Gird Your Loins...

...the students come back tomorrow morning!
New names, new faces, new opportunities.

As I look over my class lists, (yes, we finally got our schedules) I see mostly upperclassmen; juniors and seniors.
Normally, I would be pleased to see no freshmen on my roster, since usually those are the students who, due to lack of maturity, are the most challenging. However, today it hit me...when I just teach 11th and 12th graders, I only get to watch them develop their talents over a relatively short period of time. I miss out on the chance to discover emerging talent and develop it for the four year length of a high school career.
I guess I'm not very easy to satisfy.

To make up for the lack of arts education in the 9th and 10th grades, Lane Cooper (who teaches at the Cleveland Institute of Art) and I discussed integrating arts into several of the academic classes by bringing in artists in residence from the Institute to develop units with some of the academic teachers that will incorporate both art and academic standards. We also discussed the possibilities of initiating conversation between the robotics staffs from both schools.

I am very lucky to work with teachers who welcome new strategies. Max Hayes High School is also very fortunate to have CIA as our cultural partner.

There is nothing more satisfying than sitting down with a group of people, presenting an idea and hearing them say, "We can do that!" " How about bringing in ___?" " And what if we tried____?" "What do you think of___?" " I could____." and" That'll work."

Despite all of the troubles the district is having financially, this is going to be one amazing year at Max Hayes.
Arts integration is becoming a reality across the entire curriculum; the manufacturing trades, technology, and academic.

I wonder if there is any other high school program, anywhere, doing what we are.