Week 5: Week of February 7th, 2022

February 10th, 2022

This week was my first time sitting in on one of Cameron’s class critiques. I had been wanting to see how this was done since I started at Perpich because critiques were such a unique and formative experience of my arts education. I had talked with Cameron previously about how the critique process operates at Perpich, and what that typically entails. I was glad to learn that typically critiques take a gentler approach than higher arts education since students are still so relatively new to the experience. During this critique, students had thought about a guiding question that they wanted their classmates to answer when talking about the work. Then the class would pipe in and answer the question, along with giving other feedback. Cameron and I would pipe in sporadically throughout, but the main focus was on the peer discussion. Some of my favorite questions posed were, “Can you feel the emotional state of the character, and what tells you that?” and “What could I do to improve the flow of the story and make the imagery more interesting?” I thought that the quality of feedback that was given was incredible as well. Students were able to keep the environment lighthearted but helpful and it was evident that by making critiquing a common occurrence, students were very receptive to what their peers had to say and really valued the feedback.

Week 3: Week of January 24th, 2022

January 27th, 2022

Today was another work day in the Comics class. The students were finishing up a project from Monday where they kept track of their day by doing a panel an hour of a comic. According to Cameron, it is a way to see what the students want to accomplish with their comics making progress and how close they are to achieving it. It’s a way of creating a benchmark moving forward. One theme that I feel like comes up often throughout Cameron’s classes that I really appreciate is the “Showing vs. Telling” discussion. I notice it both in the discussion about the way the art functions, but also in his teaching method. I liked hearing the way that certain phrases for redirecting discussion were used. “What do you notice?” “I like that you mentioned...” “This example demonstrates this...” At one point, Cameron had a student work through the process of scanning and editing in photoshop while attached to the projector. It was a way to show how to do the process, but also to show that sometimes you have to go through a bit of trial and error. By having the student “jump in” and “be bold” and work through issues on her own while also demonstrating that the troubleshooting process was really valuable and unique.

Week 2: Week of January 17th, 2022

January 20th, 2022

This week I only had the opportunity to be in the classroom on Thursday, seeing as though the students did not have school on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and it being a new quarter. However, the time that I was in the classroom felt very rich and valuable. Since the new quarter just started I am able to be with these students from the beginning and I think that will be really great for our working relationships. The first class of the day was a Digital Comics class. Students had previously completed a short bio and illustrated headshot and a section of the class was spent hearing from students, and looking over those. I really enjoyed hearing students explain the choices they made when drawing their portraits. I felt like I was able to learn more about the student as they dived deeper into different artistic elements. The second class of the day was Animation and it was filled with great energy. I can tell that the students really enjoy Cameron’s teaching and look forward to his classes. During this class Cameron facilitated a discussion on what Limited Animation was and how sometimes a few frames can go a long way. I was amazed at what knowledge and insight students offered up and how applicable their input was when there aren’t strict things you’re listening for. Cameron and I then passed out little slips of paper with a noun and a verb and students then had 15 minutes to animate a two frame animation based on those words. The students were flustered due to the limited frame and time constraint, but they were good sports about it. We went through about three rounds of this exercise, and by the end of it you could really see that the student’s work had become more and more expressive and dynamic as time went on. 

Week 1: Week of January 10th, 2022

January 10th, 2022

Today was my first day at Perpich High School! I had chatted with my mentor, Cameron Browne, over the phone a few days prior to discuss what my expectations were, what I needed to get out of this experience logistically, as well as what I wanted to get out of this experience personally. It was great to have had the prior conversation before I went in. It really helped take away some of that initial nervousness and ease the transition into the classroom. I came in a few minutes earlier than normal to take a tour of Perpich, and have another quick conversation with Cameron about what they were working on and what I could expect from the day. The first block I observed was the Digital Illustration Class which was mainly Juniors and Seniors. I was able to introduce myself briefly, as well as observe how Cameron started his classes. I noticed that he spends a decent section of his time checking with students, not only about upcoming events and assignments, but about their mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing. The second class I stayed for was the Digital Foundations class where they were finishing up an animation project on phenomimes. I appreciated seeing the conversation between Cameron and the students who were struggling to grasp the more conceptual assignment. Although it felt uncomfortable for the student to not understand the concept, by framing questions that were more open ended, Cameron and I were able to facilitate a discussion and lead her to a deeper understanding rather than explicitly giving examples for a quick solution. It was a lovely moment.

January 13th, 2022

Today I was able to start the Digital Illustration class by taking ten minutes and giving a brief presentation on my practice, my work, and my life. Since I am coming in right at the transitions of quarters, it’s hard to get some of those student connections right away, however I felt like showing my work helped them better understand who I was and where I was coming from when I give feedback or suggestions. During this class, students were given work time with the added responsibility of taking down their previous gallery show. I think it’s fantastic that Perpich makes patching walls, and deinstalling such a big part of the gallery experience. In Digital Foundations, the class was mainly given work time for their phenomime projects. During that time I circled the room and checked in with students about progress, troubleshooting, or any other issues they might be working through. I am definitely a new entity in the classroom that some students seem wary of, so I look forward to getting to know each and every one of them a little better.