Background and Cross Curricular Approach
My school (within the Pittsburgh Public School System) is an urban school with some key aspects of privilege and advantage. Although we are part of the larger Pittsburgh Public School system, due to our magnet school status, we have a much higher access to visual art, writing, dance, theatre, and music, along with other amenities that many of the other schools in the district might not have as much direct access to.
Along with the access to the arts, we have, as part of our school campus, access to a well-maintained urban garden and are located within short walking distance to not only one of the largest public parks in the city but we are within walking distance of the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium. Our garden is home to numerous edible plants and also a variety of different flowers and other plants. This garden has been very useful when it comes to still life and observational drawing as well as being a great location to practice our journaling skills. I do not take access to these amenities for granted as they are great resources.
Even with our privileges and advantages as a school, we still have many of the same issues and challenges as other schools in the district. We still have difficulties with student concentration, academic focus, and other issues that can plague students of all ages. With the constant distance and use of screens, these issues, unfortunately, have seemed to become compounded during and since the pandemic. To be completely forthright, many of the behavioral issues that arise in my class seem to stem from the combination of digital devices and the pandemic and their impacts on habits and behaviors.
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