Teacher Buy In

ISL DIXON, 2nd grade | Social Studies & Visual Art

Mr. Marlborough Jr

This semester I had several teachers who had an incredible level of buy-in to KID smART. Some were teachers that have been doing the residency for years, but two were completely first-timers. My two second-grade teachers, Ignacio Melchor and Myrna Ramirez, stepped fully into the co-teaching experience. Both teachers were engaging and thoughtful during the planning sessions, and both actually co-taught with me during the lessons instead of just having me run the show. In particular, I noticed that they were both making the artworks themselves and saving their own. When I asked Nacho why he was interested in participating so much he said that he wanted to make sure that he had the concepts down so that he could properly teach the arts aspects along with the academic ones in future years. This is exactly what we want, for the teachers to feel comfortable teaching the arts alongside the academics even when we are not in the class. I feel totally confident that Nacho and several other teachers are gaining important skills and will not only use what we are presenting, but will also adapt the art content for other lessons. It's amazing to see arts integration being picked up and used so literally by teachers new to the residency!