Lawton and Lindsey Visit

The amazing Lawton (above), just about a week before visiting Saint Louis. He's almost 8, going on 28. He is a reader, a golfer, a marshall artist, a sailboat captain, and a theater goer (among other things). He and his mom schedule a trip that includes a picnic and production of The Barber of Seville from the St. Louis Opera Company for May 31, 2024. 

May 31, Friday Airport pickup at Terminal 2. Roadwork and closed parking lot creates a little chaos but flight is on time and the fun begins.

Laumeier Sculpture Park mega tour with Lawton and Lindsey includes trail past Trova by Fire Station. The Eye and Tasset's Deer and more. 

Saint Louis Art Museum on a post card perfect day. Lawton is drawn to ancient artifacts and anything with a digital touch screen interface - like the egyptian mummies on the 1st floor (downstairs where he gets a peak at Andy Goldsworthy's Stone Sea). 

The Saint Louis Opera Theater which begins with a Chicken Salad Chick box lunch on the grounds at Webster's Loretta Hilton Theater of Performing Arts. The restless traveler Lawton was treated to intermission sparklers. The comic opera Barber of Seville is wonderful as it features Andrew Morstein at Count Almaviva. (Love wins in the end.) 

Saturday was a full day. Beginning with Missouri History Museum. The Spirit of Saint Louis replica of Lindbergh's flight across the Atlantic and the celebration and images of the 1904 World's Fair and relief map. Then at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation we visited the for magnificent Richard Serra Cor-10 steel sculpture Joe in the courtyard between the Contemporary Arts Museum and the Pulitzer. 

We traveled to Old North's Crown Candy for a short break before showing up for activities and a celebration of Ten Years in business for Central Print. We travelled to met Andrew and his parents, and sister for Pizza Champ in Maplewood - outdoor dining on Manchester Road.  

Lawton and Lindsey stop into my bachelor pad long enough for Lawton to show his skill in crating a mosaic Cardinal.

Sunday morning tickets to the top of the Gateway Arch bring us downtown and that's close enough to add sculptural highlights at City Garden. We visit Jim' Dine's Pinnochio, Haring, di Suvero and more.

June 2, 2024 Sunday - Sugarfire and putting green at Creve Coeur Golf Course before heading back to the airport. What a sweet weekend.

 

Art Work

 

 

Everyone is an artist;

Or so says the teacher;

The object is to become a better artist;

At the risk of sounding like a preacher.

 

Van Gogh had a lust for life;

In spite of his mental health;

Ultimately succumbing to his strife;

His brother and the market could not generate a timely wealth.

 

Perhaps Picasso is the greatest of all time;

The GOAT takes his rightful place;

The art world concurs with Gertrude Stein;

Wherever he puts eyes and nose on a face.

 

Popular culture by Andy;

The things we see and do every day;

In a gallery context – it’s a dandy;

See the ordinary in a different way,

 

Super real, surreal, sublime,

Salvador can blow your mind;

Dali curling his trademark mustache;

An enduring style that is sure to last.

 

Abstract, color field, contemporary, Haring, Banksy, Basquiat;

On display for all to admire or eschew.

Graffiti is an origin – believe it or not;

You can decide if it appeals to you.

 

What will you do and how?

Study, imitate, or break new ground;

What will be the next new thing now?

Practice and work your process for what may be found.

 

Janie je t’aime

 

I know you are capable of being alone;

I’ll just text you, so I’ll be on your phone.

I wish you more. You said I could always read you;

Cards are on the table but never fully shown.

 

Children on hard wood floors, making noise;

Five girls and no boys.

Grace, Wren, Mercy, Rooney, Prim;

The Princess parade proceeds with poise.

 

Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus;

I can’t stop thinking of the two of us;

Old Immigrant brew-pub eclectic;

Divine Intervention. In God we trust.

 

Clifton Park, Edgewater Drive;

It’s great to be alive;

Embracing the moment;

Grateful, as we survive.

Consider the time and miles

Kissing in the dark,   

We’re only dancin’ a while.

And I will always love your smile.

TIME

 

 

Fall into daylight;

At peace with the night;

Spooky movies such a freight;

But, but, but, we prevail.

 

Time goes by so fast;

Putting perspective on our past;

In the moment, until the last;

Tick, tick, tick, without fail.

 

Now as we reflect;

Not to overthink or too closely inspect;

Calmly approach and genuflect;

Click, click, click, with a pint of ale.

 

Every day is a blessing;

Each hour a treasure of possessing;

Be honest and truthful in confessing;

The best is now if we avail.

 

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder;

Let’s enjoy it together, shoulder to shoulder;

Life is more precious as we get older;

Ding, ding, ding, value is inherent and not for sale.

Be Positive but Be Better

 

Let it Go. What’s buggin’ me about Old North

I am regarded by those who know me as a positive person. I look for the good in people, places and things. If you know me well, you also know that I am a perceptive person who sees where things seem less than optimal. Ironically, it is the negative perceptions that are great fuel for humor. It is with this spirit in mind that I would like to share a list of things that aren’t quite right at Old North Academy. The place has tremendous potential but, as I shared with the principal, I wouldn’t want to be charged with fixing all that seems broken.

The rhetoric doesn’t match the action  

·       Before I accepted the offer to teach Art in 2023-24 school year I heard a lot about the notion of creating a Middle School experience that would reinforce Pathways to futures in the study and careers in the Arts. That said, where is the recognition of excellence?

·       The Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) is heavy on the terms Respect, Responsibility and Safety. Why then it is so commonplace at Old North to hear students using inappropriate language, fighting (play or not) and ignoring simple rules like “level zero” while transitioning to class or cafeteria?

·       How come the “scholars” are expected to be in uniform and teachers and administrators are wearing jeans, hoodies and stretch pants?  

·       With so many opportunities to reinforce positive behavior and academic excellence, why does the school use a prime bulletin board to advertise to teachers about taking attendance? (Wouldn’t it be more positive to applaud students with perfect attendance?)

So much is taken for granted       

Teachers' meetings are dreaded because it means staff has to stay after school and generally listen to a one-way dialogue that masquerades as transparency. Example: The district needs to take these steps to satisfy the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE "so here's what we've decided you will do...."

·       The way to handle a disruptive cafeteria is to make the entire class suffer the consequences. This kinda reinforces the student argument that if “everybody else is doing the wrong thing why shouldn’t I?  The consequences are the same either way.

·       Routines never have a chance since the playbook seems to favor audible change again and again: transitions to specials, breaks for water, restrooms, hall passes, routines are anything but routine.

So much needs repair or at least cosmetic attention

·       Bathroom soap dispensers are never all working or contain soap

·       Bathroom stall doors are usually broken

·       Graffiti in restrooms, on desks, furniture

·       Cabinets in rooms are not secured (broken locks, doors, handles, hardware)

·       Christmas trees still in hallways in February

·       Bulletin board with fall/Halloween theme still up in February.

Not much Empowering and Reinforcing staff

·       Teachers without keys to there room (i.e. Art and Music)

·       Frowning on arriving early to work, (The building can’t handle an ambitious teacher who wants to beat the horrific traffic on 70 arriving before 6:30 a.m. greeted with a mini lecture that begins “the expectation for teachers and staff is that they arrive at 7:15am)

·       Little or no consequences apparent for tardy teachers/staff. Example: a teacher arrives 20 minutes late for a team meeting and misses some of the business and apologizes for being “a few seconds tardy”.

Going through the motions and checking boxes

·       Do we really believe having back to back to back drills for effective preparedness? (Intruder Drill, Hurricane/Tornado Drill, Fire Drill)

·       Staffing – especially when it appears that keeping a position filled is not working (Why for example are we on our third Librarian in 8 months? Why were there 5 different art teachers last year?)

I invested time and money in becoming an educator 10+years. I began my education journey with Special Education (SSD) as sub, para-educator, applied behavior analyst (ABA). I taught self-contained classroom at Great Circle in Webster Groves, SSD re-hired me to be Special Ed teacher at partner district Riverview Gardens for middle schoolers (Westview Middle), I was Art teacher in Lincoln County’s Winfield Middle School before joining Confluence. (Funny - my 2023 tax return reports payments from 3 school districts.)

Good for me. I am learning and experiencing new things after full careers in advertising (at big league advertising firms) 15 years, Director and Vice President level marketing communications lead in corporate environments for three leading design and construction firms (HBE, Clayco, Crossland) and a global manufacturer of welding and cutting products (Thermadyne – now part of ESAB) 10 years. 

P.S. Separate category - scary things about working at Old North: 

That crazy commute on I-70 is very tense with aggressive drivers who will pass you on the left (even if it means swerving into and out of an exit lane). 

On I-70 I had to manage a flat tire at 70 miles per hour. 

On I-70 I had to avoid hiting an overturned office chair in my lane.

On 1-70 I've found myself traveling under 20 MPH for accidents at Goodfellow, Kingshighway and on 270...to name a few.

My back was turned facing a cabinet one morning only to have a student sneak up on me and prentend to shoot me in the head, Pow! (I'm sure L thought that was a clever thing to do.)

The truth is stranger than fiction: overheard conversations about teen pregnancy, firearms, trauma, family struggles and more. 

No easy fixes, I know.

P.S. How about this bulletin board post. Irony in education. Bragging about test scores with questionable grammar. LOL.

 

  

 

 

 

Wes Morgan February Response to Old North

 

Photo: February 2024 - Dr. Boxley addresses students at Town Hall meeting about yet another change in scheduling specials (Health, PE, Art, Music) in Mr. Lloyd's Music Classroom,

The Principal of Old North summoned me to the office for a sit down on February 9, 2024. Here’s what Dr. Lisa Boxley (with Assistant Principal Annette Chamberlain in attendance) wanted me to respond to this office visit.   

“I’ve had three recent complaints about you. We’ve already discussed the complaint by The Wright Way BCBA, Ms. Safire. She said you were unprofessional."

Well, she tried to coach me and take the floor in my classroom mid-lesson. I could not abide this as I know full well that my credibility in front of fifth graders would be compromised if a Behavior Specialist was allowed to take control. I’m sorry Safire but I don’t need coaching as a teacher of art. And you are here to support a student, not control me. Your feedback is welcome but not in front of students.

“Now, I have two teachers who have texted me that you were rude and aggressive over the use of the rolling cart of paper. Ms. Cooley said she sent a student to get the paper rolls and you only gave her a bit of black paper. So she went to the art room to get the cart herself.”  

I was not accustomed to this cart leaving my room but this was amid a schoolwide challenge to decorate doors and rooms for Black History Month. And it was three students who arrived to get the paper (not just one). I offered to give them whatever they needed. I tore off a large sheet of black paper and a student seemed to be satisfied. Until Ms. Cooley returned in a huff to over-ride my call and pushed the cart out of my room. (It was not returned. Instead it was rolled down the hall to the 7th  grade classroom of Ms. Wren.)

“Ms. Wren said you accosted her pushing by students in class and yelling at her.”

I think that her characterization is unfair, At no time was I aggressive. I admit to using sarcasm at times which can be misunderstood and perceived as rude. I simply asked when I could expect the paper dispenser cart to be returned. It was the end of the day.

It’s February and your Art Teacher has managed requests for administrators and teachers all year long. I have bent over backwards to be a team player. As you know I have been successful reaching out to the Old North neighborhood business community. We talked about creating Pathways for students interested in Art. I believe an important first step is to show the outside world that creativity lives at Old North Academy. But now I am portrayed as a yeller and rude. I don’t think this is fair. It could be that I am a sort of victim of reverse micro-aggression. This was the first time the presumption of this cart of paper rolls was a traveling asset available to all teachers for as long as they think they need it.

I challenged Dr. Boxley and Ms. Chamberlain to ask themselves if the notion of a yelling, rude, aggressive, unprofessional accosting person rings true from their observations of my performance at and for Old North this year because it looks to me like the allegations are unfair or at least poorly written. It’s no wonder the school cannot retain an Art Teacher. (I’ve learned that the position has been a bit of a revolving door.)

Note too that this cart is in serious disrepair. It is designed to hold 8 rolls of paper but it it broken in several places so it only works as intended for 3 of 8. I researched this piece of equipment and learned that it would cost $900.00 to replace. I have several unfortunate situations that have an impact in the art room. Several rolls of paper are water damaged. The cart only accommodates three rolls but in a somewhat less than optimal configuration. In my 8 months of working as Old North Art Teacher this rolling asset has not routinely left the Art Room.

The specials team as it was configured at the onset of the 2023-2024 school year (Morgan, Baker, Lloyd, Coach J Robinson, Librarian Moll, STEM teacher and Coach B. Calhoun). Not pictured FACS teacher Jourdan Lacey.

The school PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports) notices around the school stress SAFE, RESPONSIBLE, and RESPECTFUL. I believe this broken cart traveling down the hallways to Cooley’s 8^th grade classroom and down a separate hall to Wren’s 7^th grade classroom is hazardous and NOT safe. Especially if students are charged with transporting it. Lord knows the behavior incidents in hallways doesn’t need any additional props. This is my observation based on teaching these students for 8 months over 182 students!  5^th Graders, 6^th Graders, 7^th Graders, and 8^th Graders. My opinion is that moving that heavy piece of equipment down long hallways is asking for trouble and just not SAFE.

Student work from Wren's Seventh Graders tie in their learning about the food chain. 27 students (7th and 8th Graders) went on a field trip the the Saint Louis Art Museum in October 2023. 

I’m disappointed that this meeting in the principal’s office suggests that I might have to shift my positive attitude to a more defensive posture. This is just not a way I want to live. I prefer to practice a mindfulness and live in the moment with awareness of the little victories. I'm particularly proud of organizing a field trip to the Culture celebration of the impact of 50 years of Hip Hop at the Saint Louis Art Museum and forging a relationship with the Old North Restoration Group and showcasing student work in the community. 

I felt compelled to share my experience with Sr. Francesca, my first grade teacher who later became the principal at St. Luke (the parochial school I attended growing up). Sister Francesca once showed me a way to recall the correct spelling of her title with the statement. “Remember the principal is your PAL.”

1924 Silent Movie at SLAM

 

SLAM Cinema: The Last Laugh

Friday, January 26, 2024 | 6–7:30 pm CST | Free

The Rats & People Motion Picture Orchestra will provide live musical accompaniment to The Last Laugh, a silent film from 1924 directed by German filmmaker F. W. Murnau. Emil Jannings stars as a nameless hotel door man who faces ridicule from his friends and family after losing his job. Founded in 2003 and based in St. Louis, Rats & People is an orchestral ensemble of emerging composers and musicians that composes and performs new scores to accompany films of the Silent Era and composes and records soundtracks for contemporary films.

Not rated, 90 minutes.

Melissa Venator, SLAM’s Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Assistant Curator of Modern Art, will make brief remarks about the film at 5:30 pm.

LOCATION

The Farrell Auditorium

One Fine Arts Drive, Forest Park,

St. Louis, Missouri 63110-1380

 

What a treat. A bit of movie history combined with a wonderful music accompaniment. And I found myself 6^th row center in the comfort of my happy place – The Saint Louis Art Museum.