Fan Mail

Ever since I put my AP Art curriculum on this blog, I’ve received emails from teachers all over the world. I’m thrilled by the thought that other teachers are using my little site with their own kids. I’m not into selling my stuff on Teachers Pay Teachers; I’m all about sharing. After all, I didn’t invent this wheel. Another teacher shared their stuff with me back when I was a newbie, I tweaked it (and continually do so) and now, thanks to the interwebs, it’s out there for everyone. Back in the day, I felt terribly guilty when my mentors would give me their all their lessons, examples and stuff. When I expressed this one of them said, “don’t feel bad, just do it for other teachers down the road.” If you find my website helpful then I feel like this honors my mentor’s wise words. Plus, I love to read these nice emails when I’m feeling beaten. So, I’ve assembled some exempts here (with the names edited to protect the innocent). If you use anything on this site, please remember to pay it forward with another teacher in the future.

“Hello!  I’m a Studio Art teacher from New Jersey and I just wanted to thank you for the immense help your website has been to me. I transferred from an elementary school 3 years ago and was thrown into these AP Studio classes with honestly no clue. I’m the only advanced art teacher in the district so I have to lone wolf it a lot of the time and figure things out on my own. Your website has given me such practical information about the way you run your class, I’m planning to try out a few strategies in my classroom next year. I teach the most awesome kids, but man they take forever to finish an assignment. I’m also incorporating a few of your breadth projects into my curriculum to try them out. Your website is what I’m hoping mine will be one day. Thanks for being such an inspiration!!”

“Polished, well-organized/user-friendly, beautiful, and educational for the public that needs the stats/evidence. I am so impressed but also inspired. This may give me the much needed kick in the pants to develop OURS ( so so overdue). So THANK YOU.”

“We came across your website and love what you’ve done for your students!  Your website is impressive!  We can tell that you’ve worked hard over several years to perfect your class.  So many great assignments…so many great ideas!

“2nd year AP teacher here- THANK YOU for your rubrics for individual projects. I love that it fits on one page. And they cover all the bits that I think I should see in their work. Your WHOLE ENTIRE SITE has been the most helpful in getting up and running on all this!”

“Scores for AP Art Drawing were released today in MD. It is with great appreciation for Mrs. King and her curriculum that today I am able to announce successful scores of 4 and 5! Hallelujah… we are on cloud nine!”

“Thank you for your website! I have studied it many times over the years and it always helps me help my students achieve more in my classes. You have put many hours in on it and you are helping many people. Thank you.”

“More than any single website out there about APSA, yours is the one I connect most with.”

“I checked out your website and find it to be really helpful. Your students do beautiful work – I hope my students will do as well! Thanks again…”

“Thanks so much for sharing your site! This is my first year teaching AP and it will be a great reference!”

“Wow! Your website with assignments is AWESOME!  It really gives a 1st time AP teacher an idea of what she needs to be planning for in the fall.  THank you so much for the open sharing of ideas!!!  Extremely helpful!”

“Wow.  Just wow.  Your AP Studio website is remarkable.  It has great projects that are so well-supported with explanation, examples, and demonstrations it can be used easily as an instructional model for a whole program.   The clarity, humor, and voice of your writing make me feel as if I know you.  It is also clear from your students comments that they have a deep liking and respect not only your instruction but for you as a person.
I discovered your site a few years ago when I first started teaching AP.  At that time I was teaching AP 2-D portfolio mostly through photography and mixed media.  I used your ideas more for structuring my class and doing critiques than for the assignments.  Now, with just a week left before returning to school, I am told that I will be teaching AP Drawing Portfolio.  (We will not mention the fact that I have been asking  since April to know what my courses would be without response.)  I returned to your Mt Eden website in desperation and was filled with hope… ”                                        -San Diego

“I’m a high school art teacher in Central Ky and I came across your MT. Eden AP Studio art page a couple years ago and have kept up with other it ever since. I am sincerely impressed by the quality of work that your students create. I can tell your students love you and that they truly love art.”

“I came across your blog on pinterest and what an amazing curriculum you have developed! I work in a high school in …, Tennessee and just started teaching AP Studio Art a few weeks ago…yes, a few weeks ago. The teacher before me decided to retire a few weeks into the school year, so I am getting a late start! My students are already very behind and I was feeling a bit overwhelmed, but your blog has helped me immensely!! Thank you so much!”

“I am a first year AP Studio Art teacher at …. school in San Francisco. I stumbled upon your website and was especially blessed and encouraged to see the mural projects your students have made under your direction. I hope to get something going like that around our school.”

“I’m reaching to say thank you for sharing via a weblog. I hope to do the same. This is the first time our school is having AP art…ever. So it’s definitely exciting to see what “real art teachers” are doing out there.”

 

“[The Student Art Guide] would very much like to include you in our list of recommended websites (we very rarely add people to this list!), and am hoping to use an additional image with this listing too. We are in the middle of an article for the Student Art Guide which basically outlines what studying Art is like, from a student perspective. I would LOVE to include quotes from three of your students  from the letters to prospective students on your website.”

“Oh MY GOD!!I finally got around to going through all the emails of this thread and found this little gem. Your website is AMAZING!!Congratulations and I hope you don’t mind me using a couple of your breadth assignments to add some fresh air to my curriculum. Thank you so much for sharing!”

“I can’t thank you enough!! I am going to use your student examples and grading methodology with your permission.

“I ABSOLUTELY LOVE your AP Web Site! It is amazing! I also enjoyed looking at your deadline calendar – this will help me understand other teachers’ deadline schedules as I prepare to make my own. Many, many thanks for any help and advice. Thanks for sharing your expertise =)”

“You have created quite an impressive site with high level work!  After studying it in detail, which I thoroughly enjoyed, I realized it focused on AP Drawing.”

“I am a HS Art Teacher at ******** HS in ***, Indiana. I came across your AP site earlier this week and I have spent nearly every spare minute looking through it. Great resources, great assignments, and great inspirational examples. We are an IB school so we don’t teach AP Studio, although I taught APAH at my previous school for 8 years and took AP Studio in HS so I know the difficulty involved. Love what you have done. Just thought I would send you a bit of fan mail. 🙂 “

“…awesome and so inspirational..Thanks so much for sharing…”

“I think your website and your blog is amazing and you are a brilliant educator. Your website shows a tremendous amount of time and skill as so does your student works. I appreciate your sharing so many wonderful ideas. “

“I just finished looking at your website. It’s WONDERFUL! It is something that I want to do myself but it seems so overwhelming…I’m not very tech savvy. I’m so impressed with your student’s work. Last year was my first year teaching AP. I never had the opportunity to go to a summer AP workshop (school wouldn’t approve of it this year), so I am learning by looking at sites like yours.”

“I love your murals! You are such an awesome art teacher! The lion mural at the front of the school is so cool. I like how each one of the lions is its own individual jewel tone, and yet the piece has amazing unity. That is so cool that the students came up with the concept themselves. The cub is so cute and I love the transgression from cub to adult to fierce and cool Mt. Eden monarch/graduate!! You are blessed! And I love looking at the progression of the artwork!”

“Hi Carrie, Thanks so much for sharing your website. It has been very helpful to me as a new AP teacher.”

“I just wanted to drop by and say thank you SO much for sharing such an incredibly well-put-together website with the world! I am an art teacher in Seoul, Korea, and I am in my 2nd year teaching AP Drawing and 2D Design, 3rd year teaching art. This resource has been absolutely invaluable to me, especially in showing example pieces to my students. I also love the way you spend the time after the AP giving back to the school with murals! How long did it take you to develop your stride-ironing out these routines of pacing, etc.? I just wanted to drop by and let you know how much you are helping me, and how much you inspire me! So thank you!”

“JUST WHAT I NEEDED!!! THanks sooooooo much!!”

Who’s looking at my site? Here’s a map and some stats from around the world as of 10/20/2015:

I think this is SO cool!

 

Country	Views
United States	19,374
Canada	670
United Kingdom	209
Australia	118
South Korea	81
India	67
South Africa	54
Zimbabwe	53
New Zealand	47
Ireland	47
Indonesia	44
Germany	37
Costa Rica	35
Italy	34
Netherlands	32
Thailand	30
Taiwan	26
Switzerland	26
Hong Kong SAR China	25
Mexico	22
Guatemala	22
Albania	22
Japan	21
Spain	20
Turkey	20
Russia	19
China	17
Philippines	16
Slovenia	15
Myanmar (Burma)	15
Saudi Arabia	15
Singapore	14
Argentina	13
Pakistan	13
Maldives	12
United Arab Emirates	12
France	11
Cambodia	11
Hungary	10
Portugal	9
Greece	8
Ecuador	8
Norway	7
Jordan	6
Brazil	6
Egypt	6
Zambia	4
Finland	4
Mauritius	4
Czech Republic	4
Kuwait	4
Puerto Rico	4
Malta	3
Jamaica	3
Sri Lanka	3
Slovakia	3
Latvia	2
Vietnam	2
Dominican Republic	2
Mongolia	2
European Union	2
Malaysia	2
Romania	2
Georgia	1
Luxembourg	1
Malawi	1
Qatar	1
Ghana	1
Barbados	1
Peru	1
Lithuania	1
Tunisia	1
Denmark	1
Bangladesh	1
Guam	1
Colombia	1
Chile	1
Israel	1
Croatia	1
Belarus	1
Bulgaria	1
Faroe Islands	1
Sweden	1
Yemen	1
Palestinian Territories	1
Poland	1
Brunei	1
Cameroon	1
Kenya	1