Swedish Teacher Interview

1. What made you want to teach art? How long have you been teaching?

a.     I have always been interested in art, my plan was to be a photographer, but I couldn’t see how you could do that one thing for the rest of your life. So I then switched to becoming a designer, and in doing that I studied the history of art, and then realized that I enjoyed being around people. I finally decided that it was time to make a decision on what I wanted to do, so I decided to start working toward a teaching degree, which took me five years. I have been teaching for 23 years.

2. What is your favorite part about teaching?

a.     It changes all the time. I really enjoy when the kids are working hard, and are hungry for knowledge. Also when the students enjoy what they are doing, and when you are able to motivate a student.

3.     What Kinds of art do you create? Which is your favorite?

a.     It also changes! I really enjoy three-dimensional art, working with clay, design, printing, and photography.

4.     What are some of the requirements that you need to be a teacher in Sweden?

a.     You need 12 years of regular schooling, and you don’t need to take any test to become a teacher. When I first wanted to become a teacher I needed to take a test, and present a portfolio of my work. It also differs with each subject, you also need to be able to teach two subject not just one. The music teacher here teaches Music and Swedish classes.

5.     What types of art do you focus on here in Sweden?

a.     All types. The students must develop lots of projects. The digital media is getting bigger in a lot of schools, which is very different for me, because I am not used to that media as much. Also if students choose to focus on one type of media they can in the students choice class. It is very similar to an independent study class. There is also a lot of focus on reflecting on what you did and why you did it.

6.     If you could change one thing in the art curriculum what would you change and why?

a.     I would change the class sizes not too big, but not too small with about 20 students in each room. Also if there were two art teachers in the classroom. Also to have an area or a room that helps support what you are teaching, (the art room in the school is too small and there is not a lot of room to do all different types of art) I would also like more opportunities to work with other subjects (interdisciplinary).

7.     How important do you think art is in schools here? How do other people feel about art in schools in Sweden?

a.      Some people don’t see it as important, even though the Swedish education system says that all subjects are equal. Some schools don’t view all subjects as equal; they see math, Swedish, and English being the most important, and art not so much. However students need to pass 8 subjects each year to move onto the next grade.

   8.     How do teachers here feel about the changes being made?

a.     They don’t feel happy, the salaries are still too low; I am still paying back my student loans. Also now teachers need to get special licenses to become or to stay teachers. There is also less time to plan and meet with other teachers. There is also too much administration work that the teachers have to do which eaves less time for planning.

    9.  What do you know about the American school system?

a.     You work very fast! Students get to be more selective on what they want to do. You also have to pay for lunch while it is free for students here in Sweden. Here is a lot of focus on sports and extra activities, and the rules for education differ from state to state while here in Sweden it is the same for the whole country. There are also more opportunities to homeschool children in the US.

This interview was really great to do with a teacher that has been teaching for a long time, because I have only worked with younger teachers who have been teaching for six years.  Also being in the classroom with my teacher has given me a lot of time to reflect on where I want to be as a teacher in 20 years. I noticed a lot of similarities between my teacher and myself; she is a huge activist for interdisciplinary teaching, which is what I have been trying to incorporate more into my teaching. For example here in Sweden the project that I introduced to my students required some writing, so we got in touch with the English teachers to see if we could work with them so that the students could write about their art in English. Overall this experience has been amazing, and I have learned so much I can’t wait to take what I have learned here and apply it to my teaching in the US.

Project exchange

Here is a presentation summarizing my project between the US and Sweden!

http://prezi.com/yzhj6nkckeqy/present/?auth_key=cvom91r&follow=kipu29lmgh03

First lesson!

Today I taught my first lesson in Sweden! It was both scary and exciting! I can't wait to teach more!! Also today my university teacher visited me. He gave me some good points on what I need to improve on when it comes to teaching. Also the project that the students are currently working on is the project exchange that I will be talking more about later. The photographs that these students here have been taking look fabulous compared to my expectations that I had for them, also the students have a limited supply of cameras here, so for the effort and the creativity that they are putting into this project, it is wonderful!
More to come soon!
Theresa

Week 2

Last week ended with art classes, and working on the same projects with different students. The art teacher and myself talked about me teaching my lesson, and she said it fit in with the curriculum here at school. So this week I shall teach my very first lesson to the 7th year students! Which I am very excited for because I get to see how the Swedish students react to the project, compared to how the American students did. Also my teacher here in Sweden is coming to watch me give the lesson, which is very exciting! So I will be assisting students in music classes this week, then prepping for my art lesson on Wednesday and Thursday! It's really hard to believe that I have been here for three weeks, and only have three weeks left! My how time flies!
Until next time!
Theresa

Visual Culture

Visual Culture in Sweden

Here is a link to my presentation that I created on the visual culture here in Sweden!
Enjoy!
Talk to you all soon!!

Day 3

Bild!! Which is art class in Swedish! At first I was a hit nervous for this class but , the teacher that I am working with really made me feel comfortable. The students were also really welcoming in these classes, they even taught me some Swedish. I am feeling a lot more comfortable here at this school, and next week I will start the exchange project with one of the 7th grade classes. I am getting really eager to start teaching!! But just for this week I will look and observe, and hopefully by next week I can start working with the students! The first class was a 8th grade class, these student were working on a travel poster, also what I found to be really interesting is at the end of every art class they reflect on new things that they learned that day, which I thought was really cool, because then they get a chance to think about what they had done for the day. The second class was working with pencil, in this class they had a lot of questions about me and where I came from, which is great because this is the class that I will be using for the project exchange! My day then ended after lunch which was new to me considering I stay at school in the US until 4:00. I can't wait to continue seeing what goes on in the schools!!
Talk to you all soon!
Theresa

Day 2

Second day!
Today was a really light day compared to yesterday, my music classes didn't start until 9:10 today so to kill some time I went and visited a wood working class. In this class students were making handles for knives and leather cases to hold them. These were 6 year students and they were working at the level of high school students back home it was amazing!! Finally when my teacher arrived we went for the first class which was very similar to yesterday's class where they evaluated the songs that they created, these students were a lot more reflective then yesterday's class. Also I went and observed a Swedish class, where they were working on a project for class. They looked at different type of literature, art, and music from different time periods then they have to talk about it in class. Finally my short day ended with lunch, which was rice and curry, and it was actually pretty good! Tomorrow it will be my first time in the art room! Wish me luck!!
See you later!
Theresa

First day in the schools!

Hello everyone!
Or I really should say "hej" which is how you say hello in Swedish it is pronounced like the English word "hey". So I road the bus all the way to my school by myself! I was really nervous because I didn't know what my cooperating teachers looked like or how they were. I have been placed in a middle school here in both art and music, now I know most of you are thinking "you are getting certified in art not music"! True I am, however they placed me in both because they wanted me to see how the liberal arts is incorporated into the school system here. I also think it will be great so that I can see if I want to get my certification in music as well! It is going to give me a great opportunity to expand my music minor. Also I found out that the teacher who teaches art doesn't have classes until Wednesday.....so I will be in music classes Monday and Tuesday then art the rest of the week. I also got invited to one of the English classes which I think would be really exciting! The first two classes that I had today were a blues composition class and a music history class. The blues class is a class of 8th grade students that are very creative, and the teacher really encourages this, they were writing their own lyrics in two different groups, and then they can later attach that to a chord progression provided or create their own. The second class was a 7th grade class, this was a music history class they were learning about the different eras of music, and today they were learning about the classical period. I had a chance to talk to the teacher about assessment for this class, and he said he is experimenting with this class because there has been a change in the curriculum for Swedish schools. He is going to play different songs in class, and student will have to guess what era they are from based on the style, and then they will create a home test that they will take home.The last class was a class that my teacher mentored they evaluated themselves on the most recent project that they did was write their own song and lyrics. They then listened to each others songs and discussed as a class about them. It was a very exciting and busy day, but everyone has been so welcoming and friendly! I can't wait to learn more!
See you all soon!

The Spring 2013 Sweden International Student Teaching Group from UWW!

Here we all are! The US delegation teaching in Sweden Spring 2013! We range from Special Education, Elementary Education, Art Education, and History Education! Wish us all luck these next four weeks!

Art in Rome, Barcelona, Paris, and Brussels.

Here is all of the Art that I saw during the first half of my trip!!

Update

So tomorrow I start class at Umea University! Then after this week I start teaching in the schools next week!! Ahhhhh! I don't even know where I am teaching yet but it is all very exciting! I have learned so much from these two weeks that I have been gone! I will post pictures and more information about Umea very soon!
Bye for now!
Theresa