Yereem Park

I come from a people who are passionate about their work.

I study in a university where people strive to make the world a better place.

I teach young people who want to learn what architecture is about.

I work with teachers who care about quality art education in school and beyond.

I bring to ArtsBridge my knowledge in architecture and my devotion to teaching.

I bring to my classroom a creative atmosphere related to architecture and culture.

Gisella Ferreira

I come from a people who value equality, education, hard work, dreams, and the pursuit of happiness.

I study at a university where people work hard to make things happen.

I teach youth who are filled with talent and understanding of soul. I teach youth who want to express themselves and learn and who desire to share my gift.

I work with teachers who care about their students and believe in their abilities. I work with teachers who values arts in the classroom.

I bring to ArtsBridge smiles, enthusiasm, integrity, my dreams, my love for the arts, and my passion for dance.

I bring to my classroom and open mind, heart, and soul; a smile, music, and my steps.

Jena McRae

I come from a people who
- value artistic expression and unabashed individuality
- live dogs

I study in a university where people
- strive to make change
- sometimes underestimate how privileged they are

I teach young people who want to
- overcome shyness and claim their own agency

I work with teachers who care about
- the future and well being of their students
- challenging those who stand in the way of their student's growth

I bring to ArtsBridge
- energy, new ideas, and compassion for the array of students talents and experiences

Cynthia Wennstrom

I come from a people who grow bananas and potatoes

I study in a university where people frolic in country club beauty

I teach young people who want to dance in their own skins

I work with teachers who care about picking up the phone

I bring to ArtsBridge an open cup

I bring to my classroom pieces of a puzzle.

Leon Hong

I come from a peoplee who look like me.

I study in a university where people are curious.

I teach young people who want to be respected.

I work with teachers who care about people.

I bring to ArtsBridge Leon.

I bring to my classroom my bookshelf.

Amy Chou

I come from a people who:
- cook, photograph, educate, bake
- emphasize the importance of education
- love flowers
- are loud while talking on the phone

I study in a university where people:
- aspire to be artists, educators, I-bankers, anasthesiologists, Taiwanese superstars

I teach young people who want to:
- be an engineer

I work with teachers who care about:
- childhood

I bring to ArtsBridge:
- chalk and fixative

I bring Picasso, Hokusai, and O'Keefe to the classroom.

Muskan Srivastava

I come from a people who eat rice with their hands
I study in a university where people are so many
I teach young people who want to be noticed
I collaborate with teachers who care about providing good resroucces
I bring ME to ArtsBridge
I bring diverisy to UCLA and to mny classroom

Maeven McGovern

I come from a people who have high expectations of me
I study in a university where I sometimes feel very small
I teach young people who are passionate about life
I work with teachers who believe in the pwoer of art
I bring to ArtsBridge my hunger for knowledge and experience
I bring to the classroom my faith in my students

I come from a people who...

The following are is creative writing from the ArtsBridge Scholars based on a list of guiding questions regarding community.

Cynthia

Cynthia

Millikan Middle School
Ms. Poncin’s Class, Per. 3
03-08-07

After class Ms. Poncin and I had a good talk about some of the kids.

Ashley. I’ve always had a difficult time remembering this girl’s name in class. She is always the shy one, but she’s always eager to learn. Her reflections in class are always well thought-out and respectable. She should be in eight grade, but something happened in her family that made her have to live and care for her grandmother. She had to repeat a grade, which places her in 7th grade as of now.

Karla. I have mixed up the names of Ashley and Karla in my head, because they are both so quiet (aka, they’re normal and the other kids talk way too much.) So in class I never call their names out loud, in apprehension that I’ll call them the wrong name by mistake. Karla has “the thing”—the artistic edge that places her just a little bit ahead of the others in class. She painted a blue sea landscape on her own time by taking one of the pieces of canvas paper I brought for another activity and then brought it in to class informally. It was very simple but also very rich in content; she used a variety of blue tones in tandem with a variety of horizontals melting in to each other. It was very beautiful, and she didn’t even know it. Ms. Poncin said “Oh my gosh! How beautiful!” Karla just looked at her in disbelief and with a confused look peeped back, “Really?” She used a lot of concepts we’ve been learning in class about color schemes and composition. She didn’t know that either.


Today we did a critique and historical context of our color wheels. It went ok. The kids talk too much. Most of them are in this class because they have ADHD or some other condition that is preventing them from focusing, which is almost impossible for them to do for a whole class period. Ms. Poncin agrees – with fervor. In addition there are a lot of external distractions that I can avoid. People are always knocking on doors and walking in and out of class. The kids are always finding a way to get up out of their seats. Also, today Ms. Poncin slipped on a chair when she was trying to close the blinds. She hurt her wrist and knee from falling, and it was really hard to concentrate on the lesson when she was in pain. The kids were naturally concerned as well and offered her help, but she refused and said she was fine and that they should concentrate on the lesson. Even I couldn’t concentrate with her sitting on the floor and hurt.

Christian refuses to do anything, and preferred to do his math homework. Ms. Poncin is going to keep his math book and tell both his teacher and his mother that he won’t be able to do his math homework tonight for the reason that he was doing during art class. Gladys and Josh were laughing at nothing, and continued laughing throughout our critique. Half of the class period is spent asking the kids to show some respect and be quiet.

Jasmine always volunteers in discussions. I asked them to describe the color in some paintings according to the things we learned in class. She could talk on and on forever about how it makes her feel or about what she imagines is happening inside the painting, but she can’t answer the question. Ms. Poncin says that she tries so hard to get it right, but is always wrong.

I looked at Ms. Poncin today after class, and noticed that she looked so drained from the kids. Not only does she teach two DRW classes, but she has two regular eight grade classes. She doesn’t have a conference period, and she does tutoring after school. Of everything she does, her DRW classes are the most demanding of her – both physically and mentally – and she will not be doing the program next year. I’m thinking really hard about the teaching profession and how much work it really is. It’s tough just going in once a week for fifty minutes.

Aside from all that serious stuff, I’m glad that I made the kids laugh today, and that I’m at least comfortable with being myself. I always try to start off the lesson with a personal story that connects to the lesson to get the kids engaged in the beginning. Today it backfired because they couldn’t stop laughing at my story about the day I found out my boyfriend is actually a little color blind. But, overall, I think that those kinds of things really help the kids enter a mental space that is conducive to learning the material more.

3rd Class (February 15)

The first thing my class did today was examine a map of the Pacific Ocean. I do not want to doubt my students, but I have to be sure that they are aware of where Tahiti is located on a map. Now I am positive that they know where this dance that I am teaching them comes from. This enhances their geographical awareness.
After warm ups, we watched a video of my dance group perform Mokore’a (the Tahitian dance that I am teaching the class). I wanted them not only to see my group, but to see how the story is portrayed in a live performance with costumes and drummers for an audience. I wanted my students to look at the dancers’ facial expressions and the noises they made while dancing. I was pleased to see the whole class quiet and focused on the television screen. I wanted them to know that I was teaching them the same exact choreography that my group performs. After viewing Mokore’a the class asked to watch my solo performance. By watching my performance I was able to ask them what moves they saw me doing in what variation. Girls raised their hands naming moves I had taught them but explaining how I had changed it or did a different variation of it. Another interesting aspect in watching the film was the fact that I was able to show the diversity of my group. My group has a lot of Filipino, Hawaiian, Samoan, Japanese, Mexican, and even African American dancers. Most of the dancers are mixed. I had my students identify this after watching the film and I think they were surprised to learn that you do not have to be Tahitian to dance the dance.
When we were finished watching the DVD we moved back to the dance floor. The girls were enthusiastic and excited to dance Mokore’a. I really feel that the culture and dance of Tahiti is now coming into context in their brains. My students have now seen and learned what Tahitian dance is. They know where the dance comes from and who performs it. My whole purpose for this class is cultural awareness and respect for diversity. I think we’re slowly getting closer to this thought every week.

On Tuesday, January 23, 2007 I observed Mrs. Diaz's third period drama class at Muir Middle School. As I arrived at the school, I noticed the surroundings of the school, as it is located next to the elementary school. The facilities seem rather old and run down and majority of the student population is of Latino descent or African American descent. As I got there, I noticed that the students had a hard time keeping track of what periods they were suppose to be attending or whether it was nutrition time or not. I was kind of confused as well to learn that during this day the kids would only attend 3 periods from their normal schedules (normal schedule is Thursdays), and depending if it is and odd or even day the periods also change. The school is also run on a track system, so some students go off track while others attend. As I sat in the class, I really liked Mrs. Diaz way of encouraging the kids to follow their dreams in their art forms. I also noticed that the way she disciplined her kids was by telling them that she would call their parents if they did not do something she had asked of them or if they didn't behave. The kids have a lot of talent but they are rather shy and have not yet gained that confidence to know that they are truly talented kids. I enjoyed watching how much they actually enjoy their class and how happy they are to be with one another. Yet observing the class I noticed that only a few selected few got to participate in the class while the others were mostly part of the “audience”. Some kids just seemed to be there, although they paid attention to the play by Lexington Hughes and knew the occurring themes, they seemed like they weren’t engaged as much as they would have like to be. I look forward to working with them, but am kind of hesitant on how receptive they might be to my work because they seem so focused on drama and acting. I believe that they will enjoy being able to be active members of their class rather than just observing while selective few get to shine.

Hoping we all enjoy the blog

I'm very happy for having this space to share our ideas and experiences. Hope to see you all contribuiting for the success of this special space.

Today we began our blogs