...

I feel a bit like Woody Allen right now, winning an award and failing to show up to accept it or thank those who made it happen (that's a Golden Globes reference right there, and not a very good one). As I'm sure you all know, Jessica from The Art of Education announced the winners for the 2011 Art Ed Blog of the Year AGES ago. And yet you haven't heard a peep from me about it yet. FAIL. (Do people still say that?)

I have an excuse though, and I'll let you be the judges on whether or not it's a good one... You see, right after the nominees were announced, my Bug-a-bug (that would be my baby) and I were struck down with colds. They lasted for a full week. Actually, mine lasted longer than hers. It was rough. We weren't sleeping, we were all sorts of snotty and I lost my voice for five days. I understand that none of those things have anything to do with my ability to type, except that they do. To add to this sob story, my Bug hasn't been sleeping well lately, and I've been suffering from headaches for a good month or so. But enough about my recent woes.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for voting. I'm continuously amazed that anyone even reads this blog, let alone thinks it's worthy enough for a Blog of the Year title. Back when I started ATHG, well, it was called something else back then, but back when I started it I had visions of filling my blog with original lesson plans, student artwork and all sorts of fun glittery things. Obviously it evolved into something entirely different.

I was working as a graduate assistant in an art education department at a university, and it aggravated me to no end that the undergrads were being regaled with tales of rainbows and unicorns. They were being taught how to write good, solid lesson plans, of which they practiced teaching on each other, all the while under the impression that that was all there was to being a good art teacher. As long as you went in armed with a well-written lesson plan that met your state's standards, you were good to go. Ha!

ATHG became a place where I wanted to set the record straight. The thing is though, I never told anyone about it. I never anticipated that people would actually be interested in reading about the snark I spew. Funny story, when Jessica announced the nominees, I decided it was time to fess up, and I took to my personal facebook page to confess that I wrote a little blog called Art Teachers Hate Glitter, and could you please go vote for it, blah, blah, blah. I was surprised by how many people who knew me in real life had come across ATHG one way or another, enjoyed it, and had no idea I was the T behind the blog.

At any rate, thank you, and I'm sorry for not addressing this sooner. I am thrilled that, with all the great art teacher blogs out there with real art teacher content, you all not only enjoy this blog, but based on the comments and emails I receive, you relate to it as well. In the lonely land of the art room, it's good to know you're not alone.

Aw, Shucks.

Oh, geez. Where do I begin?

Today I was out and about with Mr. ATHG and Baby ATHG (I was getting my hair cut for the first time in almost two years, if you must know) when I received an email notification on my smartphone. We were in a busy, unfamiliar mall, and as a self-proclaimed Queen of klutzes, I try to avoid making the maneuvering of crowds and obstacles any more difficult, so I only briefly scanned the email... Jessica... Art Ed Blog... nominated... voting... *SMASH, CRASH, BANG* Okay, well maybe that's not how it ended, but when I was comfortably seated in the safety of my car, I actually read the entire email and low and behold, I was nominated for an award! And not just any award, but an Art Ed Blog of the Year Award! Here's the skinny...

Jessica over at The Art of Education informed me that my blog has been selected as one of the finalists to win "Art Ed Blog of the Year!" Holy sch-moly! I am just blown away by this. My snarky little blog was nominated along with some other fabulous art ed blogs that actually feature lesson plans and student artwork. Blogs that you can actually peruse and take something away from. Ideas... tips... inspiration... And all I do is clamor on about how misunderstood art teachers are. But there you have it. I was included on a list of some pretty phenomenal and successful blogs, and I am truly honored.

Now I'm sure you all probably follow most, if not all of the blogs nominated, so you've most likely already heard that you get to help select the top 10 blogs. All you have to do is wander over here: VOTE VOTE VOTE. You're permitted to vote for as many or as few of the blogs as you want, and I hope that you will be so kind as to include this little ole blog in your selection. It would be a great birthday present. 

Thank you everyone for all your support, encouragement and comments.  

(Voting closes January 20th and the winners will be announced January 21st)

"You have to do the things real teachers do too?"

Yes, this question was asked of me the other day. I was conversing with my daycare provider about my job, and we got on the topic of bus duty and my lack of planning/prep time and she was genuinely surprised that I had to do the work that real teachers do. I don't know if she meant because I'm an art teacher or because I'm part-time (English isn't her first language), but either way, it still stung a bit. Yes, art teachers plan and prep, and yes, even though I'm only part-time, I still have to plan and prep. Gee, some people sure don't get it, do they?

(This photo obviously has nothing to do with this post, but I just had to share. This is the reason I only work part-time, and this is the reason, despite the fact that I love my job, why I wish I didn't work at all sometimes. And in case you don't know what you're looking at, that's a cloth diapered baby wearing leg warmers and a onesie.)

It's All On Your Head. I Mean "In". It's All In Your Head.

As the cold weather approaches, you know, in the back of your mind, they're coming. In the warmer months you managed to have forgotten about them, but now as the air is chilling, the noses are running and the, um, hands are scratching, it all comes barreling forward to occupy your every thought. It starts out innocently enough; you spot a little scratching here and a little itching there. Then it escalates to a few overheard whispers in the hallway. You wander past the nurses office and notice an unusual increase in traffic. But you don't think too much about it because you don't recognize these kids; they're not your students. And then it happens. You're taking attendance one day, and when you get to little Susie, her classmates blurt out, "she's in the nurses office." "Oh, okay," you reply. "She..." the students begin. "I don't need to know why," you explain, for the millionth time. But they finish anyways, "... thinks she has head lice." You freeze, your hand hovering over your clipboard as you're about to mark poor little Susie absent. Head lice? HEAD LICE?! You frantically scan the students seated in front of you. Did that kid just wiggle? You catch something out of the corner of your eye. What was that? You whip your head to the left convinced you just saw Timmy scratch his head. Your eyes get squinty as you study the little squirming, bug infested, rugrats in front of you. Reluctantly you proceed with class, but you're watching, oh yes, you are watching, and waiting, waiting for the itching that doesn't quit.

It starts with a little twinge. A small little tickle on the top of your head. You automatically scratch it, with barely a thought. But then it happens again, and you know. YOU KNOW. It's got to be lice. You replay your day over in your head, panicking and wondering, "Did I hug any kids today?" "Did I bend over when I helped them?" "Did I let my head get too close to theirs?" Did I let my head get lower than theirs?" "Lice jump up, right?" You try to stay calm. Act normal. Carry on. You try not to let the kids see you scratching. You ignore the students' stares as you try to help Billy draw from across the classroom, with your pencil attached to a 10-foot pole. "What? This is how I always do it." Geez, kids these days. They don't pay attention to anything.

As the clock ticks away, you wonder why little Susie hasn't returned to class. You wonder why the nurse hasn't called, asking you to start sending students down, two by two. Finally, the students' teacher shows up, but Susie is still nowhere to be seen. You ponder whether or not it would be professional to inquire about her. Then you silently curse the teacher for not even thinking that head lice might be something you would like to know about. You kick yourself for not getting that haircut you've been meaning to get for weeks. With visions of tiny combs and special shampoos, you head home at the end of the day, your scalp tingling with paranoia. Later on in the bathroom you'll carefully sift through your hair, strand by strand, searching, fearing, but dammit! The sink is in your way and you just can't quite get close enough to the mirror. As you crawl into bed, your mind boggled with the thoughts of laundry and vacuuming, you wonder if you should visit the nurse yourself the following morning, just in case, and let her pick through your hair with her chopsticks of judgement. As you turn off your light, you can't help but think, "I bet real professionals don't have to worry about head lice."

A New Year a New Site

I don't know if you've noticed yet, but I made those site changes that I promised. I'm not 100% satisfied with it yet as there are still a lot of things I'd like to tweak (for example, font size, the appearance of comments, margins and I'd like to figure out why my posts aren't lining up correctly on the homepage). I'd also like to add more sidebar content and possibly play around with my colors and borders. In other words, I'm a perfectionist and now that I've decided to put some thought into this blog design, I'll probably never be happy with it. At any rate, I'd love your honest opinion about it. I often think the old style was better, but I also wanted something more readable and "magazine"-like. I have a couple of polls set up in the sidebar, so please take a moment to leave feedback. If you want to leave more than what the polls have to offer, feel free to email me (link at the top of the sidebar) or leave a comment. And don't be shy. Like I said, I'm not totally sold on this design and would like your honest opinions.

I hope you all enjoyed your vacation and that your 2012 is off to a great start!