Teach-Secondary-Issue-14.5

Enlist some (free) support Local colleges and universities will always be keen to visit and provide information sessions, but rather than serve up the usual ‘death by PowerPoint’, have them do something genuinely practical. We’ve previously hosted a variety of sessions from local universities, including ones on stop-frame animation and publishing a zine. What’s more, they’ve all been free, since they’ve allowed the universities to build much- needed links with us, as a local feeder institution. Include a careers element We have a number of interesting people who live locally, and are willing share with our students the details of their creative working life. Could you organise a Q&Awith a local writer, painter or dancer? I remember one particularly good talk where a local illustrator brought in his A Level work. By his own admission, it wasn’t strong – and yet here he nowwas, regularly designing album and book covers, winning competitions and even teaching part-time too. The encouragement he gave in showing where he started, compared to where he was now, was incredibly valuable for our students. So often, we’ll see the finished professional work, while easily forgetting that everyone started somewhere. Be nosy We’ve also been invited to people’s studios. Such visits may necessitate a small group, due to the size of most artists’ working spaces, but being allowed in to see how and where people work can be truly inspiring. It canmake just the very idea of living and working as a creative person seem that muchmore attainable. Add some STEAM Much of art can be linked to science. Could your school’s physics teachers perform a practical session on how light and colour works? Alternatively, a chemistry lesson could explore how dyes can be made fromnatural sources. This might appeal to those students who view themselves as firmly scientific, or at least help them see how all subjects can be linked in different ways. It could also help to bring on board staff from other departments, who may in turn further contribute to the variety and dynamics of your programme. Make space for less grand activities For many students, the joys of learning how to crochet, book bind, marble or applique within the quiet confines of a small group will amount to their perfect week. Including smaller, more calm groups will allow for the building of important relationships between students and teachers. These activities can further help to improve students’ dexterity and precision – both of which are vital for any aspiring engineers and surgeons... Don’t forget to evaluate Finally, get your students to rate the sessions – out of 10, via a traffic light system, whatever works for you. That way, you’ll knowmore reliably which sessions they loved and which turned out to be… not so great. (Also, if there were any sessions that your teacher colleagues found to be especially challenging or disappointing, they can be dropped next year and potentially replaced with more workable alternatives). Within a few years, you’ll have all this down to a tee, with your arts week (or day, or evenmonth) widely considered to be one of the highlights of the school year. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Hannah Day is head of art, media and film at Ludlow College ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Need some further inspiration? Then take a look at what these providers can offer… The National Gallery of Art, NewYork Curates a wide range of short videos viewable online that can be used as good starting points for various sessions – ‘D.I.Y. Art: Fabric Stamps Inspired by Henri Matisse’ being a particularly good example. nga.gov The National Gallery Here in the UK, The National Gallery goes one better by offering schools access to live, Zoom- delivered sessions right from the classroom, entirely free of charge. nationalgallery.org.uk The National Society for Education in Art and Design The organisation’s website includes a ‘teacher inspiration section’, covering drawing, design, craft, digital and more, providing a wealth of interesting ideas to help get you started. nsead.org to produce and evaluate a specific outcome, the pressure will be off, allowing students who might not normally consider themselves as ‘creative’ to find out that maybe they are, after all... Mix andMatch Not everything has to be 100% creative. At my last school, we’d offer a two-day photograph option within our creative week. Day 1 entailed a trip to the zoo, where students were given tips on how to take a range of different shots, while day 2 involved a mix of darkroom and digital work. Check what’s close to you, and how the trip could be incorporated into an option that appeals for both its own joys, and for how far it can have a creative element embedded within it. 49 teachwire.net/secondary A R T & D E S I G N