The fly on the wall has a PHD

Dr. Amy came into our class today for observations. She was armed with a notebook, pen and some discerning looks of a seasoned teacher. I was intimidated (for the first few minutes). Then I forgot she was there and we got right down to business. I packed a lot into the lesson plan today and I was proud of how much the students completed. (I will post examples soon).

Last week the students were not too enthused about laying out type. This week I added some more elements to the type tree. They added color and played around with the various options of their chosen font family.

My concern at this point is that the class moves so fast there is just no time for critical reflection. I really must be more conscious of the time in order to complete this important step of the assignment. The critique of the students work is where they will learn the most. They will compare their quality of work with their classmates and thus the successful designs vs. design that doesn’t work.

So next class period we will start with critiques of their family tree. We will focus on the strength and the connotation of various type faces and color choices. Then we will move into their final poster designs. The students will have an opportunity to use our new digital SLR’s that Cannon donated to Arts Bridge. I know they will be excited about this opportunity.

Student Work

A font has a family? I didn’t make this too clear in the lesson plan but most of the students are now grasping the importance of hierarchy. I used these examples as an aid.

A Dynamic Composition

What is a serif?

Using various point sizes to create a journey for the eyes:

Here is the student work:

Denis is one of the most talented students. He really grasps the tools and he navigates the illustrator environment with ease.

Rocio has some troubles with layering the text blocks. But she has a great eye for color.

font family tree

Through out the week I have been developing a lesson plan for wednesday. I want the students to create a font family tree using classic fonts listed on thinkingwithtype.com. They will use the various weights and sizes of their one chosen font to create a “family tree.” I hope they will understand how to utilize the font family to create hierarchy. The students will then be able to take their font and translate it into their own family tree. The hierarchy of different generations will be signified with various point sizes and styles of one font.

type…og…raph…eeee

The students shuffled into the computer labs for the 6th week of our residency. This week I focused on beginning typography. It was a lot to tackle and I was afraid that the students would be overwhelmed by the complexities of letterforms and combining fonts. I used thinkingwithtype.com as the main resource. It lays out the basics simply and to the point. I also passed around Ellen Lupton’s book. I find that the students respond well to visual images on the projector. They are mesmerized by the screen and seeing animations. Perhaps this is because they are constantly on youtube or in front of the tv. They usually don’t respond to handouts but they are always willing to show off their reading skills to the class. When we read out loud I fear that the students do not understand the concepts because they are more focused on reciting the English correctly. Something to be learned from this is more visuals and less handouts/hardcopies.

By the end of the residency my main goal is to have the students critiquing the design that consumes their world. We can create a dialogue in class and during critiques to entice this new way of thinking critically about graphic design. If they start observing enough design then eventually they will be successful in creating their own pieces. So far the students are hesitant to speak their opinions. Brittany’s idea of showing three posters before the class starts is so effective. The students are fresh and full of energy during the first few moments of class, we can use this energy as momentum to get the students conversing comfortably about graphic design.

Final Idea: Create a Font Family Tree along with their own family tree

Who the hell is she

At the end of March, during Spring Break. I traveled up the coast. It was a much needed escape to Santa Barbara, Big Sur and San Francisco. The spring rains brought the bluest skies and the greenest grass, this visual candy allowed me to completely forget all my projects and my teaching residency that had previously consumed 10 weeks of my life.

So coming back to Millikan jr high last wednesday was a bit of a shock for me and the students. After 2 whole weeks the students had this “oh yeah I remember you” look on their faces. For as much as I think about them and worry that they are interested in my assignments it is amazing how they can truly care less. It seems like they live from moment to moment persuaded and guided by the people around them. They are consumed with their own lives, friends and homework. They have every right to be completely self absorbed because it is such a difficult time developmentally.  I just wish I had had a wise art teacher to help me put everything in perspective back in jr. high.

So in an effort to connect the ELL book, Highpoint, with my own lesson plan, I went through the unit that they are currently studying: exploring new frontiers with Lewis & Clark. My goal is to have the students explore the new frontiers in their lives and create a book of their learning process in my class. Last wednesday we focused on visualizing 3d terrain in a 2d form on illustrator. It may sound complex but it was quite simple and enjoyable. I had the students draw a box to represent their home. Some of them created a floor plan while others just put a triangle on top of their box. I then asked them to draw another box to represent Millikan. Now with these two representations of places that they spend most of their time, I asked them to imagine the path they take to school. They were the draw the path of their journey from home to school. This is where the kids went crazy. They added landmarks and cars and trees. They created their own little world. Each peace was a unique reflection of their daily journey. Aside from being able to effectively use the tools to create landmarks the students were able to visualize their journey. This is an important skill to have. They need to be confident as they navigate through the world. Ms. Rahamin will do a follow up lesson relating their maps back to the Lewis and Clark maps.

In other news, I just got the approval from mr. christian moeller (prof for video 2), to create a documentary at millikan. I argued, with a trembling voice, that I wanted to expose the students school and home life in an artistic/abstract documentary style video taking inspiration from the long haunting school shots of Gus Van Sant’s film, Elephant.

I went out to the Millikan carnival on Thursday with a tripod and xl1 (that i had to carry all around campus after renting huh). There was high fructose corn syrup energy in every corner of the school. I was so overwhelmed, I had no idea where to began filming. At first I felt so intrusive, especially when the “popular” kids were giving me “who the hell she” looks. Well I guess I could have replied with “so girls, can I film your who the hell is she looks to become the catalyst for a healthy discourse in my UCLA design for video class where we will critique your insecurities within the larger social constructs of society.” Better not go there, right? I did get some interesting out of focus footage. You see, I am still new to this whole filming thing and there are so many buttons and meters and doodads on that camera that I would rather just push the on button and start rolling. So that is what I did and the quality is sub par.

As I was falling asleep that night I had visions of how this film will work. I don’t want it to look cheesy like a home movie. I want the kids to show their personalities and determination. At this age they are going through so much stress while trying to develop an identity. It is particularly difficult for the ELL kids who are enrolled in separate classes and deprived of the art electives. I was talking to one student, Kevin, as he helped carry around my tripod. He told me with a smile that he was interested in art, design, and acting. He said this with so much confidence and bravado. He added that he needs to get his grades up in ms. R’s class and that he hopes his hard work in my Wednesday design class will help. At that moment I wanted to give him all of the strength and knowledge to succeed. I asked if he would be interested in coming out to UCLA to shadow me throughout the day. I want to see all of them succeed. I want them to understand that they have a leg up on all the people who only know how to speak English. And if they have trouble communicating their ideas and opinions in English they can be master visual communicators.

So here is the idea for my film:

• Take photos of each student with a consistent background.

• Have students typeset an “I am ____ (strong, beautiful, smart)” statement over their photo.

• Have the students hold up their poster as they say this statement in the language they speak at home with their parents.

• Splice each of these shots with images of the students going about their life at school, showing their role in the social constructs of the school.