STAR-POST (Art) January 2020 FINAL_STAR Post Art Jan 2020 | Page 64

Through Yoko’s sharing on self-care, we learnt about the three-ring theory
and the importance of safeguarding the outermost circle of the ring -- our
personal boundaries. This is the key to better work-life balance and self-care;
we should not let other elements spill over into our personal space and time.
During the workshop, we were also engaged with various book-making
activities such as making books anew again via destruction, learning the
kettle stitch, and using old catalogues, pamphlets with other materials to
create book sculptures. These activities served as good ideas to be shared
with our students. We could think about the ways through which we approach
paper and text as a medium so as to engage our students in critical thinking
and help them perceive books in a different light.
Our project
Learning alongside fellow art teachers through this workshop, we had the
opportunity to share and listen to issues faced by both beginning teachers
and experienced teachers. Through these discussions, we came to realisation
that we are not alone in facing similar issues as art educators. The shared
experience led us to develop our book project- Never Say Earlier.
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Each section of the book - Never Say Earlier was created by
the eight teacher-participants with Michael Lee mentoring us
throughout the process. Working collaboratively to support
one another through the process was the key to our success in
completing the book within the short time frame. The ideas
gained from the collaborations and discussions helped us
to conceptualise our book – the content and how the book
should be presented. This experience of us working together
echoed the importance of group work in our classrooms
where students learn from the process, the fundamental skills
of working as a collective unit toward a common goal, time
management, resource allocation and communication skills.
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