An Uphill Battle: A Poem for Reformists

It's going to be an uphill battle,

But I would never guessed it to be - 

As I was brought to the world of helping others

By those as curious and as passionate as me.

But I need to fight through each grueling step.

I need to help the naysayers learn to say "yes".

I will push my way into the light.

I will live in a world where the future is bright.

It's going to be an uphill battle,

And I don't have much choice

Because somewhere, out there,

A confused child is waiting for me to be their voice.

As many of you know, my truest and deepest passion lies with educating children. My goal in life is to repair the broken American Education System, even if only for the 30 kids in my class every year. 

I always assumed everyone I met would agree and support my decisions as a teacher. Who wouldn't want to do what is scientifically proven to be the best thing for their children? Yet, as I continue to go through my pre-service training, the more apparent it becomes that that is a lie.

I will have to fight, tooth and nail, to support the children that I love, the children that have yet to even be conceived. 

I wrote this brief poem after a very emotional encounter that reminded me of this fact. I will constantly be fighting for my students, and they cannot afford for me to give up.

Bill Cunningham

It is strange, really, to give thought to inspiration? Where does it come from? Why is it that when it hits us, it consumes us, like a fire ready to set our very souls aflame?

I just had the pleasure of watching Bill Cunningham New York - an amazing documentary based on the humble photographer who had a passion for fashion. He never paid any attention to his own material world, instead he lived through the fabric expression of others.

As soon as the film ended, I looked Bill up on Facebook, and was deeply saddened to find he had passed away this past summer at 87 years young. I wish I could have met him. I wish I could have followed him around for a day, much like to documentary crew. I would bask in his infinite wisdom of the craft, of human nature, of mindfulness, and of New York City.

Even from spending an hour and a half with his story, I have felt a reawakening of my creative urge - my hunger to use my many crafts to connect with the Spirit of the Universe that binds every human, animal, plant, building, atom, together.

Thank You, Mr. Cunningham.

I Need a Class

I never had a class on how to interact;

Never learned the protocol for when 

I am completely lost.

What do I say when my

Friends all talk about sex

And I am the only virgin in the room?

When is it ok

To start swearing in front

Of someone else's parents?

How far is too far

When teasing friends?

And then there's texting.

That would need an

Entirely OTHER course.

Why is adding a period

To the end of a sentence

So final?

What does that

Smiley face even mean?

Is that sarcastic?

If you were right next to me,

We wouldn't have this

Problem.

I don't REALLY know

What to do when

Someone starts crying.

I can't seem to laugh

At the right times,

For the right length.

I can never decide

When someone wants

A hug or a cuddle.

I can never

Convey that I

Always want it.

I can't seem to differentiate

The difference between 

Being Mom

and

Being a caring friend.

I can't tell if he likes me

Or

My vagina.

I can never decide

If he is

Gay or not.

I'm an awful good student.

I have A's in every class.

I think my life would be a lot

Better if someone

Taught me how to interact.

"Words"

- Translations courtesy to the internet -
Do you like this drawing? Would you like a similar one? Message me or comment below!

By Bird

Things I Love

What inspires me?

As a project for class, we had to share things that inspired us

• Slip by PhillipChbeeb & Renee Kester
• “I’m a sharing addict...There is always a moment of extreme bravery involved in this question:...will you look?...This impulse to connect the dots - and to share what you have connected - is the urge that makes you an artist. If you’re using words or symbols to connect the dots, whether you’re a professional artist or not, you are an artistic force in the world”.
  (The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer, pg 16-17)
• Sonic Arboretum by Andrew Bird
• “Those who ask without fear learn to say two things, with or without words, to those they are facing:
  I deserve to ask
  And
  You are welcome to say no.
  (The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer, pg 303)
• Arts Integration for Deeper Learning in Middle School
• “Suitcases are interesting.”
  -Olivia B.
• Student: “Are you a slave driver?”
  Aid: “Worse. She’s a teacher.”
• “Warm-ups get us out of where we were into where we are.”
  -Suzanne H.

A Lesson in a Bird's Creativity

A Lesson Plan

Background: For this Special Topics Theater Course that I created this blog for, I had to present my independent project at the end of the semester. Seeing my project is sort of all over the place (as can be seen in my previous posts), I needed a way to find a way to unify everything for my presentation. Being a theater and childhood education major, one of the most common ways I express my creativity is through the art of lesson planning. So, I decided to create an interactive "lesson plan" for my classmates to partake in which will (hopefully) demonstrate the evolution of my creativity, as it has grown this semester.

Essential Question(s):

     What is creativity?

     How has Bird's creativity evolved throughout the Spring of 2016, due to her enrollment in TH291?

Learning Goals:

     Students will be able to:

         1. Understand how creativity is defined differently for different people

         2. Understand the importance that inspiration can play in creativity

         3. Understand Bird's process of creativity throughout the semester

Do Now:

     Think-Pair-Share:

           Students will brainstorm working definitions of "artist" and "creativity"

      How does our definitions of artist and creator differ? How are the similar?

Learning Activity:

     Human Machine - each student creates a movement and a sound, as all the students begin to group together, a "machine" is created that could serve a direct output.

     Our machine will operate using students' unique movements paired with the instructors words which define art as an act of negative energy, and again as an act of positive energy. After each circulation of the machine, Bird will read a piece she created using negative and confused energy, and then a piece she created using positive energy. Therefore making the machine's output her work throughout the semester.

Materials:

• Index cards for students to write their definitions on (one for each student)
• Index cards that have a negative word in blue and a positive word in red (one for each student)
• Print out of a piece that was created negatively
• Print out of a piece created positively

Assessment/Debrief:

     Together, the class should discuss their feelings toward each piece (being unafraid of offending the artist) after each machine cycle. 

     How does this piece make you feel?

     How do you think it would feel to create something like this?

     Which piece to you like more? Why?

A Walk in the Park

A Walk Through Central Park

October 2015

By Bird