I walked into the building and it felt like a regular public school. I walked towards the office it was very quiet with large posters in the hallway and I noticed a room with couches. I went to the main office which was much more informal than a regular public school. there was just a few desks and not that large counter separating the staff from the visitors. Finally, I was escorted to the art room.
Leah's art room is very large and everything looks brand new. It looks like it has been renovated. Two walls are filled with windows which gives a view down an East Village street and a view of a rooftop next door. All the furniture is new and the chairs and tables are wooden, not like regular public school furniture. The room is arranged nicely. She has drying racks, cabinets, a white board and a small stereo to play music. Below one big window is a cushioned bench and below the bench are cubby holes for storage; which is all part of a larger cabinet unit. I am in a charter school.
Leah explained to me that the charter school was created to model a school in the
Hamptons that infuses culture into all subjects and is very supportive of the arts.. The school in the Hamptons is funded by some owners of Time Warner, or something similar to that idea. So, the school in the East Village has a very large budget to work with. On the website it says that they were developed in collaboration with NYU. I went to observe a first grade class.
I came early and helped Leah set up. There wasn't too much to do. I helped her cut paper and she showed me around the room. She contemplated what lesson to do and decided to continue with what she was doing with the other students. She had them draw a spiral and then paint inside the lines.
The kids came in and sat down. They seemed happy to be there. They were eager to know who I was and Leah had me introduce myself. We told them exactly what was going on. Leah goes to school to be an even better teacher than she is now and I am in her class. I will also be an art teacher. They were surprised that she went all the way to Brooklyn to go to school. One boy said that he went to Queens College in the summer for a program. They were adorable.
She elicited what the spiral was called. The kids had lots of names, but needed help remembering the word spiral. They spelled it out, drew a spiral in the air and got started. Once the kids were painting, they seemed to get calm; at least initially. Towards the middle of the period Leah asked for quite for 5 minutes and put some music on. It was nice.
I helped give out the paint and went along with Leah's explanation that the brush is called Beverly and she dances on the paint with her hair. The kids like that. One group later discussed the different colors of her hair and laughed. They all painted their spiral in different ways and as they were finished they were able to get a new paper and "free draw".
As they finished, the few closest to me were showing me their work. I'd ask a question and/or comment. I'd ask how they got a certain color, tell them that I see LOTS of colors. One girl painted her spiral with the same colors as her shirt so I pointed out how it matched. I think they enjoyed talking to me because as they finished they kept coming to me showing me their work. I had to start cutting paper to give them new ones of the same size and they were the same size and at this point they were just coming for another paper. I sat for a little while and then it was time to clean up. I helped the kids who were lagging behind to clean up their tables. I didn't do much as there was not much to clean up. The paints were paint cakes and each child had a cup of water with a brush or two.
Soon it was time to go and they lined up and left with their teacher (who was a sub for the day). They were able to take their work with them or leave it behind. Most took it home. Leah complimented one girl and told her how much she loved the painting, "I love it so much I almost stole it from you." After a minute or two the girl gave Leah the painting and said, "It's for you."
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