After my first discussion about this directed study with Dr. Norm Yakel, something important repeated in my mind.
Norm advised me to allow this project to take me in places that I haven’t intended. Perhaps that may be where some of the greatest learning takes place. Where is this taking me, and what is my focus? The first community of artists that I have begun to study has come about rather matter-of-chance. I did not set out to study a group of musicians, let alone the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And yet, the Rock Hall is a great example of exactly what I’ve been looking for. It is a unified community of artists that has had significant shaping force on the western world and beyond. Before the start of this study, I thought that I knew exactly what I was looking for. I want to find common elements between several major communities, and I want to find ways to replicate these elements in order to spark and fuel change from within my community. However as a study of this scale unfolds, there is a need to allow it to take me to unintended places.
One of the central focuses of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation is to celebrate its culture and heritage. One of the
Foundation’s many functions is to recognize the contributions of those who have had a significant impact on the evolution, development and perpetuation of rock and roll by inducting them into the Hall of Fame. This very process of recognition is something that could be emulated on a smaller scale. In my situation, as a teacher of visual arts, I could make better use of awards ceremonies and banquets in order to better celebrate achievements in visual art in my school community. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame invites musicians to speak about the impact of and influence of their peers. I feel that for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, these induction ceremonies solidify the sense of community while the musicians celebrate their common purpose: the evolution, development and perpetuation of rock and roll. Perhaps this is a model that could work in my setting as well. Perhaps I could have student artists introduce and say a few words about their peers at awards ceremonies. Perhaps this would contribute to, and enhance, a sense of community among the artists in my school community.
Filed under: Communities of Artist Creating Change | Tagged: Rock and Roll, Hall of Fame, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, study, education | Leave a Comment »










I have two tree planting projects in mind, one smaller, and one quite large (from my perspective). I would like to plant trees indoor (inside our classroom) as soon as possible with my homeroom and with a couple of other teacher’s homeroom classrooms in the school as well. The idea here is to have students take care of the tree seedlings for the rest of the school year, and at the end of the year, they will take them home to plant in their yard.
Originally, I had attempted to get trees from our provincial crown power corporation. That was a process that just didn’t feel quite right. This corporation uses the waste heat produced by one of its power plants aid in growing over 500,000 seedlings each year which are 



Earthrise is the name given to this photograph of the Earth taken by astronaut William Anders in 1968 during the Apollo 8 mission. In Life’s 100 Photographs that Changed the World, it was called “the most influential environmental photograph ever taken.” Photos of the Earth from space are so striking because they show how beautiful the planet is when viewed from a distance. Such photos of Earth allow us to view our planet as one singular system, which we are a part of. They remind us that we only have one Earth to work with, and that we depend on it for our survival. Against the inky blackness of space, our home appears small and fragile, a living miracle of air, water, soil, and vegetation.
manufactured goods. Although it is of course true that humans are animals, we do not often like to be reminded of it. Indeed most of us know that we are mammals, however, we think it an insult to be called an animal, be it a pig, a dog, monkey, what have-you. Calling someone an animal is deemed as a derogatory statement.
When I first looked at images of the Earth at night, I remember being struck by their power. They are immediatley grasping in their ability to communicate visually. If we go by the old rule that every picture is worth a thousand words, then these collage of images certainly have something interesting to say. As I have spent more time looking at these images, I am struck by the notion that the Earth looks sick. The lights are symptoms of the spreading illness. Man-kinds current ways of thinking are destroying our planet.
Now, this all seems very depressing, in a doom and gloom sort of manner. There is however a positive spin that can be taken from these visuals. That of course would be to understand the size and scope of impact that we have had in transforming our planet in such a small amount of time. This is important only because there is still hope. There is still time to reverse our effects. Man-kind is not necessarily the cause of Earth’s sickness, but rather man-kinds current ways of thinking. We need to change the ways in which we think, consume, and pollute. If we get the ball rolling towards new ways of thinking, we can have massive impact in very little time. Our objective is to work towards a sustainable, healthy relationship with our home, Gaia, Mother Earth.

