THIS
THIS WERE
THIS WERE A NORMAL SCHOOL YOUR LOCAL NONPROFIT VAPOR FOUNDATION WOULD BE HOSTING
ENRICHMENT PROGRAMS, HONOR
CONCERTS AND MUCH MORE. INSTEAD
WHAT THEY'RE DOING IS THEY'RE
WORKING TO MAKE MORE STUDENTS
MAKE SURE THAT MORE AND MORE
STUDENTS GET WHAT THEY NEED TO
LEARN AND CREATE AT HOME. AND
YOU CAN HELP DURING THEIR KIDS
FOR KIDS ART SUPPLY DRIVE. THIS
MORNING WE HAVE ENGLISH AND ART
TEACHER AT TAFT MIDDLE SCHOOL
AARON CORTEZ AS WELL AS FOURTH
GRADE ART STUDENT CHRISTIAN AND
HIS MOM VALERIE JOINING US THIS
MORNING. GOOD MORNING TO ALL
THREE OF YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH
FOR JOINING. I'M SO EXCITED TO
TALK ABOUT THIS. LET'S BEGIN
WITH AARON. OBVIOUSLY IT'S BEEN
SO DIFFICULT. YOU KNOW, IN YOUR
OWN WORDS, WHAT HAS TEACHING
BEEN LIKE SINCE THE KOVAC
QUARANTINE? OH, WOW. SO SINCE
MARCH 13TH OUR LIVES AS
TEACHERS HAVE REALLY CHANGED AS
WELL AS FOR OUR STUDENT. BEN,
YOU KNOW, AT FIRST IT WAS ON
CRISIS MODE AND WE JUST AS A
TEAM WE PUT OURSELVES TOGETHER.
WE BRAINSTORMED IDEAS ON HOW WE
CAN MAKE THIS WORK. AND I THINK
THAT WE ARE DOING A GREAT JOB
OF LEARNING LOTS OF MATERIALS
AND REALLY ADAPTING OUR
CURRICULUM FOR THE VIRTUAL
FORMAT. YEAH. YOU KNOW, ART
SUPPLIES MAY SEEM LIKE A LUXURY
TO PARENTS RIGHT NOW. HAVE YOU
SEEN MORE PARENTS STRUGGLING
FINANCIALLY? OH, DEFINITELY. SO
AT THE BEGINNING OF
THE PANDEMIC IN MARCH I WAS
ALREADY ENGAGED IN MY FEET IN
MY ART CLASS. AND SO WHAT I DID
IS I PUT OUT A SURVEY TO
STUDENTS SAYING WHAT ART
MATERIALS DO YOU HAVE AT HOME?
AND ALTHOUGH I KNOW OUR SCHOOL
REALLY WAS GOING TO BE
STRUGGLING WITH THAT, ABOUT 20
PERCENT OF OUR STUDENTS DID NOT
EVEN HAVE BASIC NEEDS LIKE
PAPER AT HOME TO CREATE ART. SO
WE REALLY HAD TO GET INTO THAT
CREATIVE MINDSET OF HOW ARE WE
GOING TO TEACH WITH LIMITED
RESOURCES AT HOME? SO WE USE
THINGS LIKE RECYCLED MATERIALS
AND WE DID ALL KINDS I DON'T
KNOW IF YOU HEARD ABOUT IT ON
SOCIAL MEDIA BUT THE ART
HISTORY CHALLENGE WHERE KIDS
DRESS UP AS FAMOUS PAINTINGS.
THAT WAS A LOT OF FUN TO DO.
YOU KNOW, ART IS SO MUCH FUN.
WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT TO MAKE
SURE STUDENTS HAVE ART SUPPLIES
?YES, VERY MUCH SO. AND SO
THIS YEAR WE ARE JUMPING IN
BECAUSE THE DISTRICT PROVIDED
CHROME BOOKS. WE JUMPED IN
BECAUSE WE KNOW KIDS ARE
MISSING THOSE THINGS. SO WE ARE
DOING SOME GRAPHIC ART DESIGN
RIGHT NOW AND IT'S GOING REALLY
WELL. BUT THERE IS NOTHING LIKE
THE TACTILE WAY OF MAKING ART
BY USING WATERCOLORS AND SOME
COLORED PENCILS ALL THE ALL
THE THINGS YOU WOULD SEE IN A
TRADITIONAL ART CLASSROOM. THAT
IS YEAH. THAT IS SO TRUE. I
WANT TO CHECK IN WITH CHRISTIAN
NOW IN HIS MOM VALERIE.
CHRISTIAN, I HEARD YOU MADE
YOUR OWN COMIC BOOK. TELL ME
ABOUT THAT. IT'S CALLED E.T..
IT'S ABOUT THIS CAT. WE MEET
OTHER INVENTORS AROUND
DIFFERENT PLACES. AND I MEAN
IT'S ANOTHER CHARACTER WHICH IS
A PANDA INSTITUTION AND WE OWN
THE RESTAURANT. AND IN THIS
BOOK, DR. KITTY GOES TO
PATRICIA'S RESTAURANT. VERY
GOOD. OK. I WAS GOING TO ASK
YOU TO SHOW US. SAY THE NAME
AGAIN BECAUSE YOU WERE NOT ON
CAMERA. WHAT IS THE NAME OF
YOUR COMIC BOOK PUPPET? WHAT IS
IT UP TO POP STAR TYPE? THAT'S
RIGHT, POP STAR KITTY. OK, I'M
SORRY WITH THE ZOOM IT'S KIND
OF SOMETIMES IT'S HARD TO HEAR.
WHAT'S YOUR NEXT PROJECT THAT
YOU'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT
SEEMS SO COOL. DO YOU HAVE
ANYTHING ELSE ON THE LIST OF
NEXT PROJECT THAT YOU'RE
LOOKING FORWARD TO AND LIKING
HOW TO READ OR WRITE? HALLOWEEN
ART THAT'S GONNA BE REALLY COOL
.WHAT YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT ART
ARE IS SO MUCH FUN. I HAVE A
THREE YEAR OLD MYSELF AND WHEN
WE SIT DOWN WE CAN BE THERE YOU
KNOW FOR AN HOUR OR TWO HOURS
JUST LIKE DRAWING, CUTTING,
GLUING ALL THAT STUFF. WHAT DO
YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT ART? I
THINK YOU CAN GET ANYWHERE NEAR
YOUR ARE JUST FREE WHENEVER YOU
WORK WITH THESE BEEPERS OR
ANYTHING. THAT IS AWESOME.
VALERIE, I JUST WANT TO ASK YOU
AS YOU WATCH YOUR SON GET
CREATIVE, WHAT GOES THROUGH
YOUR MIND BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE
SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, ART TAKES
KIDS AND A WHOLE NEW DIRECTION
.I THINK IT'S REALLY ME OR
WHEN I WAS GROWING WE WERE
EXPOSED TO ART SO MUCH SO IT'S
NICE. IT'S JUST A REGULAR PART
OF LIFE. YEAH, IT REALLY IS
BEAUTIFUL. I'M AARON. I JUST
WANNA ASK YOU WHEN IS THIS KIDS
FOR KIDS ART SUPPLY DRIVE? IS
THIS SATURDAY? GO ON. I'M SORRY
IT IS THIS SATURDAY AND I
BELIEVE IT STARTS AT 8 A.M.
UNTIL 11:00 P.M. OR 11:00 A.M.
.HOW CAN PEOPLE PARTICIPATE
AND TAKE WHAT THEY CAN DO IS
THEY CAN TAKE SUPPLIES THAT ARE
ALL WRAPPED UP AND THEY CAN
DROP THEM OFF WHERE AND THAT
IS. I'M SO SORRY I DON'T HAVE
IT ON ME RIGHT THIS MINUTE. IT
IS AT I BELIEVE AT LINCOLN HIGH
SCHOOL. OK. DON'T WORRY. WE'LL
GET THAT INFORMATION WAS POSTED
ON OUR WEB SITE. BUT AARON
CHRISTIAN VALERIE, THANK YOU SO
MUCH FOR JOINING US FOR TALKING
ABOUT KIDS