Student ReflectionI always ask two questions to my students:
What did you learn this semester and what could I have done better to help you learn more? These questions are loading the dice, naturally when you ask someone what did you learn they have to tell you something. That gets the student thinking, and then they give us feedback on improving our process. This feedback is invaluable, for the teacher's future work. I am not saying it's all good but the good and the bad inform your future projects. |
|
From My Class:
1. What did you learn?
2. How was I as a Teacher what could I do better?
Jake
I learned that it takes a lot of work to get something that looks great, and stuff.
Jeff was a great teacher and he pushed me to work very hard and pushed me to make my art look much better. Jeff is an inspiration to all students with his timeless life lessons.
Anna
This semester I learned a lot about my abilities and how much I really love art and making my own art. It also helped me learn all criticism can be taken constructively and to never think somethings perfectly finished; because it isn’t
If there was something to change about this class it would be actually nothing. Compared to many classes this class isn’t super strict and it isn’t super free at the same time. Just know to get work done and that’s all you need.
Natalie
Jeff’s class was not only a great experience but I was able to practice a lot of important skills for life. A few of those being managing a large amount of time for, being accountable for myself and the work I do, and meeting a deadline. Jeff’s class was fun but also a lot of work. I appreciated all his expertise and help he gave us. I think there was a perfect balance of learning by doing it ourselves and instruction and encouragement from him.
If I could change one thing it would be to have more open and structured time to create and paint something for ourselves and something we are passionate about.
Nick
In Jeffs class, I learned that if there is a will, there is a way. I royally suck at art, but through Jeff’s guidance, I found that I could actually create an slightly good looking piece of shit.
If I had the opportunity to change anything in Jeffs class, I would just suggest that we did not paint for as long as we did. I am artistically challenged, so it can get rough working on it four 2 hours straight. Other than that, Jeffs class was awesome!
Kylie
The most important thing I learned in this class was how to use class time wisely. I’ve struggled with this concept throughout my entire academic career. I usually just procrastinate and tell myself I’ll do it when I get home rather than just doing it during class. In art class, you don’t have that option. It’s practically impossible to paint at home. You are also given a lot of freedom in this class and learning how to manage it can be difficult. In the beginning of the semester, I definitely abused it. Consequently, it took me much longer to finish my painting compared to other people. I now know that it is far more worth it to work hard in class instead of saving it for home.
For the most part, there wasn’t much I would change about this class. I learned a lot. I had never painted before this class, and I ended up creating a huge piece of art that I’m really proud of. I think it was a bit of shock for me to have such a brutally honest teacher, but I know it’s something that I can learn from.
Javier
I learned a lot about shading in paintings and how to shade.
I wouldn’t improve anything about this class I feel that this class is fine and the way its being taught is great.
Stephen
I learned how to paint with passion.
I would like to improve on my painting skills.
Chase
Coming into art class I thought it was going to be a “kindergarten” experience were everyday we mindlessly do art and socialize. But after working on our first art piece I realize how much work and attentiveness art takes to create a good final product. This semester I improved on my work ethic and learned new art skills like making machetes and shading to create 3 dimensional figures.
Nothing needs to change because the way Jeff sets up his class, you have 99% freedom to do whatever you want. Therefore the class is as successful as you make, as long as you're willing to work.
Johah
I learned a lot in Jeff’s class. Mostly art, but also about life. He taught me about doing work, and critiquing. And then also all the art stuff, like shading, and mixing colors.
If I could change one thing, it would be more dubstep. EDM (electronic dance music) is the next generation of music. Electro combines the smoothness of early funk with the hard bass of the TR-808 drum machine. Dubstep is usually found in 120 to 150 beats per minutes and adds a build to that with a drop, where the bass is turned to 0 decibeles, as to not blow out speakers, with an alternating kick and hi-hat(or crash) beat. The drop usually stays in the starting key, is minor, and contains a simple chord progression with some triple oscillator 8-bit sounds. The drop finishes as the starting melody is reworked in, with either a faster or slower beat. Skrillex, Nero, ElectroPhant1, Skream, Knife Party, Datsik, Flux Pavilion and many others have changed this world for the better. Dubstep is the future, and we should embrace it. This what I think should be changed. We could also but on some more Dizzee Rascal2. Besides that, I wouldn't change anything, I really enjoyed this class and hope it stays just as great for next semester, and for the years to come.
1.ElectroPhant should be noted as he never actually became popular, but his music stands strong even today
2.Bonkers, I Don’t Need A Reason, Bassline Junkie
Sergio
This semester I learned a few important skills when working on an art piece. I found these set of skills to be very useful when working on any of the art pieces this year, they made my work look a lot cleaner and professional. Jeff showed us basic procedures that made art simple and easy for everyone.
One thing I would change in art class would be grading, I like how Jeff graded our final product, but I felt that the way he graded our participation was rough. I got my work done, and sometimes I did catch myself not working but I felt that I got graded to low for a couple of times did I was caught not working.
Marco
The most important thing I learned this semester was learning the art to be a successful painter. During this semester I learned how to be creative by making cutouts and portraits. Because of this class I have a new view on art, and respect.
I like the class the way it is. We have a lot of freedom, which teaches us to budget our time more. The only to finish your work in art class, would be doing it in the first place.
Madison
What I learned…
I learned that without working you can’t finish your painting. I personally don’t believe in this method but Jeff does. Usually when I put off work to the last second I stress to make it perfect, so my best work comes out at the last second. This was a conflicting issue because when we had to finish our painting two weeks before exhibition it threw off my work ethic so I didn’t appreciate my painting as much as I should’ve I just wanted to turn it in for a grade.
I believe that I did well this semester, the only thing that threw me off was how Jeff graded my work ethic. I understand that I wasn’t working or painting for two hours straight but I think my painting proves that I worked hard.
To make this class better
DON’T HAVE PAINTING FOR TWO HOURS STRAIGHT for me personally it drives me bat shit crazy to the point where I never want to take art again. I’m not an artistic person so the idea of painting a 6ft painting on gene expression for 10 hours a week (for 8 weeks) makes me want to blow my brains out. Maybe it was because we were assigned to paint something because in the beginning of the semester I loved painting my motorcycle cop until revisions came along. Or maybe I truely and solely hate revisions. OR MAYBE I just hate people. All I know is that painting for two hours is too much for an artistically challenged person, like myself. Other than that I enjoyed the class, jeff is dope.
Jazmin Serralde
In art class I learned to use my time wisely. I also learned how to make a well-made maquette so my painting won’t turn bad. Another thing I learned was doing shading on the painting. I struggled a lot with the shading on the faces.
I wouldn’t improve anything about this art class. In my opinion, Jeff knows how to teach and he gives us enough time to finish our projects.
Daisy
This semester I learned how if you miss a lot of class and don't come to school the same day as your partner you have a hard time getting the piece finished. I also learned that although it is fun doing paintings in partnerships, I enjoy painting my own painting.
If there was something to change about this class I would have people who “pour too much paint” get a mark against them and if they get too many marks they have to clean the trays or do something for you.
David
I feel like this class was a really good learning experience for me, because I always like to create art, but sometimes I would get discouraged because of how some of that art turned out. But because of this class, and because of the art method that Jeff taught us, I felt more inspired to create more art.
I don’t really know what would make this class better, I feel like, at least for me it was a really good environment to learn and paint. I also enjoy how honest Jeff is about our work, but how he always tells us what we can to do improve our work.
Jessie
To be honest, during the school year I thought that I wouldn’t learn anything. What I forgot, was that everything can be made better, including your painting skills. According to Jeff, “nothing is ever done, you just stop working on it.”
I have taken Jeff’s class every year since I’ve been at the village, so I think that it would be a lot more fun to have the class be longer than one semester. I want to have Jeff’s class again, because he is in truth a really chill teacher. He gives us space to grow and discipline if we aren’t. I would just add on a little more time...
Matt Larson
Having my first art class in high school it was pretty much how I expected it to be. I learned not to take any bullshit from anyone (including you Jeff). I also learned not to take advantage laid back teachers, because they can get mad too.
Nothing really could have made this class better. I came into this class expected to paint and for each day to be a cool realed day and thats what it was. Most of the time. I really appreciated this class and will honestly deeply miss it next semester. Thank you Jeff
Andrew
The most important thing I learned this semester in art is about how to work with a partner for a long time. Most semester long projects have 3 or 4 students. It was much more difficult to work with just one other person. Although it was more difficult, I am glad it was the way it was because I will have to do the same thing in the real world.
Honestly I don't know what you could change. I like your I “dont give a” teaching style. Although, I would give lower grades to people who don’t work as hard.
Hannah
In Jeff’s class I learned a lot about work ethic. Whenever Jeff would talk to the class in the beginning of the day, I feel like he was teaching us about what type of students he appreciates and I really tried to fit that. In art class, you really have to do work the whole period in order to have a good final product, and I didn’t fully realize that going into it. I think I’m much better at not only budgeting my time, but just sitting down and getting things done.
I don’t think anything needs to change, if you listen to Jeff and follow his directions, you can succeed in his class. Certain personalities can get offended if they take critique on too much of a personal level, but you can’t give special treatment to those people.
Ciara
This year I learned how to paint, manage my time wisely, and to be always proactive.
Something that I could’ve improved on is to be more accurate in my painting and follow the maquette.
Junior
In art class things like were that we got all the big projects out the way. For example, I did the King of DNA, which was the 2 kings off a card with red, blue, yellow, green, shapes on it which were the nucleotides. Once the big project was out of the way we got to do whatever we wanted. I like this because it made us want to hurry up and finish the big project, but jeff wasn’t going to let us speed through the big paint because he wanted it to look nice and to make us put more heart into our painting.
Somethings I would change about the class is to have jeff push us on getting the big painting out the way faster so we can have more time working on what we wanted to.
Lisette
This semester I learned to really do your work and try really hard and to know thats its not easy and that there is a process that requires many steps and you have to follow all of them to create something wonderful that jeff will like…hopefully!
Something I want to change was that i wish we could've had more time to specifically paint and painting of our choice so we could have really created something that we personally wanted.
Lizzy
I’m one of those people who has always admired art and has numerous notepads filled with doodles. When I found out that we had art for two hours everyday I was super excited. However, when we started our first piece I started realizing how hard painting is. I thought I knew how to mix colors, shade, and make things look realistic. Hell, I thought anyone could paint without training. I couldn’t have been more wrong! Jeff’s class taught me a lot and not only how to paint, but also that sitting there looking at your painting isn't going to get you anywhere. In life you can’t sit there waiting for the answer to come you need to try, mess up, and then try again. I re-painted both of my paintings at least 4 times. You can get by in this school by doing nothing, but at some point in your life just waiting for others to do stuff for you will catch up with you.
The only thing I would change about this class is that I would rather have it all year.
Carl
This semester I learn a couple of things. I can’t get to mad a change even when its trying to help. Don’t get hurt by criticism. (Jesse) And one I find quite important, don't focus all the things I have done but focus on things I can do. I Didn't go into this class thinking it would be a fun little experience and learn a little bit of art. Instead I wanted to learn something. Never will I ever stop learning new things and if I decide to relax and not care I almost feel that I have failed myself. Writing this I sound quite hardcore in practice but I don’t think its a bad thing.
Favorite project? I enjoyed Dermtech painting the most but I liked the toy project since it game me more creative freedom.
What would I change? I honestly don’t know. It was good all together but at the end I kind of felt like I was doing nothing, Which isn't the worst of things but 3 weeks of it can turn into something else. But as a whole I don't think that you've done anything that I could change or you could have changed for a better outcome.
Mariel
This year I have learned a lot about mixing color for example what color to mix in what colors not to mix in. I also learned to to shade in a painting. In the beginning of this semester I found myself crying and frustrated because I couldn’t mix colors and I didn’t seem to understand shading or any of this I am obviously not pro at this but it learn a lot about art. I liked being able to use PhotoShop in order to create an image because I actually thought these paintings where going to be a bit more difficult than it actually is.. I was also nice being able to incorporate biology into art it was very interesting because it was just just giving people a message but not saying it with word its saying it with what you see not only what you see in a painting in a painting theres always a deeper message than what you eyes can see.
I wouldn’t really change anything from art class I think this class was the best class. I am going to miss this class so much it just feels so relaxing at moments just being able to paint. You go through your struggle but at the same time I loved this class. Something I didn’t like that much can’t change is just that heavy smell of water. That was just very disgusting for me.
Josiah
I enjoyed painting, because art is initially something I do outside of school, but I did learn a few new techniques while painting. For the first time I decided to do a photo realistic style of my family, which is something I’ve never attempted with acrylic, so this was a challenge for me. Along with doing the portraits in grayscale. Doing grayscale at first sounded like a good idea but ended up being so time consuming. Mixing each shade of gray to match the photo. But I learned a new media and got really comfortable with mixing different shades of various colors.
Somethings I would change was, I wasn't on task at all times and I choose to paint multiple art pieces for a single project, which lead me to finish my write up and painting a week or so before exhibition. Which obviously was not the best decision. Because it was art class I wish we had more time in the semester where we could paint whatever we wanted.
Toviya
I learned that there will be a lot of layers on the painting, and also that there will be lighter and darker shades of the original color of the painting. Also how to show detail in the painting, so it won’t look plain. How to use multiple pictures from online and photoshop the pictures and make it into, something new. I learned a different way of getting the picture, that I photoshopped onto the canvas that I would be painting, instead of trying to draw it from, looking back and forth at the photoshopped picture. I really enjoyed this semester and having Jeff as teacher, telling us straight up if the painting looks good or not, and when the painting doesn’t look good then he will definitely take the time to help and get the painting the way it will look its best
I wouldn’t change anything about the class and it is great as it is.
Alexis
I really liked art class this semester I learned a lot about painting. I learned how to mix colors and how to do shading. My favorite project was the cast iron toy project. I had a lot of fun painting my toy although I think I could have done a much better job.
I don't what should change in this class I thought everything here was great. I hope that this class stays just as awesome for the next class the following semester.
Sarah
What did I learn in Jeffs class? I learned how to paint gradient and how to make colors lighter than they are.
What would I change about Jeffs class? Not letting people have as much freedom as they did in the first semester.
What did I like about Jeffs class? That Jeff was a really relaxed guy
Stevon
This semester was very entertaining to say the least, because I love having art for this semester. But I wish it was either longer or I’ll have another opportunity to have art with Jeff. It’s been a while since I painted (since 8th grade), yet enjoyed seeing Jeff put people in their place. As well as having so much independance that other teachers do not give other students. If you wanted to go for a walk or leave the class you could’ve, that is an aspect I’m going to miss. From a learning standpoint I liked how I improved my shading and detailing skills which helped a lot on my paintings.
I don’t have any suggestions on how to improve your class, because it seems that you know what you’re doing and anyone who disagreed could talk to you one on one. But a downside was getting a lot of paint on my clothes, but oh well everything can’t be perfect.
Josh
In this project I learned a lot about the structure of DNA. I learned about the nucleotides and how they connect to each other, and about how the two strands of DNA are antiparallel. I also learned how to use painting techniques such as adding highlights to the top half of shapes. I learned a little bit about what colors look good together and how to mix colors I want. I think the most important thing I learned about painting in this project is that when you go over a color a second time it doesn’t have to be the same it actually looks better if each section isn’t just one solid color.
If I did this project again I would definitely change the order of the nucleotides. Our painting has a set of 4 colors that just repeats itself all the way up the side, it isn’t that noticeable that they never change so I decided that I didn’t think it was a big enough problem to start over, but I would still change it if I could do it over. I would also make sure to be more careful when cutting out the wood. Each color is supposed to have a distinct shape, some pointy and some rounded, but most of the colors just look like they stick in or out in no particular way. We also accidentally cut some of the crown off on one of the kings. The last thing I would change would be being more careful while painting the black on at the end. We missed some dots and lines because we didn’t check carefully at the end before saying we were done.
Connor
I feel that this semester I learned a lot because we had to deal with many things other than just creating art. I had to feel a lot more comfortable with showing my own work to others as well as just working in front of people. Mostly though I learned that painting and things associated with painting are a lot less scary than I previously believed.
As for making the class better you seem to be doing a pretty swell job and have been at this for a lot longer than I have so what can I say that you haven’t heard.
Kristina
I learned a lot about mixing colors and to create different shades of the same color. I also learned that it was really helpful to get an image that you want to paint, trace it, scan, color it in photoshop.
I think that I wouldn’t change anything about Jeff’s art class because he does a really good job of teaching art. The only thing that I didn’t like was that no matter how careful I was, I would get paint on my clothes and that was really annoying.
Jose
I think this class was a really awesome learning experience for me. I painted for the first time since 1st grade so it was difficult for me to start. Eventually I just went with it and it flowed to the point where I got comfortable with painting stuff.
I completely have no idea on what would make this class better. I was comfortable with everything, especially with the environment because I could just relax then listen to music while painting. Plus everybody helps each other out to get things done, which in my point of view is the best.
Sam
I really enjoyed having art this semester; it’s my favorite subject. I’m sad that we won’t have another opportunity to be in Jeff’s class, but it was a lot of fun. Our projects this semester helped me refine my painting skills, more specifically shading and detailing. Creating Steve (our DermTech painting) with Sarah was challenging yet ultimately rewarding. It forced me to let go of trying to perfect every tiny detail and further honed my time management skills. I would love to do a similar project again.
I don’t have any real suggestions as to how to change or improve the class. I like it how it is. If you show up and do your work, or even attempt to do it, you’ll get something done. If you don’t, you don’t. Everything ultimately comes down to the student, as it’s their grade and therefore their own responsibility. There is only so much a teacher can do for their students.
Max
I learned that painting is a lot harder than I thought it would be. However, I learned that anyone can paint, no matter how artistic you aren’t. Also, I learned how to use photoshop better than I already did, which is something I didn’t expect to learn in an art class. Lastly, I learned, just like everyone else, that it is important to stay on Jeff’s good side, but that if you do, he is a great teacher.
I wouldn’t change anything in this class. I honestly thought everything went well this semester.
Aidan
I learned quite a few things this semester. Mainly, I learned how to mix paint and colors. Being color blind, this was quite a challenge for me. However, I found a way to find which colors were the correct ones. This mainly involved bugging my peers about which color I was about to paint with. I also discovered a new painting technique; the one that Carl and I used on the background of our Dermtech painting. I think this was a great technique to learn, and I am glad that I had the opportunity to experiment with it, and our painting turned out beautiful because we learned this.
One thing that I think could be improved on was the final three weeks of the semester. After we finished our Dermtech paintings and made the timeline on the wall, I had nothing to do for three weeks, and I would have liked to do another painting or at least something productive. However, I didn’t have enough time to make a painting of good quality, and was thus unable to do anything for the last three weeks of the semester.
Ana
This semester in art I learned that shading paintings is frustrating and that art teachers are a little bit crazy. I say art teachers, plural, and not just Jeff because my mom said her art teacher was the same way, also because Jeff is scary when mad and so I have spent the last semester trying not to anger him. Oh ya, I learned that too. Don’t get Jeff mad and stay on his good side! All in all, between the yelling, the dancing, and the singing, we managed to get some painting in and learn how disheartening it can be at some times.
If I could change one thing it would be that everyone should accept each others music tastes. Also it’s usually really cold in Jeff’s room. Except for right now, right now its really toasty. Thanks Jeff (:
Sierra
During this semester there were smiles and tears. The first day when I walked into class I was really intimidated. The first time I met Jeff he yelled at me. I was really excited to be in art. But nervous to be in Jeffs but all you had to do was be on his good side. I think he hated but loved me because I was always late. I learned a lot. between the dance party and the arguing we actually got some painting done. I really loved everything we painted.
The thing I would of fixed would be the student and their attitude towards the music. That was a fight the whole semester. It was really stupid. All the kids in our class are haters and don't have any taste in music. Oh yeah, and jeff played the same songs like 5 million times. that was frustrating.