Blog #9

VTS and Relationships

Is VTS impacting relationships in your classroom that are, in turn, enhancing teaching and learning?

Student to Student relationships: I don't know if the VTS sessions are impacting the students relationships among peers, or how to tell.

Student to Teacher relationship: My focus class is the only class of K students to ask me why - why are we doing this project, why are we looking at this artwork. I would like to think they feel safe in verbalizing their questions to me, or it just may be the particular group of kids.

Teacher to Student relationship: I definitely view this age group differently after VTSing with them. They are so bright and such great thinkers. Going in, my focus was in helping them build basic fine motor skills and art literacy. My lessons with this group are really guided. I have a big discombobulation internally right now. They need guidance for skill development and it is hard for me to find ways to let them be truly creative.

Art Teacher to Homeroom Teacher: VTSing with this class has led to conversations with the classroom teacher that I had not had previously. I think it has helped build a bridge professionally between art and regular classroom learning. I can incorporate what she is teaching about writing and story telling into my art lessons and VTS.

Is VTS impacting classroom management/behavior in any ways? Explain.

Briefly, yes it has affected my procedures. I now have an area for discussing art work (dots on the floor) and an area for work (tables).

But I would like to turn this question around a little. Does classroom behavior affect VTS? My particular focus class has a behavioral diversity that is not present in the other kindergarten classes. I am noticing a breakdown in the quality of VTS sessions over the school year. I started my VTS journey with this class in the fall. For the first few discussions, a few students were suspended, or not in the district yet. I have not seen the likes of this in about five years, in a middle school. This particular kindergarten class is a different organism.  I can not underscore that enough.