Adteacher

Leo Burnett - Chicago, ILL Thanks to our counselor at CCE, I met an agency professional who started his career in advertising about the same time that I did - he was born in 1961, so that makes him about the same age as my younger brother Scott. His name is Bret Stout, and I had him in my classroom as a guest speaker today. He remembers the learning curve that we all went through during the time that computers were making their entree into the creative world, and he described a lot of the same things that I feel have happened to me in my career. It was a great thing to have him reinforce the same things that I had said many times to my students before. Bret Stout began his career with a job in storyboarding at Leo Burnett in Chicago. His life took him from Los Angeles to Missouri to Texas to Chicago. That is quite a journey. He spent some time at Mizzou and then finished his studies at SMU. He went straight from SMU to Leo Burnett. From Leo Burnett, he switched to copywriting ...

OK, so those last looming days before it all hits. What is there to panic about really? Surely not the piles of dirty laundry that I have to do or the grades that I need to record and report before the break. Or the fact that I think I have a precious doggy at my house that is in the process of losing her eyesight? I shouldn't worry about that stuff, right? And yet somehow I do. Why do we get so "wrapped up" in ourselves and our own problems at the holidays? It really should be a time to forget those things and just enjoy life. So I try. I have a great deal to face these last few days of class before our long holiday. I am taking them each one step at a time. I am looking forward to seeing the group of friends that will gather up in the studio on Thursday evening for our Ugly Sweater party. It should be great! I am also hopeful that I will still have time to shop for the things that are on my family's list - Mark likes to do it at the last minute, so we usually ...

Guess what? It's absolutely normal to have many doubts and hesitancies at the age when you are trying to decide what to do with your life. Guess what else? The future is not completely unyielding. It gives and takes and changes . We do the best to prepare for what life might have in store for us and what our initial plan is. However, what and who we think we are at the age of 17 or 18 is often different than who we find we actually are, looking in the rearview mirror at the end of our careers. Sometimes we find ourselves doing amazing and wonderful things that we never expected and could not have possibly predicted or prepared for... Agonizing over college majors is common. I know that it seems like no decision will ever be more important and that you will always be whatever you decide you are now. Chances are that you will start out in whatever field you choose as your major. Chances are also strong that you will not finish there. Life takes you places and gives you opport...

Watching the clock. A bad habit. I had always wondered since I became a teacher about 13 years ago now, why some students were so much easier for me to relate to than others, and then it hit me. It's about work. When I was a kid, I had a teacher named Mrs. Pollock. She was my 6th grade teacher. She was one of the "scary" teachers for all the kids in the school, because she was thought of as "mean" by many of the kids I knew. I never knew dread like the day I found out I had been assigned to her class. Oh no, NOT Mrs. Pollock! I just knew it would be a miserable year. On the contrary, it turned out to be not only one of the best years in elementary school, but also she turned out to be one of my favorite teachers. She wasn't mean at all, but one thing about it... she expected her students to be the best students in the 6th grade. (They didn't have to be the smartest, but they had to work hard. She gave you good grades if she knew you were working h...

The fall field trip - photography scavenger hunt! This has been such a great week! I took about 50 students with me on a photo scavenger hunt in Denton for the day, and we had a great sunny day out of the studio to concentrate on becoming more observant of our surroundings and better with our cameras. I am looking forward to another field trip in the spring semester too. It is still in the planning stages, but I always enjoy the students on our field trips and it helps me to spend time with them in a more casual and relaxed atmosphere. We were happy to welcome a few additional chaperones on the trip, our counselor, Mrs. Hemenway and our instructional technologist, Mrs. Adams. Thanks for joining in the fun with us, ladies. In other news, CCE has had the first student receive their acceptance letter from a major design school - other than Mallory Strong, who is a transfer in from Dale Jackson and my program over there. The new student accepted is Andrew Jimenez, who was accepted...

Today was a challenge. First of all, I felt as though I hit the door already behind for the week. Then I realized a few things that I needed to get completed that I didn't do over the weekend that I had promised to some people. I quickly got them taken care of and then realized that, well, I was not going to be able to accomplish some things in class that I had really wanted to do. Sometimes, you have to lean back, take a deep breath, and realize that the most important thing is the PEOPLE, not the work. So I smiled at a few students, asked them how they were doing, and the wonderful part is that they looked back at me and said "how are YOU doing today, Mrs. H?" Yep. It's that people part of life that makes it all so special. So what if I get delayed on a few of my deadlines? I can reconfigure things and make those all work out. I don't get that many second chances with people though. Instead of worrying that my website update wasn't perfect or that anot...

I have never been an athlete. But I raised one. A baseball player, specifically. He started playing T-ball when he was about 4 years old. He didn't have pushy athletic parents, obviously me nor his father were trying to fulfill some sort of unfulfilled personal athletic glory. We never played sports, but we were happy if sports were his thing. He asked us as a little bitty boy if he could "join the team" and we had to do research to even know where to sign him up. He played all the way through his senior year in high school. He was really good at first base, and he had some good successes at bat and running the bases too. He loved the game. He still does at the age of 25 as a young professional. He plays corporate softball at the advertising agency where he works, and he watches every game he can that his favorite team, The Texas Rangers, plays in. Now comes the part about learning to accept defeat. As a four year varsity player, my son had to endure several untimel...

I had a little talk about motivation today. Actually, I had several. One was with my class at large. One was with an individual. No matter how often I have to go over the material that I teach, no matter how slowly I feel we are moving on our deadlines - I never get impatient. Unless... Unless a student displays a lack of internal motivation or "self-discipline". See, I was raised in the 1960s by some parents who were raised in the 1940s. I guess that means that there were certain things that I learned early on in life, mostly because life was much different back then. It was easier for most kids, and for most families. Now there is a lot more reason for students to feel "stressed out" and I do feel bad about that. Nonetheless, it isn't impossible for these students to have high expectations of themselves. Most of the ones that I get to work with do. There are always a few who need to re-focus now and then. Here is a video that explains a little bit abou...

Copyrighted artwork Cindi Lynch available at etsy.com Got past that bad cold and feel much more on the upswing. I am overly busy at times and then when I do get some time to myself, it seems I am feeling overly lazy! There are two wonderful little miniature schnauzers that keep me so grounded. No matter how busy everyone else in my family gets, these little guys always have time for me. In fact, they are the ones who are happy to see me no matter whether I am in a good mood or a bad mood. They simply don't care - they love me regardless of all that! I think that is why God gave us animal companions. I have been in a sports haze this weekend. First came bitter disappointment on Friday night when the Rangers lost game one to the Yankees, then elation after game two when they won to even up the series. I have great hopes for game three with Cliff Lee pitching. After that, who knows? Then the disappointment of a 1-4 start for the Cowboys this season. I think it will be very d...

It didn't turn out to be the kind of weekend that I was dreaming of last week. Not to feel sorry for myself, but I had a headache from late Friday afternoon to the present moment - Monday night. I have had a disgusting head cold that has put me in bed on one of the most beautiful weekends of the year, and I didn't get to go to the Rangers' home playoff game or to the State Fair - both of which I was really looking forward to. I was at home alone for most of the three days, just watching old TV shows and trying to breathe. Ugh. But on the bright side, I feel like I am on the upside of the cold and that maybe if I sleep well tonight, I will be fine to go back to school on Tuesday. Since this was a three day weekend, I didn't miss a day of school, and I always hate missing class, so that makes me happy. I hope that I can get some of my lost energy back and get caught up on some printing that needs to be done, and I also hope that I can get back to counseling individu...

I got a visit from the very entrepreneurial Calvin and Ryan Sprague today, and I got filled in on their http://www.thisisouryear.net/ venture. They have really gotten so much business for their design firm, Pavlovvisuals (see http://www.pavlovvisuals.com/ ) doing merchandise for well known musical artists and local bands too, that they are now branching into the world of sports merchandise. The "Claws Out" shirt that they designed is very popular and selling like hotcakes. I know I'll be wearing mine this weekend and during the rest of the games until the World Series is over, and I am going to be so much happier during those games when I realize that I have on a popular shirt that some of my former students were responsible for. Go Rangers! I have so many former students that I am so very proud of. The list of students who are out there in the world working and doing great things is becoming longer each year, and I guess I'd have to say that motherhood and my lo...

Every day this week when I have walked out to my car, I have realized that I missed out on the weather during one of the most beautiful times of the year. I was kind of sad when I realized it, but I have been so tired every day that I just had to go ahead and go home to rest. This weekend we have a wonderful 3 day weekend for the holiday that is both Texas State Fair Day and Columbus Day. I would love to go out to the fair, I only have a few weekends to get there this year. But I feel like I MUST catch some of the lovely Texas autumn. The sun has been out, the sky has been clear and blue, but the air is what really makes it special. There is a slight crispness, not really a chill, but a crispness. I love this time of year in this state, and I hate to go through too many more long workdays where I just miss the day. This weekend, even if its just a bikeride around the neighborhood... I will be outside. Ideally, I will be here though. The great Texas State Fair. Eating a Fletcher's...

All CCE students, working on my class project. I guess pride can be a bad thing, but honestly, in the case of the pride I had today - well, I am pretty sure it is a good thing. I was always so happy when someone told me when I was a kid that they were "proud of me." I got to say that to a roomful of teenagers today, and I really meant it. There was a group presentation today and it went really, really well. The kids were good at their presentations, but they were also good at giving and receiving feedback and having a mature discussion without erupting into chatter and silliness like sometimes can happen in a high school classroom. I was just very proud! OK, proud talk is over... "In teaching you cannot see the fruit of a day's work.  It is invisible and remains so, maybe for twenty years."  ~Jacques Barzun I hope that I can be around to see my kids, my students and my possible grandchildren sometime 20 years down the road from now. I guess by tha...

Concern is a natural thing. I am always concerned. I am concerned about my family, my students, my job, myself. I am learning not to worry though . Even though it has taken me 50 years to figure it out (I'm kind of a slow learner) I have FINALLY thought about it and realized that no matter how much I worry about something or someone, it does no good. All it does is hurt me. I didn't say I didn't have concern, but concern does not equal worry. Let's look at dictionary definitions of those two words. Worry -verb  to torment oneself with or suffer from disturbing thoughts; fret Concern -verb  to relate to; be connected with; be of interest or importance to; affect . Even though I think we commonly mix these two up, one is obviously more disruptive to a healthy lifestyle than the other. Worry causes negativity, concern is generally a positive thing. Hmm. Positive/negative? Which to be, which to do? It seems obvious when you view it in those terms. I don't know...

So these seven were nominated by their teachers and are going to be honored by Mr. Moreno. I like it when we find those students who are motivated and seem to be pushing themselves really hard. I don't know all of these students personally because they are not in my classes, but I do know Andrew, and I can tell you that he has what it takes to be a professional graphic designer or photographer. I have a new photo that he took in the studio recently, and it shows promise! It makes me want to drink a Coke too, so I think I'll run for now. But yeah, congrats to these students!

I'm Looking Through You lyrics Copyright John Lennon and Paul McCartney I'm looking through you, where did you go? I thought I knew you, what did I know? You don't look different, but you have changed. I'm looking through you, you're not the same... Your lips are moving, I cannot hear Your voice is soothing, but the words aren't clear You don't sound different, I've learned the game. I'm looking through you, you're not the same. With every new year, I have returning students. It truly amazes me how much they grow up from year to year. I have had the distinct pleasure of having taught certain of my students from the age of middle school through their senior year, and it is sometimes a little bit mind-blowing how they morph and change during the course of that time of their lives. I'm lucky to get to be a small part of their development into young adults. I hope I am making a good impression on them as well.

Every week that passes makes me feel like I am more and more secure about my relocation to Career Center East. It was difficult to unplug from Dale Jackson after 11 years there, but it is good to be feeling more at home here at CCE after a month of classes. I know the students better and I think the ones that came over here with me from DJCC feel more and more that they know what to expect. Things are going well! In other news, I am in love with the weather right now! Yes! The time is here to finally feel the breezes and crystalline air. Scattered fallen leaves here and there...if summer is soon gone by, it is really fine with me. My eyes are soon to be seeing the gorgeous warming tones of green turned to gold and orange and yellow, and I can pull those sweaters out of the back of the closet and return them to the front until next March. My shorts have already been put away for the season, and I am wearing long pants and longer sleeves. I love warm sunny...

Last one out, shut the door! It has been a wondrous day around here. I am seeing engaged and talented kids around here all hours of the day and into the evening! We are enjoying our creative time together and we are also very happy to be working in this great space. We have a lot going on - a project based on Stereotyping, food styling, advanced applied graphics (candy box designs, CD/DVD packaging and books, dustjacket design) and also some great logo design and photography, just as an aside. It is undoubtedly the most enthused group that I have taught for quite some time, and they are just incredibly fun to work with! I just had a couple of students from Hebron who worked after school for hours, and another small group who stayed after to do another different photo shoot with projected imagery, very cool. Good day in 'da house.

it is really oversimplification. It allows people to not go to all the hassle of figuring out what people are REALLY all about and just make assumptions based on very little evidence. For example, I am an artist. For as long as I can remember, I have been referred to as the "artsy" girl, the "artsy" lady. Forever! Assumptions are made by many people that because I am "artsy" I can't handle complexities. That all I can do is "make pretty pictures" and that I must not be very substantive. I find that to be a wrong assessment, and it is merely a stereotype of female artists in particular. Other stereotypes run rampant about those in the artistic community. Counselors will often automatically try to "dumb down" college schedules thinking that we "artsy" ones cannot handle math or science. Also an unfair and unwise assumption. Although those were not favorite subjects for me, I handled them in college with a fair amount of ea...

Sometimes I think it's a really good thing to stop in your tracks and take stock. Ask yourself how you're doing in life. Just in general. I try to do that at the end of each day. I ask myself if I said anything to anyone in anger or just out of spite. I ask myself if I ignored someone who might have really needed some special attention from me. I ask myself if I am proud of myself for how I acted. If I answer too many times in the negative, then I try to talk about it to myself a little bit in my mind. Self analysis. "Hey, dummy! Why did you do that? Maybe you can do better tomorrow, eh?" I know that may seem a little bit odd, but I have been doing that since I was a kid. It's not that I feel that I must be pleasing everyone else at the expense of meeting my own needs, but if I am meeting my own needs at the expense of others... well, I see that as a problem. Think about it. That good old golden rule should be a guidepost for human behaviour. Who doesn't...

I often see the "little kid" in the eyes of some of my high school students when we hit the topic of stereotypes and especially bullying in school. I'll ask that they not necessarily raise their hand, but if they will just think back to when they were in elementary school and middle school (for some of them, that is not that long ago...) and it is hard to define, but it's a sort of wistfulness that sweeps across their face. It's a notion that they are having a vague feeling of nostalgia mixed with a sort of melancholy. I know from their faces that they have been the victim of hurtful words from time to time. We all have. I remember once when someone I didn't even know called me a name, based on my physical characteristics. I was stung, and then I was just angry. I understand how it feels to be bullied. Our school counselor is going to be doing a presentation to our school next Monday on cyber-bullying, and I can hardly wait to hear it. I think it does us...

Huh? What's a Moxie Sozo? Well, Moxie Sozo is a Boulder, Colorado PR, Advertising and Design firm. Not just any firm... they have been wise enough to hire recent Kansas City Art Institute graduate and former DJCC Ad Design alumni, Ramzy Masri. Ramzy's first job out of KCAI is a real dream come true... a socially conscious and innovative designer like Ramzy has found just the same in the firm that has hired him. http://www.moxiesozo.com/index.php Who has moxie? (Moxie = backbone: fortitude and determination) MoxieSozo has moxie. And now, MoxieSozo has Ramzy.

For any of you looking for an update on what Karen To has been up to lately, check out her new website. It has a great deal of very cool work on it, and it showcases her great design sensibilities. She has recently posted it, and she has not completely proofed it - but overlook the spelling for now, and take a look at the work itself. It is a preview of what is to come when she launches her professional site next year. Enjoy! http://www.karen-to.com/

I have really earned my paycheck this week. Most weeks I feel like I do, but this week in particular has been a doozy. I like the feeling of putting in a full day of honest work, but I could have used a tiny bit more "me time" this week. I know that I have work to do over the weekend to prepare for another busy week next week, but I really hope to get those moments of sitting at home with my feet up just enjoying life. They have flown past me lately, and I want to reclaim some of that! With that said, I feel as though at 7:19 PM, it is time for me to leave CCE for the day. Over and out! See everyone tomorrow!

Our old friend, Wikipedia, has defined sleep very simply. Sleep is a naturally recurring altered state of consciousness with relatively suspended sensory and motor activity, characterized by the inactivity of nearly all voluntary muscles.  For me, sleep is just practically impossible these days. I am still plagued by my summer nightowl habits, and I can't seem to wind down. Then it's 7 AM and I realize that I haven't slept enough hours and it's - to say the least - a "rude awakening." I never used to value the wonderful ability I had to just doze off at a reasonable hour. Maybe it's just a thing that I am discovering recently, but I don't seem to need as much sleep as I used to. I can keep going on just about 5 hours of sleep without any problem. Why do we need less sleep as we get older? According to Live Science, "Healthy aging appears to be associated with reductions in sleep duration and depth required to maintain daytime alertness." Ac...

SCAD, you are getting two of our graduates in a few days! Lucky you! Ryan Brownhill and Ariel Coday are off to college, and both recently dropped by to say goodbye. We will miss you both and for Heaven's sake, do great things at SCAD! We are anxiously awaiting your updates from school. Good luck and our best wishes for success go with you. Ryan was with us for five semesters if you count his internship, and Ariel, while with us for only two semesters was able to make her dreams come true! She told me on the way out of town that she has been invited to be in the Student Honors Ambassadors program and that she may already have an internship lined up in Washington DC for next summer! Good things are happening for our graduates, and that always makes me happy. Another weird thing is that Ryan and Ariel ended up one door down from each other in the dorm at SCAD! Who would've expected that? Crazy coincidence! Keep each other sane and on top of your game, guys. You both have worked ha...

It's 2 PM on Labor Day, and I am in the midst of a day full of work and trial. Setting up the photography studio for the upcoming week has proved to be more difficult than I feared it might be due to the fact that only the product lighting arrived and not the portrait lighting... This will be helpful for the first year students, but not so much the advanced students. I have a lot of work ahead of me (which would not have been at all possible without Andi, my wonderful daughter, and Ryan Urban) I have a large group of people who are planning to be at the house at 7 PM to celebrate my eldest son's 26th birthday - oh wow. That makes me old enough to have kids who are on the slippery slope toward 30. Soon I will be getting the senior discount at Denny's. Life moves on!

College students are making their way back to school in faraway lands. CalArts , SCAD , Michigan, etc., all across the country. I have had many very nice conversations recently with students who are making their way to college for the first time as well as some who are going back. One thing remains consistent - the joy that I feel knowing that they care enough to come back to high school to visit their old teacher. I feel so lucky to have a neat bunch of college grads as well as current college students. I try to stay informed about what life is like for each one of them, but I have lost touch with a few. I hope that life is treating them well and that they felt well prepared for the challenges that college life presented them with. Sometimes life is funny, and I get included on some of their great conversations. Today there were 4 alumni here after school along with about 4 or 5 of our current students, just hanging out in the studio with me and enjoying the time together. I got a c...

I should have gone home long ago. LONG ago. There's no air conditioning right now in the studio and it's after 8 PM... But here I sit at my desk at CCE, looking at the photography of recent DJCC graduate, Cason Hallock. I can't seem to pull myself away. Cason has recently been taking photos with his new macro lens, and they are jawdropping. I have been mesmerized for the past 30 min., and I have so much other work to get done, but Cason's gorgeous photos have taken their toll on my time management! I am so lucky to get to work with such talented artists who are so generous with their work. I will be printing several of Cason's recent photos to add to the rapidly developing collection that is going up in the CCE studio. Cason is such a humble young man, but he has a real talent behind the lens and I hope that he will go on to pursue the field of photography with a vengeance. I can tell that he loves it, and he is doing such great things with his Nikon. Keep on shooti...

Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948) I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles, but today it means getting along with people.--Gandhi I am pretty sure that Gandhi had a lot of things right. His opinion on leadership is surely correct, and it cannot be stated clearly enough. The importance of being capable of being a team player and getting along well with the people you work in close contact with is one of the surest ways of becoming a success. To become a good leader, you will need to know when to use a certain leadership style for a given situation. Authoritative style: This style should be used when you wish to persuade those that follow you to carry out a specific task. A leader who uses the authoritative method is telling their followers to "join them." This is a style of leadership which will convey a great deal of confidence. Coercive method:  When a leader uses this style, they are telling their followers to "do as I say, not as I do." This style i...

I was just posting on the new class site, ccedesign.blogspot.com and I realized what a great day it had been for a Monday... It is really something else around here. We have an explosively talented group of young advanced students mixed into the afternoon group of beginning designers, and there are already 30 people in this room. It is very exciting to see the potential. It floats around this studio like a golden cloud of "wonderful" and I feel the presence of some amazing yet to be fulfilled possibilities. This year feels like it might be the strongest year yet, and I am slightly hesitant to predict such an outlandish thing... since I have loved so many of the years that I have taught in this district. But this year feels a little bit special. I have more really good photographers this year than I can ever remember having before. I am looking at their work on flickr and other portfolio sites, and WOW! Just wow. I am also proud of Mallory Strong for being a featured ph...

To introduce everyone to the new place, I am planning to open the studio for coffee at 7:30 PM on Thursday evening, Sept. 23rd. If you are curious, and you want to join our new LISD Ad Design/Graphic Design/Illustration alumni group and help us come up with a less ponderous name for it, stop in for a cuppa Joe and perhaps some cookies? Not that I'm trying to bribe you to be a part of our alumni group, but hey, it's cookies and coffee. We would like to stay in touch with our alumni in a big way. We want to know what's cooking with you guys and to also have you be a part of what we will be doing in the future. So if your curiosity is up, come by our new school and see what we are doing. There's a map on this link. http://cce.lisd.net/location/index.htm  I hope to also introduce to you our new teacher at Dale Jackson, Evan Cranston. I think you will all be very impressed with him too. What a guy. I know a lot of alumni have moved far, far away from Lewisville and won...

At 4:20 every afternoon, a train comes by the new Career Center East on a track that is located right past the faculty parking lot. I can look down from my studio window and see it go by every day. It kind of reminds me of a few things and makes me think when I watch it go past. Although I have changed locations recently, and the studio is different and the students are new this semester (except for 11 advanced students whom I have already worked with) we still have the "feel" of the studio the way it has always been. We work hard and we have high expectations, at this time of year especially. Everything that we are going to accomplish is ahead of us, kind of like the track that lies ahead of this train... THE TRAIN OF LIFE Some folks ride the train of life looking out the rear, Watching miles of life roll by and marking every year. They sit in sad remembrance of wasted days gone by, And curse their life for what it was and hang their head and cry. But I don't concer...

We may not have two cats in the yard, but it is a great place nonetheless! I have to say, we are quite satisfied with our new home at CCE. The architects of the building just gave us a nice ice cream party to welcome us to the new building and it was Ben and Jerry's all the way, with toppings and the works! We feel very special here at the Career Center East, and very blessed to be in our new classrooms and studios and labs with our great LISD students. Photos of the new studio are going to start appearing on this blog regularly now, and as soon as I get a chance to get across town to DJCC to show you what Mr. Cranston's take on that studio is, I will share that with you as well. Our classes at CCE are very full. The PM class has 30 students, and the AM class has 24. Mr. Cranston is teaching animation this semester, but next semester he will have a graphic design class as well... so be watching for that! I am very excited by the fact that we are offering graphic design, anima...