At the San Diego Convention Center
The first year that I taught art was the toughest of my career, but there were moments of delight that still stand out in my memory. One day, I was holding sheets of red and blue plastic against the window to demonstrate what happened when they overlapped. As soon as I did and the violet color appeared, one little boy in the back of the room cried out, “it’s magic!”
I suspect that, for most of us, such moments are why we teach art. We believe in the enchantment of art for our students and ourselves. Despite that enchantment, the role of the art teacher has become more exacting that ever before. The challenges I faced in my first teaching position (film strip projectors; mimeographs; very few visual resources; only crayons, construction paper, scissors, and glue) have expanded for teachers today to include issues concerning national and state visual art standards, core curriculum, art integration, cultural diversity, visual culture, assessment, and more.
To meet these increasing demands, I believe that art teachers must be passionately committed to the value of our profession. That commitment also requires us to become outspoken advocates for quality art education – to become ”cheerleaders for the art team.” And I can think of no better “cheerleader practice” than participating in your state and national art education conventions to recharge, renew, and energize your efforts.
With that in mind, are you coming to the NAEA Convention in San Diego in March? If so, there is no better professional development for art educators and the elementary division has much on offer. Please join us for our first event on Saturday, the Elementary Division Awards Luncheon, from 12:00-1:50 PM. This ticketed event is a wonderful opportunity to connect with fellow elementary art educators as we honor our national and regional award winners, enjoy lunch, and possibly win door prizes. (The rest of our presentations do not require a ticket.)
Our second event on Saturday will be Conversation with Colleagues. From 4:30-5:50 PM, you can meet other elementary art teachers, including the Elementary Division Leadership Team, and enjoy an overview of the conference, an update on the new National Arts Standards, door prizes, and more.
On Sunday, the Elementary Division is presenting two fast-paced Carousels of Learning, one on Advocacy and one on Technology. At each you will have the opportunity to learn from five outstanding, master art teachers. The advocacy carousel (9:30-10:20 AM) is slated to include art teachers Tricia Fuglestad, Cassie Stephens, Michelle Lemons, Christine Besack, and Rebecca Carleton; the technology carousel (12:25-1:20 PM) will showcase art teachers Lani Warner-Yuen, Jaime Alper, Michelle Savran, Nikki Everett, and Amber Ward.
Following the Carousels, Bob Reeker, NAEA 2013 Elementary Art Educator of the Year, will share his award-winning art program. You don’t want to miss what this accomplished teacher has to share (2:00-2:50 PM).
What can you do ahead of time to prepare for convention? Download the free Spark! mobile app (http://www.arteducators.org/events/conv14/overview) right now and start planning your schedule. Plan to pack a camera, sketchbook, hat, water bottle, walking shoes, and a swimsuit and start dreaming of palm trees, blue water, and white sand.
But what if you can’t go to San Diego? There are still numerous ways you can benefit from the Convention even if you are not there. The free mobile app will give you access to presenters’ handouts, videos, useful web links, and more. Use hashtag #naea14 and check out the tweets on Twitter. Follow along as I’ll be blogging on our Facebook page,https://www.facebook.com/NAEAElementaryDivision. See if you can arrange a Skype session with someone attending the convention. Technology can help bring the convention to you.
Nancy Walkup, NAEA Elementary Director
2223 Parkside Drive, Denton, TX 76201, 940-382-8274, E-mail: nwalkup@netzero.net
Elect: Thom Knabb, 388 Summer Street #1, Buffalo, NY 14213, tkvolley15@aol.com
Regional Directors: Eastern Region, Susan Bivona, spbivona@earthlink.net; Southeastern Region, Tina Atkinson, tinaatkinson@yahoo.com; Western Region: Michelle Lemons, mlemons85@live.com; Pacific Region: Andrean Andrus, aandrus@graland.org
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