Rodney’s Making Visible post (http://rdraughn.blogspot.com/) was a very interesting and creative account of an encounter of signs that altar one’s everyday life. Inspired by Rodney’s short story, I would love to explore the impact of signs of altering everyday routine and encourage alternative ways of looking at something and knowing. In my future art teaching space I thought it would be interesting to collect images of signs like the one Rodney discussed and create signs out of the images. Then I would place the series of signs around my doorway both inside and out of the classroom. The display would not only demonstrate examples of things that disrupt daily routine but also altar the routine of students that enter and exit the classroom. Hopefully the signs would prompt students to analyze the message of the signs and consider their own daily routines. Changing the signs every few weeks would also keep the students aware and constantly keep them thinking. I also think that this would be a great basis for a student art making project. The students could make their own signs to place around the doorway to the art classroom and perhaps others around the school.
Stephen also had an incredible post (http://www.personal.psu.edu/swi100/blogs/s_izzos_aed_813_blog/blog/). I felt as though I was watching a little film in my head, his words were so descriptive and moving. Stephen makes a strong point of the influential role furniture, like a park bench, could have. I would love to do an experimental project in my future art room to call attention to the role of furniture in students lives. One day I would alter or exchange the desk and chairs for a variety of different furniture. I would observe students reactions and then ask them to reflect on the role of furniture, particularly furniture that they use frequently, such as a desk and chair. Then I might have them do an artmaking project that illustrates the experience of the change in furniture or reflects a “relationship” that they may have with a specific piece of furniture.
I loved how March in her Making Visible blog (http://lmp254.blogspot.com/) creatively took the perspective of a native to reflect on the space they both occupied and March as well. I think this would be a very interesting starting point for an activity to disrupt students’ current ways of thinking. I would gather (or have students gather) images of other beings occupying the school ground, such as a squirrel, a tree, a couple living across the street from the school. I would hang the images around the classroom and ask the students to take the perspective from one of the characters displayed to reflect on the space they all occupy and reflect on themselves from an outsiders point of view. Students could then illustrate their reflections in a creative visual or writing piece.
Journey through AEd 813 
1. Great idea inspired from Rodney’s Making Visible post. First you do the activity of creating signs and they learn from this embodied experience of walking into the classroom. I expect that if they see you making these, or hanging them, you will serve as a role model and this will stimulate their creation of signs to add to the class doorway without even assigning as a project. This is a way to intrinsically motivate learning.
2. Simple reading Stephen’s provocative story of the park bench could motivate a project in which students create a graphic novel of day in the life of a piece of furniture they know well.
3. Your 3rd idea inspired from March’s Making Visible blog entry is an excellent way to develop empathy, or empathetic ways of knowing. I hope you use some or all of these ideas in your unit in Exploration 9.