First outdoor crit

Time is really moving fast as it always seems to. The current unit is coming to a close and spring break is a week away. Some how, some way I got through my first round of critiques without incident. We didn't have any arguments and not a tear was shed. There were only one or two students that did not get a chance to hear feedback because we ran out of time. Talking about art in a positive way is a specialty of mine and that's what I expected from them. Their performance was exemplory, so much so that critiques ran long. I think it is a sign of a good critique when the entire time is filled. I wanted contributions from every student, which did not happen. The quiet ones were not disruptive in any way; they just didn't feel like talking. That does not mean they weren't listening and getting something from it. I will generate ideas for activities on how to enhance participation in the future.

Wednesday was not the first, but one of the first days of splendid weather we have had so I decided to take a gamble by bringing one of my classes outside for their critique. I just could not help myself. It was as if I had some unseen force dragging me out of the building. We lined the paintings up on a short concrete wall that runs along the sidewalk on Talbott just yards from 16th Street. It was surreal to be conducting a class on the street corner where I used to live and have walked my dog so many times. The students as you might expect were beginning to get a little bit squirrely and distracted. I had to seperate a couple of them, but overall it went well. They knew if it did not go well that would cancel any future outdoor excursions. 

As we were renentering the building a stranger on a bike who had been observing our critique, stopped one of my students (one of my former students from CHC). He wanted to give her kudos on her still life painting. The rest of my class was already walking in the door ahead of us and there was about two minutes before the last bell, so I had to cut him off. I did so without being rude. He was pleasant, but we did not know him and safety is my number one priority. This reminded me that teaching in an urban setting is different from teaching in a suburban one. Our campus is secure, but being downtown, there are strange people out and about every day and that is something to be aware of.