Whole Teacher Whole Community
an Art Activity Booklet for WholeCommunityKY.com members
Table of Contents About i
part 1 1 Describe your Best Self
ACTIONS vs QUESTIONS
1
2
Day-to-Day ACTIONS 3 Day-to-Day QUESTIONS
5
part 2 7 Compare 7 Write Songs
Agreements
Share & Thank You!
9 - 12
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About
Whole Teacher Whole Community
WholeCommunityKY.com is an online community created for Kentucky Educators through a collaboration between IDEAS xLab, Louisville artist Todd C. Smith, and the Garrett County, Maryland Public Health Department! The website is designed as a resource for active and retired teachers to stay connected, to collaborate, and to increase their sense of belonging through participation and creativity. In these pages you will examine the actions and questions you experience day to day that directly impact your layered communities: yourself, your students and their parents, your school, your friends & family, and your larger community. Then through creative visualizations and guided song writing, you will discover your true impact. The workbook will conclude by developing a set of agreements with your layered communities.
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part
Best Self
Who are you when you are your Best Self? On the next page describe
Where you are... Who you are with... What’s around you... What your feelings are... What your actions are...
Close your eyes and picture it. Be descriptive.
1
day to day What we think we do versus what we actually do can be very different. In this activity you will try to list the actions you take everyday that impact those around you. Then you will try to list all the questions you are asked from those same people.
actions vs
questions Take a minute, close your eyes, and put yourself at the beginning of an average day. A day you interact with Your students Their parents Your school Your friends & family & your community
2
actions
workpage
Now that you’ve gone through this average day, what did you do for yourself? For others? Think about the actions you take to impact and serve the following groups For myself For my students For their parents For your school For friends & family For my community Write them on the following pages. You may list, word cloud, mind map, or however you wish.
3
workpage
4
questions
workpage
What we actually do day to day comes from our response to the questions we receive from those around us. Think back to the common questions you are asked by the following groups From myself From my students From their parents From your school From friends & family From my community
Write them on the following pages then circle repeating questions by different groups.
5
workpage
6
part
compare
Now that you have written your actions and questions, let’s take a moment to answer those questions. Write a list of ways you respond to the questions. Then compare them to your actions list. There might be some crossover.
Star the new actions.
7
workpage
8
write a song Now let’s take those questions and actions to write a song.
workpage
Follow this simple formula and feel free to rearrange or reword phrases to help the song rhyme or flow.
Question from students action, action Question from parents action, action Question I ask myself Question I ask myself Question from school action, action Question from family action, action Question from community Question from community
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workpage
10
write another This time, let’s change up the structure.
work page
Action (page 3) New action (page 7) Question from students Action New action Question from parents Action New action Question from friend Action New action Question from community New action New action New action New action
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workpage
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agreements Now that you’ve explored all the ways you impact those around you. Take a moment to think about those relationships. What are the obligations we are agreeing to? What are the obligations we are owed? Between the individuals, groups, and institutions you participate in, try to write out the reciprocal understandings, obligations & boundaries between the following 6 groups. Use the next page to describe these 6 agreements.
myself my students their parents my school my friends & family my community
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Share! Visit WholeCommunityKY.com and share your creations! Join the Art Activity Group and upload your drawings and songs. Even better, record yourself singing your song and share them by posting in the group forum! Don’t forget to continue to answer the daily survey questions on the site.
Thank you for your participation!
thank you!
ABOUT the ARTIST Todd C. Smith is an artist and educator whose work considers our collective impact on, and connection to, the environment.
Projects range from communitybased, data-driven projects interpreting bike usage into sound, photography and video series exploring human movement through urban structures and green spaces, and interactive sculptures that vary in their use of found materials, analog technologies, and emerging digital media. Whole Teacher, Whole Community and the Kentucky Artist Innovator in Health Residency are made possible with support from the National Endowment for the Arts and a County Health Rankings & Roadmaps Community Collaborative Learning Fund award.
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