My heart for art and creating was very full this weekend. When our kids were young,we had a dedicated art room full of supplies and they were always involved in some sort of art, craft or creative play. Now that they are adults, I love seeing that each of them still enjoys spending time making and doing.
I’m back from vacation and getting ready to travel again. This time I am en route to Cleveland to promote the Being-Visual philosophy on Art Education in a live taping of a segment at Fox 8 Cleveland and to present a speech on “What Every Parent Should Know About their Child’s Education” at the Agnon School.
First stop Fox News. I have been invited to appear on WJW-TV – Fox News in the Morning on Wednesday, October 3. During our session I’ll talk about what it means to be a visual learner, ways your child may be struggling in school and how you can help. I’ll share some ideas for making learning more visual and tactile.
As children we have so many ideas about what we want to be when we grow up. As parents we know our children’s dreams and plans will change as they grow and get to know themselves better. We strive to provide our kids the education and opportunities that will prepare them for whatever they decide to pursue. When children participate in the arts, music, dance or the visual arts, it’s not necessarily because they’ll be artists as adults – but because it’s key to a rich educational experience.
A few years ago I met Barb, a high school special education teacher. Barb had heard about Young Rembrandts and wondered how her special needs students would respond to our step-by-step method of teaching art. After some conversation about her students’ needs and our philosophy, we agreed to teach a series of four weekly classes. The classes surpassed all of our expectations. The students were fully engaged, successfully completed every drawing and were pleased to have been participants in art class. In Chapter Five of Being Visual, I share details about the initial fears of the teaching assistants, the experiences in the classrooms, our observations and our teaching method.
In my book, Being Visual, I talk a lot about learning styles. When visual people listen to information or read, it helps to have something to look at. So for those of you who are visual and may be tired of reading all this information on what it means to be a visual learner – here’s […]
Yesterday, as I watched our local Independence Day parade and delighted in the colorful fireworks, I thought about some of the attributes that have helped shape our nation. Before and after we became the United States of America, we were blessed with remarkable men and women of vision, fierce determination and persistence. Long before there […]
I just returned from my printer after picking up a couple hundred copies of my book, Being Visual. Well, it’s not the real book — but the 95% version — the galley. But it looks like a book, smells like a book and feels like the real book. The galleys are the almost, almost, so very close version of a book. It’s the last stage before the absolute final edits, the version sent to magazine editors, media and reviewers. And while I am excited about being at the 95% stage, I am a bit in awe.
With the state of the current economy, what’s it going to take to keep our future generation in the game? Current employers aren’t seeking out industry knowledge or a high GPA as much as they used to. In the 21st century, the importance lies with being an independent multi-tasker who can think on her feet, deal with change, and devise multiple solutions to a problem that hasn’t yet happened.
Let’s take a trip down memory lane to our 9th grade English class. You’re discussing Great Expectations. The teacher is reading excerpts that correlate with the notes she has on the board. Your assignment is to copy the notes, read the excerpts for homework and study the notes for a quiz the following day. Have we lost you yet?
As your child moves through her scholastic experience, chances are her favorite class will vary from year to year depending on changing interests. However, depending on her learning style, certain aspects of each class may always appeal to her. If you have a kinesthetic learner, gym class may jump start his engine each day. Your visual learner will favor any class that uses lots of pictures, videos and objects. Your auditory learner will like reading and algebra because she’s comfortable with words and logical processes to reach her answer.
