Today has been quite relaxing, though very educational. Linda, our tour guide at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, was quite knowledgeable about the evolution of American art. Art is an area that I don’t even pretend to know much about, so it is always helpful to have someone that can point out subtleties that I probably would not notice on my own.

It was also interesting to note the different messages that can be inferred depending on the props/perspectives an artist chose to include. The evolution of artistic styles has a lot of potential for visual learning and how it reflects what is going on during the corresponding historical period. “Rachel Weeps” was a powerful portrayal of the tragedy of the smallpox epidemic and the mother’s genuine grief for the loss of her baby.

 

 

We had a great time at The New Deck Irish Pub which has become a favorite spot of the Colorado teacher “locals.” Thirteen of us (plus four) ended up at the same spot for dinner tonight. There was a lot of discussion about future trips including Atlanta, Chicago, New York and Virginia. There is no better way to do this because we know that the quality of the teacher has the most influence on student achievement.

 

 

Off to Amish country in the a.m.; learning about a culture that is traditional in a contemporary world should be quite interesting. I’m curious about what  is expected from us and what is not.