ART'S IN HER CRAFT CREATIVE TEACHING WINS TOP HONOR.Byline: Bhavna Mistry Staff Writer CANYON COUNTRY - It was during her first year of teaching that Samantha Carson noticed a difference when she introduced art to help her students learn. Since then, the fifth-grade teacher at Skyblue Mesa School has focused her curriculum around the arts - a method that won her praise of the Saugus Union School District The Saugus Union School District is a school district in the Santa Clarita Valley that serves the Saugus, Valencia, and Canyon Country communities within the city of Santa Clarita, California. As of March 25,2006, it has 15 elementary schools. , which named her Teacher of the Year. ``It's a great honor As a verb, to accept a bill of exchange, or to pay a note, check, or accepted bill, at maturity. To pay or to accept and pay, or, where a credit so engages, to purchase or discount a draft complying with the terms of the draft. to be chosen and to represent the school district,'' Carson said. ``I'm very honored hon·or n. 1. High respect, as that shown for special merit; esteem: the honor shown to a Nobel laureate. 2. a. Good name; reputation. b. .'' Though she's used the arts as a learning tool since that beginning, Carson had no training in that field when she started out. Once she began teaching, though, she saw that the arts - whether fine arts, dance or music - had an interesting connection with students. ``It gives every student the groundwork for success,'' Carson said. ``It gives them courage to step out where they might not be willing to.'' After teaching her first class and integrating a music lesson, Carson saw that the lesson had sparked a group of students who normally didn't get involved in class discussions. ``I figured if it could help that little group of students, I could pull in all of my students,'' Carson said. With the love of her students in mind and a goal to help them achieve, Carson began taking art classes. ``I played the piano, but never really studied that art as a child,'' she said. As her teaching career progressed, so did her education in art. ``I want to make sure that I have a foundation to teach from,'' said Carson, who has earned the equivalent of a minor in the arts. ``I just want to continue to educate myself. I like to keep myself in the position of a student.'' The desire to teach came early in her life. ``I knew I wanted to teach when I was a kindergartner kin·der·gart·ner also kin·der·gar·ten·er n. 1. A child who attends kindergarten. 2. A teacher in a kindergarten. ,'' Carson said. She started by volunteering in classrooms and by teaching Sunday School Sunday school, institution for instruction in religion and morals, usually conducted in churches as part of the church organization but sometimes maintained by other religious or philanthropic bodies. In England during the 18th cent. . Carson was still earning her teaching credential A United States teaching credential is a basic multiple or single subject credential obtained upon completion of a bachelor's degree and prescribed professional education requirements. when she began working as a student teacher for Saugus, and then was hired full time. Skyblue Principal Bernadette Torhan said Carson's commitment and dedication to her students has made her one of the most popular teachers at the school. ``She never has any behavior problems,'' Torhan said. ``Her kids do very well on standardize stan·dard·ize v. 1. To cause to conform to a standard. 2. To evaluate by comparing with a standard. tests. She's raising the bar for all of us.'' Torhan described Carson's classroom as warm, inviting and risk free. ``If they make a mistake somehow, they quickly learn and we go from there,'' Torhan said. ``They do so well on every kind of measure. And I really think it's because of her.'' In February, Carson was presented with the Bravo Award
A team of 10 judges in that contest, including professional artists, visited Carson's class, studied her lesson plan and observed her relationships with students. ``It gives me validation See validate. validation - The stage in the software life-cycle at the end of the development process where software is evaluated to ensure that it complies with the requirements. that what I am doing is good,'' Carson said. A visit to Carson's room is much like a walk through a children's art gallery. ``Art is integrated into the curriculum throughout the day wherever it fits best,'' Carson said. ``I try and make it as creative as possible.'' For Thursday night's open house, Carson's classroom was transformed into a jazz cafe stemming from the children's study of Duke Ellington. They researched the jazz great and planned a swing dance presentation. While studying Americans Indians, Carson had a tepee tepee or tipi (both: tē`pē), typical dwelling of Native North Americans living on the Great Plains. It was usually made by arranging tent poles into a conical frame and spreading skins, usually buffalo hide, tightly over in the room and pupils crafted buffalo skins that were hung on the wall. ``Everything I do is centered around the students,'' Carson said. ``My love of art and my love of students gives me a goal to get them to learn.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Happy fifth-graders crowd around their teacher, Samantha Carson, at Skyblue Mesa School in Canyon Country. Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer |
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