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| directory of teaching artists: Joy Steiner |
| Joy Steiner still turns cartwheels in the sunshine, stops to watch caterpillars cross her path, and delights in getting youngsters excited about writing and the outdoor world.
The author of, "P is for Potato," and creator of award winning storytelling CD's, Joy loves to tell stories to listeners of all ages. She has a master's degree in education and many years of experience teaching and performing. Joy fosters a sense of wonder and looks for small miracles every day. Describe a transformative process that has occurred in your own practice as an artist or in a past residency as a teaching artist. A wondrous thing happened when I put the children in charge. The residency involved personal stories and third graders who lived in a dusty Arizona town surrounded by miles of ranch land. Each student told of favorite places and adventures in their young lives. For Sam, speaking was as difficult as swimming backwards up a waterfall, and I strained to catch any intelligible words while he told his story. Two words did come out of Sam, though, loud and proud: bull riding. Each student had the opportunity to tell their true-life tale, and then we began to dramatize the stories. I let the children lead the way. They chose the characters, directed the action, and narrated their story. Sam's turn came and I confess to more than a little trepidation, but I needn't have worried. That boy took charge. He directed with motions and movements and more words than we had ever heard him speak. The drama unfolded, and we all saw the bull and the boy rider, the fence and the broken arm. Now the class knew Sam's story and he was a hero. I glanced at his teacher, her eyes wide in amazement. She had forgotten to breathe. "What do you think?" I asked. "Should we risk it?" "Yes-s-s," she sighed. So we put Sam's story in the program and gave him the microphone. Words came out of his mouth like miracles and all the students of the school laughed with Sam, the champion of the day. I've been putting children in charge ever since. How do you identify when learning is taking place? Visual imagery is probably the storyteller's most powerful tool. I use it to teach and evaluate the learning. In one particular second grade classroom, the teacher and I wanted to integrate a writing lesson with the current science topic, plants. We cleared a space at one end of the room, and I led the children on an imaginary journey as a plant. I created a spontaneous original story and told it impromptu; the students acted it out with body movements. I saw twenty-two tiny sprouts growing from a seed, waving their new leaves in the sun, and surviving a catastrophe. Next, the students had a turn to create a story in their own mind's eye. Again, I guided the setting for the make believe, 'plants,' but this time I left the story open-ended. Twenty-two little sprouts held their roots fast to the ground, but each one moved a different problem and solution. Immediately and efficiently, the students returned to their desks where paper and pencil waited. Twenty-two heads bent in concentration, pencils formed words across the page, and stories with beginnings, problems, and solutions emerged. I can identify that learning is taking place when imaginations are engaged and writing samples display key writing concepts. What excites your imagination and in turn how does your work excite imagination for your audience? Real life dramas from the natural world inspire my imagination, such as the time I watched a bee fly straight into the ground and out again, or the day I chanced to see a lady bug emerge from its pupa. The stories I wrote about these natural marvels fill my listeners with curiosity and rouse them to get outdoors and breathe, listen, quietly observe the wonders to be found on earth. I once described the foolproof technique. I had as a child for catching fireflies. This was quite likely a completely new idea for my young Idaho listeners whose towns are mostly too dry for fireflies. My listeners thanked me for sharing my secret technique because they wanted to try it, too. What characteristics mark a successful collaboration for you? I know a successful collaboration has taken place when teachers and students see each other in a new light. It is enormously satisfying for me to see teachers 'walking the talk,' doing the same tasks as the students. In this way, students can see their teacher as a life long learner. What wonderful role models such teachers are! The teacher, in turn, can assume an observer's role when I work with the students, and may notice new positive aspects of these young people they work with every day. My unique position as artist in residence allows me to be a catalyst for positive new dynamics in the classroom and community. How do you foster creativity, both in your own work and as a teaching artist? Time outdoors observing nature at work fosters my creativity. Sometimes I see wildlife going about the business of daily survival and these encounters are wondrous to me. Then, I make sure to record my observations in journals, I create a space and time to write, and I exercise the theater of my mind through a technique called 'active imagination.' Reading a wide variety of books also brings creative ideas. These are the same techniques I teach to the students I meet. It brings me great joy to work with children as a teaching artist. They lift my spirit and give purpose to my work. Four key understandings in this discipline are:
List three Idaho Humanities Content Standards that
correlate with each of the key understandings you have identified above.
Imagination, theater of the mind, point of view, voice, dialogue, problem and solution, plot, setting, character, visual representation, story map, rough draft, sound, expression, gesture, movement, non-verbal communication List subject areas outside of the fine arts that relate to potential residency work i.e. possible connections to the curriculum might include: Social Studies, History, Geography, Language Arts, Science and Physical Education: Contact the artist to create a residency suited to your particular schools goals and agenda. Visit Artist’s website for course descriptions. References
Education Director Anser Charter School 1187 West River Street Boise, Idaho 83702 208-426-9840 sgregg@ansercharterschool.org Karen Ellis-Vant 21st Century Teaching Corp Whitney Elementary 1609 South Owyhee Boise, Idaho 83705 208-854-6580 karenmev@msn.com Nathan Dearing Teacher Hillcrest Elementary 2045 South Pond Street Boise, Idaho 83705 208-338-3457 nathan.dearing@gmail.com Susanna Price Librarian Boise Public Library 715 South Capital Boulevard Boise, Idaho 83702 208-384-4200 Carol Race Librarian Juneau Public Library 292 Marine Way Juneau, Alaska 99801 907-586-6507 carolr@juneau.lib.ak.us |
 Discipline: Storytelling Phone:208-383-9053 Email: joy@joysteiner.com Website: www.joysteiner.com Special Populations I work with: Special Populations I work with: Preschool, early childhood, elementary, middle school ICA Artists by Disciplines Music Ken Harris Dance Wendy de la Harpe Joy Esplin LiAnne Hunt Norma Pintar Rachel Swenson Theater/Storytelling Joy Steiner Teresa Clark Language Arts Malia Collins Judy Sobeloff Visual Arts Deana Attebery Tom Bennick Judith Brand Sue Rooke Lizette Fife Helen Grainger Wilson Terrie Kralik Jeanne Leffingwell Benjamin Love Linda Wolfe Video/Media Arts Peppershock Media |
 Phone: 208/334-2119 or 800/278-3863 Fax: 208/334-2488 Mailing address: P.O. Box 83720, Boise, ID 83720-0008 Street address: 2410 North Old Penitentiary Rd., Boise, ID 83712 |