Is your school safe for all students?

The Artdog Quote(s) of the Week

This has been a very "full" month, but the teacher in me just couldn't let Pride Month pass without at least one post! Also, I did an analysis recently, and realized I haven't been writing about this topic nearly often enough! So I'm brushing off my "teacher hat" to ask: is your school safe for ALL students?

No, gun violence, frightening as it is, isn't my "safe schools" topic for today. That's because it's not the only--or at all the most prevalent--life-threatening hazard lurking in today's schools. Yes, life-threatening. Have you seen the suicide numbers? 

Even when they aren't killing themselves in despair, LGBTQIA+ Youth too often face a drumbeat of hatred, denigration and even outright violence every day, in school, at home, or on the street. That'll wear a person down real fast. Especially when they're still just beginning to figure out who they are.

An ongoing battle

Creating safe spaces for these kids is an ongoing and age-old battle. My art teacher mother fought to protect her LGBT students back when I was a kid. I did all I could to make my classrooms safe zones. But as long as there's ignorance, intolerance, and hatred being taught, teachers who are allies are the first, and absolutely critical, line of defense.

I hate to admit that not all educators feel this way. Not all classrooms are safe. very few schools are safe. All too few bathrooms are safe, for pity's sake! Couldn't they at least relax in the bathroom?? But no. Between the bigots, the fearmongers, and the misguided, bathrooms are certainly not safe.

I long for a time when every student, regardless of gender identity, can receive this message (I love that it's inside a color wheel, one of the art teacher's most important tools). I'm not alone in wanting this kind of respect for all students. But the other allies and I need a lot more company to make this message completely ring true.

IMAGE CREDITS: Many thanks to Instazu and #transgenderpride's Instagram feed for the Explanation-of-Gay-Pride image (totally nailed it); to GLSEN (the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network) via Autostraddle, for the infographic image on verbal and psychological harassment in schools; to NCTE, the National Council of Teachers of English, for the quote from their advisory committee; and to TeachersPayTeachers, for the classroom poster design offering words of hope and encouragement.

Kids reading to dogs benefits DOGs, too!

A few weeks ago, I posted an article, Canine reading tutors, about the growing popularity of using therapy dogs to boost children's literacy.

Kids who read aloud to dogs never get corrected when they say a word wrong or spend time puzzling over it, and they never get hurried up if they read slowly. Instead, the dog lies next to them, warm and reassuring, and always seems to like being read to. It's a great confidence-builder.

But could it also benefit the dogs? Perhaps surprisingly--yes! Last March, NBC News featured a story about a new idea in a St. Louis animal shelter. Kids read to dogs in the shelter, to help calm and socialize the dogs. I'm sure the extra practice didn't hurt the kids any, either.

Here's a video that tells a bit more about the program:



The human-canine bond is an old and mutually-beneficial one, as I've written before. I don't know about you, but I loved seeing another way in which that connection is still going strong, after all these millennia. I'd also like to thank The Dodo, for its feature on this program. I happened upon this story there, first.

IMAGES: many thanks to the Huffington Post for the photo of the little girl reading to the dog, and to NBC News for the photo of the girl and the shelter dog, and YouTube, for the video about the program.

Intergenerational magic

This week's Artdog Image(s) of Interest: 
Elders and elementary kids, reading together: bridge-building between generations helps all parties.

The "loneliness epidemic" in our society is well-documented--we may have instant communication, but "proximity, as city dwellers know, does not necessarily mean intimacy," Olivia Laing noted in her article, "The Future of Loneliness," in The Guardian. And loneliness hits older people hardest of all.

But I would argue that the divide hurts the younger generation, too. Divorce and separation of families to far parts of the country can disconnect grandparent-child relationships, robbing the younger generation of chances for unconditional love and a healthy perspective on aging. People deprived of experiences with stable, loving elders may grow up without empathy or compassion for the lives and value of older people, and they also may live in needless terror of aging.

All across the country, a variety of programs have developed to match elder volunteers with preschool and elementary children, often most explicitly in support of the children's literacy--but with a broad range of "add-on" values as side effects. I can only hope this trend prospers and grows!

IMAGES: Many thanks to Native News 2014,  The Un-Retired, and Move With Balance Youth Programs for the images on this post. 

World's best Kindergarten? Maybe so.

Perhaps you've heard about Fuji Kindergarten. I first learned about it from a YouTube video I no longer can find--but it's an amazing school, and a fascinating concept.

Listen to a 2014 TED Talk by its architect creator, Takaharu Tezuka, as he explains his concept:



The Montessori approach of the educators fits well with the open classrooms and the children's freedom of movement.

One favorite activity at Fuji School is climbing on the tree with the cargo nets. 

This play area was built after the school was completed in 2007, but uses many compatible ideas.

The deck is a prominent part of the school's design. The kids love to run there, but the government did require protective railings--no, school officials were told, they couldn't put up nets around the edges instead.

Here's a glimpse of the open classroom design of the school. Architect Tezuka asserts that the noise is healthy for small children. As a teacher who's had to teach in noisy conditions, I'm less sure about that (of course, I was teaching high school, so that may be different).

The school also was profiled by the international Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Monocle Magazine's Asia Bureau Chief Fiona Wilson (don't miss the video she narrates), and many others.

VIDEOS AND IMAGES: Many thanks to YouTube for the TED Talk video and images of the tree, and the play area.  The aerial view of the deck is from Upworthy, and the photo of the open classrooms is from Detail Inspiration. Fascinating articles and more photos are available from most of these. Many thanks to all!

Poverty's cure?

The Artdog Quote of the Week

John Legend thinks schools should nurture all of children's talents, and empower them to be creative.

Singer-songwriter and actor John Legend has had an amazing career, but he feels if he'd had an education that valued and nurtured his creative talents his life might have gone much better. If every child's greatest potential could be activated and empowered, it seems reasonable to believe that poverty could decrease.

"We must break the long-held expectation that schools exist to mold and manage kids," he said in a CNN interview. "In today's world, expecting every child's education to be the same, progress at the same rate and be measured against the same narrow standards of performances is not just outdated, it's a disservice to young people and the educators who dedicate their lives to helping them."

This month we'll look at some of the ways innovative schools and educators are trying to break out of that old-fashioned paradigm.

IMAGE: Many thanks to A-Z Quotes, via Hippoquotes, for this image. 

Curl up to read in the Enchanted Forest

This week's Artdog Image of Interest

Unfortunately, they don't seem to make these big-people-sized . . .

Photo by Zane Williams of The Kubala Washatko Architects, Inc.

These "reading pods" are part of a nature-inspired reading area at the Madison Children's Museum (Madison, WI).

But the awesome coolness doesn't stop there. Designed by The Kubala Washatko Architects, Inc. to repurpose an old office building, this museum is vibrant with creative enrichment.

Learning through play is the guiding theme for areas such as the Art Studio, Log Cabin, Possible-opolis, Wildernest, and many others.

Wander through the museum's website for more fun and inspiration. Better yet--if you're ever in Madison, WI, wander through their museum. Many of the areas are marked "All Ages." I hope they mean that! :-)

IMAGE: Many thanks to The Kubala Washatko Architects, Inc. for providing this photo, and to BuzzFeed for posting an article about it. Many thanks to the Madison Children's Museum for offering such a wonderful learning place!