This Week has been very challenging for our school community after the passing of our art teacher and well-respected colleague Rich Risio. He was a very talented educator who was able to reach the most art-resistant kids and get them to dig deep and produce giant canvases of work. Our school held a student work exposition at the end of the year for which he was a strong advocate. He was always a strong advocate for students and what they needed, especially for the need for us to celebrate their work. It is a really deep loss for the school community and for all of his students and advisee. We will really miss him.
What I’m teaching this week
Not Much! Classes ended Wednesday, and then we will have almost two weeks for testing. Since we aren’t a Regents school, most of the time will be spent on putting the final touches on students portfolio pieces and sitting on graduation panels.
What I’m blogging this week
I am pretty excited about next week when I am going to present at the Global Math Department. But first I want to finish writing up the final project for Banking and Investment. I also wrote a Eulogy for Rich, the teacher who passed away this week.
What I’m thinking this week
Losing someone makes it pretty hard to think. I can’t imagine how hard it is for our students who are finding out that they lost someone important to them, but they still have to take the English regents and present their portfolio in order to graduate on time. Earlier in the year I remember trying to do everything to motivate a student who lost grandfather, but today I was more concerned with trying to comfort and support a student who was an advisee of my colleague. I realized that I approached the two situations differently because I was affected by the same loss of the student, but I’m not sure how I will approach student in the future whenever some kind of loss happens in the future.
What are we teaching students by expecting them to immediately from recover traumatic experiences in order to get back to school work?
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