I hope you are having a productive and exciting start to your school year, and I hope I will see you this November at the
2019 FAEA Annual Conference.
As we begin the busiest time of Hurricane Season, I send you well wishes and the hope that you will find safety and strength through the storms.
Hocus Pocus!
I love studying the etymology (the history and origin of the meaning of words), and recently, I was researching the word
magic.
It got me thinking… You know the days when your lesson is smoothly moving along, students are engaged and inspired, making things that they are invested in, and students are expressing, developing, and exploring ways to solve creative challenges, imagining new approaches? Those are the days when you smile and think, I was born to do this! That is
classroom magic
in action.
When researching the word magic, I found that the origins of the word describe,
“influencing or predicting events,”
and
“producing marvels.”
That sounds like it could be any given moment in a successful and inspired art teacher’s classroom!
Classroom magic
is when we create enchanting experiences for our students (beyond the magical markers). Shakespeare references magic when writing, “a charm of looks,” in
Romeo and Juliet.
I have met those charming art educators that draw their students into a lesson as if they were put under a spell of
classroom magic
more powerful than Harry Potter could cast! Even the magical idea of conjuring (“making something out of nothing”), is something that all art teachers have extensive experience in practicing.
We art teachers are like magicians, transforming students and the world. We definitely have much more than just the sleight of hand, or a few tricks up our sleeves! We are inspiring everyday marvels.
Have a magical school year!
Lark Keeler
FAEA President
