We Priddy Fellows

We met yesterday morning in our work space. We were oriented as to our responsibilites and what is expected of us and to what we gain in return. Definitely heavy on the returns side. Then we got our picture taken , chose our work space, chatted and ate cookies.

Basicly, Priddy Fellows are required to take 4 classes this year, 2 fall, 2 spring. We take The Seminar in Art Education ( even the music folk take this and we take a music class in the spring) and Politics and Advocacy ( this spans 2 semesters so it will be the other class in the spring).

The Seminar is about qualitative research in art ed and it is also going to deal with technology in art ed. The book is all about the computer. So We'll see, I'll let you know as we go along. This one is being taught by Matt Sutherlin who was a Priddy last year and got his Ph.d- He acutually applied to our District last spring but evidently got this gig instead.

The Politics and Advocacy class is taught by Dr. Davis, who is the director of the North Texas Institute for Educators in the Visual Arts (NTIEVA- which they pronounce N-TIVA) which manages the Priddy. He's been at UNT for 30 some years and is really dedicated to the whole field of arts advocacy. I'm looking forward. I'm told by former students that it's a real bear of a class and I'm actually glad to hear that.

In addition to the course required for the Priddy, I am taking courses required for my MA. They are Curriculum and Assessment taught by Dr. Connie Newton who is a full professor here in Art Ed, and The History of Art Ed taugh by Dr. Davis.

We have a really hefty stipend for travel and we were encouraged to spend it all. So I will definitely see you at TAEA and NAEA and will be looking into other cool things I can do with my travel money.

We were STRONGLY encouraged to begin searching for our summer internship. So if you have any brilliant ideas about that, let me know, I need to continue to make contacts.

Then we learned how to get paid, how to get our tuition and fees paid, how to use our health insurance, how to use our computers and get tech support, what equipment is available to us ( a lot of cool stuff, cameras, scanners, video, projectors, copiers, software) and how to get help for anything else.

Afterward most of us hung out and got to know each other a bit. There are mostly doctorial students in the program. I think there is only one other MA student and she's fresh out of undergrad, very cool gal named Heather who I met this summer when I was up getting my apt. She said she was "feeling behind "being only a masters student. I told her she was absolutely not allowed to feel "behind" around me. She laughed. But then I told her that there's no right time to do anything, which is how I really feel.

I'll tell you more about the others as I interact more with them. They are a mix of interests, talents, training, age, experience and all very cool. And we are off! We start classed on Monday.