so the actual time frame for getting the murals done was about a week . For the grade nines, they are essentially working at an introductory art level. They have been exposed to some art in elementary school, but the real formal art training has only just started their art classes in high school.
This year’s grade nines are also getting a new course designed by my wife. It is coded as a Native Cultural course. It is an introductory Art course that emphasizes the impact and contributions of First Nations culture to the Arts. The grade elven Art class is an open Arts and Crafts course that exposes students to a wide range of Art Media. This course was also designed by wife ; she designed all of the Art courses at our school based on Ministry Guidelines.
In order to produce the work, the students had to agree on which painting would be used as basis for their murals. The paintings that were selected were, “Medicine Wheel’ by Leland Bell, “Shaman & Disciples” by Norval Morrisseau , and ” Pine trees’ by Tom Thomson. The next step was for my wife to break down each painting into quadrants. Each student was then given a quadrant to recreate using whatever medium they wished. The photographs in this post document their achievements.
The Grade Eleven mural was an award winner and will eventually be hung in Lester B. Pearson Civic Centre in Elliot Lake.
If you looked carefully at the first photograph you will notice another winner, Mariah Meawasige. She is a senior student who will be taking the senior art class in second semester. She chose to enter some of her work and earned first place.
This is an example of how a dedicated teacher can direct and motivate her students to excel and participate in community. One last note, shortly after the Art exhibit, the school was able to get another teacher so that over flowing classes were balanced. As a consequence, the Grade nine class was split. The class was very demanding and now my wife has a bit less stress and a fellow Art teacher for support.
Aboriginal Feast Day at ELSS
Elliot Lake Secondary School had an Aboriginal Feast Day. it was organized and run by the students and staff advisers of our Aboriginal Alliance. Involving the staff, student body and the local First Nation community, it was a great success. Held in the school courtyard last Friday, the presentation include a drumming circle, dancers, presentation ceremonies and glorious native food.
The drummers included students, staff advisers, and elders of the Serpent River Community. The dancers included students and elders and young dancers from Serpent River.
As to the food, it was prepared by the students and staff advisers, with the assistance of the community elders. The menu you ask, well here it is.
It took a lot of time and effort to prepare all the food. These are Indian Tacos and scones.
Here is my plate served up with all the trimmings. I also had some Moose stew.
A fantastic meal and a wonderful sharing of culture. Education doesn’t just take place in the classroom and the students have as much to offer and inform as do the teachers. This type of sharing and learning can only happen in caring, inclusive educational community that extends beyond the walls of the physical institution. There is so much to be gained by all elements of society when this model of teaching and learning is embraced by staff, students . and the larger community.
Wadi Hanifa-A Constructed reality
I was looking at a CBC Photo gallery concerning a Toronto architectural firm’s role in rehabilitating what was once a toxic landfill in the middle of a Saudi Arabian oasis. Wadi Hanifa (or Hanifa Valley) is the longest valley near the capital of Riyadh and part of a natural water drainage area for a region of more than 4,000 square kilometres. Moriyama & Teshima Planners’ work on rehabilitating the water in the Valley received an award. Some of the images in the CBC news gallery are quite striking, but as I viewed them the media teacher light started flashing. I started to think about some of the basic media principles and the critical thinking skills I try to instill in my students. How constructed were these photographs ? What values and beliefs were these images promoting ? Was there a business interest to consider ? Were these images modified ? Were they selling a product, service, or idea ?
What I noticed was the following things. No specific photographer or studio was identified as taking the photographs. Some of the photographs seemed to be done in a more hyper-realistic/artistic style. while others had a more natural lighting and colour. In some of the images there were elements that appeared to be placed into the composition. Were some of these images re-touched or modified to create a more dramatic tone and emphasize the return of nature and the natural world ? Look at the examples below and then use the link at the start of this post to see the whole gallery. What is your impression ?
Project Complete, ……….. Mostly Complete
Hopefully, my wife and I can finally relax when we think about the school calendar project. We’ve finished our portion of the job and can take the mock-up in on Monday to go over it with the Principal. It will then go to the printer. In previous years Elliot Lake Secondary School would do a black and white calendar. Sometimes the calendar was done in-house, other times it would be done by a local printer. Costs were partially covered by the local Ford dealership and the calendar would include their advertising. My wife, who is the art teacher, would select pen and ink drawings from her students to be included as part of the calendar.
This year the Vice Principal and the Literacy-Success Instructor were able to get funding to do a glossy calendar. The pictures for each month were to represent character education goals. Initially the plan was to have a group of senior art students photograph tableaux and art installations. This idea mutated into including more photography of school events that would represent the various goals – monthly motivational posters. This then created new issues. The students didn’t have enough time to do all the months. The wide selection of photographs were intentionally taken for a specific purpose and target audience - basic media principles. Instead of being used to decorate the school / be used in the yearbook, the message and medium was being altered. That meant a new media reality was being constructed. These were not just dramatic or amusing photographs to document school events and high-light student activity and accomplishments. The photographs had to convey the specific character traits.
Instead of my wife organizing and mentoring students, she ended up reviewing and selecting content. I ended up with a more hands-on role in designing the overall character trait images for each month. Our home computers were getting older and they did not appreciate the large graphic files we were working with. They chose to , um… retire. It has been an interesting summer.
We needed a photograph or image of the school for the cover of the calendar. I played with one of my shots of the school.
In the end we chose to use a water-colour painting that my wife had done. It was used on the cover in conjunction with other images of school activities.
As you may have noticed in the above images, our school has a wind turbine. At the time of the turbine’s installation, E.L.S.S. was the first and only secondary school in North America to have a wind turbine. It was part of the school initiative to develop environmental awareness in the school and local community.
The above photograph was not used in the calendar. The next three photographs were used as components of various graphic designs.
Above is a shot our school courtyard and garden. The garden is managed by community volunteers and students.
Our school band has been very successful in competition.
The next image is a modification of a photograph I had taken of one of our students. It was part of a school campaign to promote an E.L.S.S. Reads Program. The goal was to get as many students and school staff to read The Hunger Games.
The photograph was modified using a Redfield plugin, Virtual Photographer, and PaintShop Pro. By the way, yes the young lady can really play the violin, a number of other instruments, plus sing and act. She is also a Ontario Scholar. We may live in a small Northern Ontario community, but our students and our schools are active and successful !
The final photograph was taken by a senior Art student. It was one of the student photographs that didn’t get included in the calendar and I wanted to make sure people still got to see it.
Enjoy!
The Teacher’s Motorcycle
At our school students and staff know when summer almost here. A fellow staff member rides to work on his motorcycle. He parks it near his classroom windoe where he can keep an eye on it and distract his students.
Here are two variations on a photograph of the famous wheels.
A dream of freedom beyond the little red brick school house, …… but whose ?
Reflections by My Son
These two photographs were taken by my son. They were part of a set he had done for a Media Class assignment. The Birch Tree shot was eventually used in the school calendar. Ironically the tree had to be cut down within the year, upsetting staff and students. As a consequence, the photograph had added significance. Besides being a very striking image, it was the photograph taken of the tree.
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