With each school year there is new vision of how it should be. In general, the vision should stay within this theme: be creative, include everyone, and make it special. In the art community, we all work together to complete this vision. We should practice this in school. So, this year, there will be consistent opportunities to accomplish these goals. Try to be creative with every assignment. Including everyone builds a school community that is supportive and frankly more fun and nicer. We also have events to participate in that will make this year special and memorable.

There is a great debate about the use of phones in the classroom, the amount of time spent on social media, and how it effects young people. Most believe that it has had a negative effect on society and that the future of how we socialize cannot be fixed. So, how do we move forward? In some classes, we should not use phones. It is different in art. I have been teaching for twenty-two years and remember what it was like to not have Google slide presentations and putting out art books for students to reference. These art books didn't have many contemporary artists for students to relate to or connect with. The internet has made it possible for me to show artists from all over the world. Cell phones have made it possible for students to do their own research in finding new artists. Social Media has made it so young artists can post daily on their artistic progress.

The main concern is how people use social media to avoid having real connections with people during this era of the selfie and power of the influencer. In education, instead of fighting it, maybe we should try to influence students to chronicle their successes. In art, this would mean posting artwork. I am not saying that every student should be on social media, but if the are, then make it more meaningful. Scott Galloway ( a writer and scholar) said that we take more risk online than we do offline. Why not show the risks (artwork) we take offline, along side with the fun selfie? That is a more positive influence.

I always use the same supplies as the students to make the examples. This way I know the challenges that the students will face and how to fix it. During the pandemic, I had to create a supply list that did not go over $30 and could be found easily at one store for online learning. I went to that famous big box store and was able to find everything needed for the year for under $30. I practiced with those supplies. The ice cream drawing to the left is made with cheap colored pencils on cheap drawing paper. 

Note: When I put together the list, it also had the brand names. Some parents bought the more expensive brands, their choice, but then wondered why it went over $30?  So, it's important to explain the cost of the specific brand names that you pick.