22: School Visits 101: Location and the Teacher
with Rae De Vine
This is Rae De Vine. I'm really excited to share some of my school visit 101s with you, and we're going to break it down to kind of the nuts and bolts of what we do when we prepare to visit a school and how we even just start off our first visit. So hopefully these will give you some ideas and empower you to feel confident, whether it's your 100th visit, your very first one ever, or it's just a new school and you don't know the community yet.
But before we even walk into the classroom, there are things that we should take into consideration as responsible educators. So the first thing I'm thinking about are the people and the places. In terms of place: Where is the school? What's the school about? Like, do a little research, take some initiative. I always like to visit the school website, see if there are any core values that they list on their site and if there's any parallel or connection to my lesson planning or to my art form or even to my personal ethos because all of that information is going to give you entry points, points of connection, and even just ice breakers when you visit a place for the first time.
So when visiting a school for the first time, ask a couple of questions to yourself and then see where you're going to need some support. Where is the school? Have you been there before? Do you know how to get there? How do you get there?
Map out your route beforehand and especially if you're taking the subway, you need to have a contingency, a little bit of extra time built in there because there might be a stall, there might be something unexpected, and schools have really strict periods that they have to work within. So it's so much better to be early and you have to wait and to keep a teacher and 25 to 30 kids waiting for you.
Another thing to consider when visiting a school is, is it public or private? Just kind of understanding the ecosystem of a community is helpful. Everything just informs you to be able to enter into a space with respect and a little bit of knowledge. Nobody really wants you to come in and you have no idea like what type of school they have, what they're known for, maybe even what some of their themes are. A lot of times teachers might expect that you have already done some of that research and are a little bit familiar with their school community. So just do yourself a favor. Google it really quick, even if it's on the way there. So you are prepared and well-equipped to just respect the space that you're in.
Another thing to consider is the neighborhood that the school is in. Are you familiar with it? Have you ever been there? Do you know any major landmarks? Also, if you are going to be at a school for an extended period of time, at the very least, you want to know if there's a bodega or a sandwich shop or someplace you can get a bite to eat if you're on a break. So all of these things are useful not only in understanding where your school is from in the community that it's-- that it's in, but... nourishment!
So now that we've talked a little bit about place, let's talk about people. Let's start with the teacher. Who's the teacher? It's really important to be in contact with the teacher prior to a school visit. At the very least, you need to have an email where you've exchanged context, so that way you can let them know when you arrive or if there's any type of security procedure that you need to go through. A lot of schools have security desks or check ins where you need to sign in, show your I.D. So it's good to know about those things ahead of time and also to touch base with the teacher, because sometimes they'll just tell you, text me when you're here and they'll pop down and escort you to the class.
Whenever I've done teaching artist residencies. I've always scheduled a planning meeting ahead of time. Now, this really depends on the type of residency you have. If it's something where you're going to be there for a prolonged period of time, multiple visits, then there's some collaboration that needs to take place with the teacher. If it's more of a single visit where you're doing a master class or you're doing kind of a show and tell, that may not require as much communication beforehand. I really encourage folks to at least get on the phone with the teacher, if you're able to, and if not, that's okay. They have incredibly stressful schedules and they're doing a lot and they're raising our youth and enriching their minds. So we need to extend schools and teachers a lot of grace. But as a visiting artist, you need to be proactive and reach out and try to make that contact. And if the org that is sending you to this school hasn't already done that, ask them to make that connection for you. So at least, like I said before, you have each other's contact. You've had a little bit of an interaction.
Another great question to ask the teacher besides how many students are going to be in the class is whether or not the teacher has a teacher's assistant or a teacher's aide. That lets you know how many adults will be in the room to support you and to also help facilitate as needed.
Another thing to think about before you enter the classroom is how you want to set up the classroom. I love a circle and I have moved around tables and desks and chairs to make a circle that everybody can sit in with no desks in sight. So that way we're not, we're not distracted by anything and we're just fully engaging and open together. Now, it's always good to just check with the teacher beforehand if you have the time, because some things just might not be able to be moved. We might be in a smaller space, or if there's another class right afterwards that really needs them set up in a certain way and you know, you won't have time to reset the classroom, just keep it where it is, and that's fine. I also like to try to move around the classroom, if I can. I like to sit up in the front if there's another desk or table. Sometimes I even sit on it. So I'm higher and everybody can see me. And I try to make sure that I'm always scanning the room and whenever I can, making eye contact. If someone's eye catches mine.