Construction Meaningful Curriculum

                 Teaching high school for me is eye opening. I had never considered that high school students would not know how to use a ruler, until I saw many of my students struggling to create a grid of one-inch squares. The grid was supposed to help the painting students through the drawing portion of their Andy Warhol self-portrait project, however it proved to do more harm than help. Many of my students were frustrated and gave up. After encountering this struggle I thought about how the content and skills I teach will impact and influence my students when they graduate.

                  My aspiration is to set all my students up for success, because as our youth, they will grow to be the change for our future. When I realize this, I know that I need to be diligent when planning lessons. I want to construct my curriculum to cover skills that will benefit students throughout the rest of their lives.

                  “Why are we learning this? What does this have to do with me?” many teachers have heard similar questions and many students have spoken these words. Ultimately, these are the burning questions I ask myself when writing lesson plans. I want my students to connect with the projects and artists we study and ultimately better understand their relation in the world today. The artists I choose for my lessons are innovators, designers, and creative minds who focus on concepts that help create a global community. Candy Chang, Vik Muniz, and Ellen Lupton are a few of the artists whose ideas I cherish and hope to share with my future classes. As I develop my lesson plans for the next few weeks I want to focus on big ideas and skills that will help my students gain a deeper understanding of themselves and their communities. I want them to become aware of ways they can make a difference and create a positive impact on their proximal community as well as the global community.