how to succeed in art school 9and college in general)

[just dave]

I posted this in a long-winded answer to a WC member's question about what to put in a sketchbook for a course in another Forum. I think it might help someone if I posted my thoughts here:

My rules for art school success (the principles apply to all higher education):

Attend each class.
Pay attention in class.
Show respect to your instructor and to the other students
Ask questions and for help when you need to.
Stay and be sure the studio or classroom is straightened up before you leave.
Show some appropriate concern for your instructor as a person.
Finish each project (or the required part of an ongoing work) in turn before the next.
Do each sketchbook assignment before the next class.
If you know in advance you are going to miss a class, tell your instructor as far in advance as you are able.
If you miss a class contact your instructor as soon as you can after the incident and briefly explain why you needed to miss that class. Get the assignment for the session you missed and try to complete it before the next class.
Begin outside projects that are due at the Midterm or Final well ahead of time.
Plan out all of your coursework on the syllabus and schedule it in your student planner book (get one!) along with your busy family and social life.
Complete each assignment even if it is not satisfactory to you. You can go back later in the course and redo it, but an incomplete assignment scores a zero!

To sum up:
If you attend each class, do all of the assignments, and contact the instructor if you have to miss a class, you will get a satisfactory grade for that course! You will show improvement over the time of the course, and your instructor will recognize and reward that.

[Keith Russell]

I posted this in a long-winded answer to a WC member's question about what to put in a sketchbook for a course in another Forum. I think it might help someone if I posted my thoughts here:

My rules for art school success (the principles apply to all higher education):

Attend each class.
Pay attention in class.
Show respect to your instructor and to the other students
Ask questions and for help when you need to.
Stay and be sure the studio or classroom is straightened up before you leave.
Show some appropriate concern for your instructor as a person.
Finish each project (or the required part of an ongoing work) in turn before the next.
Do each sketchbook assignment before the next class.
If you know in advance you are going to miss a class, tell your instructor as far in advance as you are able.
If you miss a class contact your instructor as soon as you can after the incident and briefly explain why you needed to miss that class. Get the assignment for the session you missed and try to complete it before the next class.
Begin outside projects that are due at the Midterm or Final well ahead of time.
Plan out all of your coursework on the syllabus and schedule it in your student planner book (get one!) along with your busy family and social life.
Complete each assignment even if it is not satisfactory to you. You can go back later in the course and redo it, but an incomplete assignment scores a zero!

To sum up:
If you attend each class, do all of the assignments, and contact the instructor if you have to miss a class, you will get a satisfactory grade for that course! You will show improvement over the time of the course, and your instructor will recognize and reward that.

Dave, this is pretty good advice for life, not just school, and certainly not just for art school.

Show up, pay attention, do what is asked of you--on time, have a good attitude, treat others with respect, help clean up, communicate if you're having trouble, give others advance notice when things change--

--sounds good.

K

[just dave]

Yes, Keith, these guidelines, with some modifications, could apply to life outside the college campus.

I am a preschool teacher of four-year-olds; students in their pre-Kindergarten years. For my position those suggestions are modified to become:

Never call in sick if you can report to work, unless you have a condition that is one that requires a child to be excluded from your school. Missing a school day because of being tired or not feeling like working that day is never acceptable. Your co-workers will have to cover because of your poor sense of duty.

Pay attention in staff meetings and during continuing education sessions.

Show respect to your administrators, and to the students and their parents.
Ask questions and for help when you need to.

Stay and be sure the classroom or activity area is straightened up and ready for the next school day before you leave.

Show some appropriate concern for the parents of your students, and for your administrators; for each as a person.

Do not hesitate to apologize if need be. Sometimes that is all a parent wants; an apology, not your head on a platter. Sometimes what you are sorry for is that they are upset.

It is best to discuss a behavior problem or learning deficit with a child's parent sooner rather than later. It's not what you say; it's how you say it.

Take advantage of tuition reimbursement or other educational benefits by taking seminars and courses, but not so many that they negatively affect your school performance and home and family life.

If you know in advance that a parent is likely to make a complaint about your or another staff member, tell your administrator so that s/he will be prepared if that parent does complain.

If you make a serious or noticiable mistake or break a policy speak with your administrator as soon as you can after the incident. Explain what you did and why you did it. Try to provide what you learned from the incident and how you will avoid a similar incident in the future.

Begin developmental assessments that are due htroughout the school year well ahead of time.

Plan out your tasks and reports for the school year ,and schedule these in your academic and personal planner book along with your busy family and social life.

Complete each task you have even if it is not totally satisfactory to you.

Each supervisor, each parent, really only has several items that s/he looks at to determine if what kind of job you are doing in meeting or exceeding your position expectations. These will overlap. If you can find out what those items of importance are, those are upon which towards which most of your efforts should be directed.

With classroom special events, it is important to understand that it is better to do a smaller thing well, then a big thing not as well.

Do not necessarily try to emulate some else's teaching style or classroom organization or management. Yes, you can use others as role models, but try to use your unique strengths and gifts in your classroom. Your students will benefit as will you.

If you have much more experience than some other co-workers who have more education that you do, do not talk about how degrees don't really make a difference in being an effective teacher. If you have more education than some other co-workers who have more experience that you do, do not talk about how many years you've been there doesn't really matter as much as your educational level.

Greet each student and his or her parent (if possible) when they arrive at your classroom door. Integrate the child into the classroom environment; helping him or her to a place to sit if you are in a teacher-directed activity, or into a specific learning center with certain other children.

Hmm...I think I will cross-post these in the Teachers Toolbox Forum.