NAEA News, December 2007The focus of our last student edition was the steps to growing your own Student Chapter. This month’s focus is the cultivation and maintenance of your newly founded support system. In many situations starting an organization of your own is just half the battle. The other involves careful planning, consideration and attention to your members. No matter how strong your chapter may appear to be initially, it cannot evolve and mature without your nurturing. Following are some of the steps you and your fellow members can take to make sure that your Student Chapter maintains momentum.
1. Set a date on the calendar. Make it a point to meet with your student chapter at least once a month. Try to set routine meeting dates on the calendar so that it is easy for members to remember to attend. Also try to set at least one social event and/or community service event every other month. Social events help relieve the tension and stress of the everyday. Community service events help members reach out to their broader environment.
2. Meet with your mentor on a regular basis to brainstorm and discuss group successes. Make sure that you are meeting regularly with your mentor at least once a month to talk about the progress of your chapter and future endeavors. Your mentor has the wisdom and knowledge to push and challenge your members to rise to their ability. Look to your mentor as a valuable asset to your group, but do not rely heavily on them for leadership. The leadership of the chapter must come from you!
3. Look for fresh meat. Continue looking for new members that can serve as valuable additions to your chapter. The best places to look for such members are the beginning art education courses in your program. Invite new members to join the NAEA bandwagon and share their fresh and insightful ideas. Put together a presentation that informs potential members of the benefits of NAEA and visit classrooms. New members will be ready and waiting to get involved!
4. Celebrate on a regular basis. Acknowledge members that go above and beyond within your chapter. As you continue to congratulate each other on your successes as individuals and as a group, you will see an ever-growing desire to continue evolving as a team.
5. Keep close ties with your Student Outreach Coordinator. Currently there are two national officers that are ready and waiting to help your growing Student Chapter become successful. These individuals are your go-to people with helpful information direct from the Presidential Team. In charge of the Western Region is Aimee Allen (aims@email.arizona.edu). In charge of the Eastern Region is Sandra Koberlein (skoberlein@msn.com). Send your Student Outreach Coordinator an email every other month detailing the events and growth of your student chapter. Ask your Student Outreach Coordinator to consider you as the focus of a Student Chapter Spotlight. The Spotlight is part of the NAEA Student Chapter eBulletin sent out by the national president. Make your group’s ideas and events known to other chapters across the nation!
6. Share and collaborate. As a chapter, make it your personal goal to attend your state conference, in addition to the national NAEA conference. Attending these events is absolutely crucial to the growth of your chapter. Conferences allow you to share and brainstorm ideas with other chapters across the country.
7. Encourage your leaders to continue with NAEA. For those leaders that take a sincere interest in the advancement of the National Student Chapter, encourage them to run for the national presidency. The national presidential team is constantly on the look out for leaders that have fresh and exciting ideas. Having a member represented on a national stage can also elevate your local chapter to a new level of responsibility.
8. Keep in touch with your alumni. As members begin to graduate from your program, keep their information in a database for future reference. These alumni are potential mentors and guest speakers for your younger members.
9. Keep Up the Energy!
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Hello to my fellow NAEA Student Chapter members! I’m hoping everyone had a wonderful summer break (or at least a calm one), and you’re ready for a bright new start of the school year! To start off on an exciting note, I wanted to share with you my great news! I have just delivered a baby girl in July, and she is the most precious thing! I am amazed with how Mother Nature can give us the ability to create life. I am already excited about her many adventures ahead…her first smiles, first steps, first day of school, and her first art piece (the crayons are already waiting!). Before I blink, she may be going off to college and pursuing her own career path.
After my husband and I brought our bundle of joy home, I began to think about what steps are needed to raise our daughter. With a little anxiety and lots of care, we managed to feed her, change diapers, and set her down for naps. After a few days home, I realized that each of us have approached new steps in our lives with the same emotions and care. Before, during, and even after high school, we make decisions every day, not knowing what steps we may need to take along our paths. If you are reading this column, most likely you decided to take the steps to becoming an art educator, or you’re currently working in a classroom setting now. You ask yourself questions every day about your choices, “Will I be a great teacher?” “Was my lesson appropriate for this age level?”
While we ask ourselves these questions, there are ways to assist those in finding answers and gaining confidence in their work. One factor I had thought about is how current Student Chapter members are also like mothers and fathers. In the beginning of each school year, existing members have the responsibility of welcoming in brand new members and budding student teachers with open minds. Part of an existing member’s responsibility is to welcome new members with open arms and show what resources are available. Here are a few ideas of how this can happen:
Introduce the new students to the mission and purpose of the National Art Education Association. Help them visualize what resources are available for them when they have questions that need to be answered during school and even after graduation.
Show them how to find available resources for lesson plans and project ideas. The ways of finding these resources are numerous! The Student Chapter has many online resources to post your own ideas to share with other members, such as myspace.com, facebook.com, the NAEA Student Chapter blog, and NAEA Vision West.
Invite new members to the state and national conferences. The conferences are available for you to gain a wealth of knowledge and experience for your future career. The NAEA student chapter and state student chapters offer programs and presentations to help student teachers with beginning steps and developing portfolios. There are too many positives about the conferences to list within this little segment!
Introduce ways to work with the community. Invite the new students to participate in fundraisers and volunteer work. Outside activities that help promote art education are excellent points to mark in your resumes when looking for that perfect job. Not only will you learn to work with your surrounding community, but you will also learn ways to fundraise for project materials and art/craft fairs you may want to host within your future schools.
Share your experiences with the new members. Every student walks into college seeking their degree and asking millions of questions about what to do in certain classroom situations. As an alumnus, I have shared stories and experiences of being a traveling art teacher. Like taking baby steps and falling down in the attempt, we all have to learn certain situations by being in the classroom situation ourselves.
Take part in a mentorship program. Having a mentor can help answer many questions and concerns new and existing members may have throughout student teaching. Some Student Chapters have taken advantage of the opportunity offered with the RAEA (Retired Art Educators Association). If your chapter is interested in having a mentor, do not hesitate to contact us at naea_students@yahoo.com. Some school districts also offer mentor/mentee programs for first year teachers. I am also a participant in the program through my school district. I was able to go to my mentor with all questions and concerns that I had, and it helped me throughout my first year of teaching.
As this school year starts, I hope that all new student teachers and chapter members are welcomed with open arms into the art education community. Just remember that you were once in their shoes when you entered the field of art education. And, just as we were once infants, we are now adults taking the steps needed to create our career path. I may still have eighteen years to go with my little girl making her career decisions, but as of now, I will help raise her to the best of my ability. Who knows…maybe she’s a future art educator in training!
Good luck in the beginning of another school year, and welcome to all new members of the National Art Education Association Student Chapter!
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