Hello everybody!!!

I’m Mixifú. I know that you don’t know me but I think that it is time to come to light and appear in this Blog.  Although my contribution to this blog has been passive, I would like to invite you to be part of this free space as I do,  adding comments, thoughts, or point of views. I would be very pleased to read them and know what you think about it.

So, come on! Make your little contribution on it!

See you soon!

LITTLE REFLECTION

I would like to say that during last fourth months in Gent I have had the chance to learn from different experiences I have had. I have brought from my home country a teacher profile that was built with experiences and knowledge acquired in the Basque Country. However, the experiences that I have lived in Gent have been useful to mould and add more abilities to teacher profile. Art Class has been one of those areas where I have had the opportunity to discover new ways to teach in order for children to enjoy, be happy and feel comfortable. During these lessons I could realise the lack of arts children have in education and, if there are, how do we limited their creativity.

I will be infant education teacher and I believe in taking this current situation out of education and implement creativity and arts in my classes. As a teacher, my aim will be children well-being and happiness and I’m convinced that arts will help on this fact.

I will take many ideas back home from this lessons in Art Class as wells as from Gent experience. All these aspects has been useful in order to enrich my knowledge in teaching area, to be happy with what I’m doing, what I’ve done and I will do in a future.

MORE ABOUT GENT

Comparing with the lessons we have had before, this one has been different. We have had the chance to stay outdoors and know more about Gent. Firstly, we have visited the Sint-Baafskathedraal where “Het Lam Gods” was stolen years ago. I have never been inside the cathedral and it has been interesting the activity we have done inside. Based on a card, we have had the challenge to identify something from the cathedral with the card. When I have gone into the cathedral, I’m used to observe different aspects inside and outside the building. However, I think that it has been a useful idea to implement with children. It is a way to make children realise and observe what this historical building deeply.

Afterwards, we have gone to Design museum of Gent. We have had a paper with some questions based on what we can find and discover in the museum. As we could know, this museum is permanent and since January 1999 the accent in the collections and exhibitions lies on 20th century and actual design. I have made a tour through the museum having the opportunity to see a wide variety of artworks. I really like the table that was made by books.

I have also seen the pieces of a vacuum. We are often used to see the final product instead of seen the all process, some notes and drawings of the inventor. In this museum I have the opportunity to see a process of unknown product.

This lesson has been totally different and as far as I concerned it has been inspiration source for ideas to take back home. In my view, outdoors education has wide opportunities to learn and to find examples or ideas to be implemented on education. It is believed that classroom space is the correct place to give lessons and improve children skills as well as acquire knowledge. But, we have to be aware what opportunities we have out of four walls. This lesson was useful to reflect in my home town and think about different spaces and places out of the school children could explore and visit. As regards museums, in Vitoria-Gasteiz we have a wide variety of museums:

• Artium, Basque Museum of Contemporary Art. Source: http://www.artium.org/

• Armory Museum.

• BIBAT. Fournier Playing Card Museum and Museum of Archaeology

 

• Museum of Sacred Art

• Museum of Fine Arts

• Museum of Natural Sciences

• Museum of Lanterns

• Open-air museums.

• Montehermoso

Moreover, in Vitoria-Gasteiz there are many parks you can enjoy nature. The city is surrounded by green files where you can cycle and walk. You can also find these green spaces in the city center as well as in different neighbourhoods. For instance, all this green files are a fantastic information source for children in order to carry out school projects.

In conclusion, I have realise that every teacher has to be conscious positive values and chances outdoor spaces gives to learn and acquire knowledge. I think that is important to feel the reality of the world with our eyes instead of interiorising with computers, television or books. To be honest, I think that the education has to make the step to invest more time in contact with real world.

Furthermore, this lesson has been useful to enhance the importance to the idea of the process. As I have said before, we are used to see the final product almost every time. For example, when we buy food, clothes, books, computers, shoes… We are the ones that buy that product but we do not realise of the process, the changes that products has had before it becomes the element we have bought. From my point of view, in education is the same; the have some challenges and expectations as regards pupils and we only focus on marks, evaluation and what the children is able to do or not. But, when we have taken time to observe how children learn, how they are learning, what techniques and tools they used for that, what ideas they have on their minds.

I will be pre-school teacher and the example is the same. In Basque Country, we have to study four years to become a teacher. I have been in my home country the first two years and a half, whereas I’m finishing the third year here in Gent. Next year is going to be the last year and I will have pre-school teacher degree (final product). However, I’m convinced that my teacher profile will be developing all the time with the experiences, and knowledge I will live during years. I know that my teacher profile has been transforming, shaping and creating since I was born and never will end. So I would like to say that I will never be a product, only a product that will be in a continuous process.

CHILDREN'S CREATION

I have spend two weeks in Methodeschool be Buurt in Gent on a class of 23 children with 4, 5 and 6 years old and two teachers. We propose them the activity that we have made in art class in order to create a comic. In this case, the procedure was the same as in Art lesson, but the final results were used in another way. We propose the children ones they have finished their drawings, we asked them to create a story discussing on their groups and tell the story to the rest of the children.

It was really nice to see the same activity in practice with children. I could also see how they could understand the steps and what they have to do.  We have give them the chance to draw with some materials teachers told us, they are not used to use it even if they have them in class (pastel chalks and crayons).

Material:

Pastel chalks and crayons

 Classroom toy




I could see how the experiment with the material:

 

Process:

This lesson has been wonderful experience to see how children could create their own stories based on their drawings and adding some words which they create personal/group stories. I think that has been an enjoyable time for them, with freedom and happiness. I could have the chance to enjoy and have good time with all of them! I really like it!

COMICS IN CLASS

In this lesson, comics have been the tool to work with. First of all, the teacher has shown us interesting information about “Nello and Patrasche, a dog of flanders” that is an 1872 novel by English author Marie Louise de la Ramée. The story, of English origin, is widely read in Japan, and has been adapted into several films and anime. Even if the novel has been written by English author, the character on the movies were created by Japanese. For instance, if we look at the film we can see that the characters wear traditional Flemish clothes. In contrast to reality that clothes are old-fashion, but a clue and an example for stereotype we have from other cultures and countries.

This reality I also can see in my country. I live in the Basque Country, in northern Spain. In spite of being part of Spain, we have our own language (Basque), that no has similarities with Spanish. Because of this reason, Spanish people have some stereotype of Basque people and culture. A clear example of this is “Ocho apellidos vascos” film. For more details, Emilio Martínez-Lázaro is the director of this film. He was born in 1945 in Madrid and he is a famous Spanish film director.

  
   

 

In this film, the characters are wearing clothes that are “typical” in Basque Country, but not everybody in the Basque Country wear this clothes in their daily live. In conclusion, stereotypes are everywhere in our world.

Furthermore, in this lesson we have learnt a different way to create a comic, taking into account different comics that the teacher brings to the class. First of all, he exposes the material we will use during creation of the comic. Six big paper piece were spread on the class and we made groups of three in each paper piece. After that, everybody chose a figure to be the character of the comic. In our paper we draw something related with our character. We continue the activity going from one paper to the other adding different elements, such as pictures, drawing, letters, significant pictures from the news paper… One we add something to the others paper, we returned back to the initial one. At that point, all the paper was full of drawings and words creating this:

After doing all those steps, it was our turn. Taking into account what we had in our paper, we had to create our comic based on all the elements we could see there.

I have to say that I like this lesson. We have to bear in mind that a lot of children deny their ability to create. In my opinion this activity that I have experiment on, is a wonderful “warming-activity” to flourish their on creativity, without giving chance to think on what they can do or not. Moreover, throughout this activity children will be free to add all the imagination they want, to move around the class, to speak and contrast with their peers. It is a fantastic activity to implement in the class leaving behind those art lessons where the children are sitting in a chair, in front of a table with a marker box, and a white paper.

I could notice MOVEMENT, IMAGINATION and CREATIVITY if I implement in the future with my pupils, and I really like it!