Blog

Do you have a particularly creative or artistic child who’s not faring well at a conventional high school? It’s not unusual for students at an arts academy high school like Arts Academy in the Woods in Fraser, Michigan to have started at a conventional high. They quickly find that it’s not the right fit for...

The world is a strange place right now. Downright surreal even. And it’s hard to deny that there are a lot of emotions at play. Interestingly enough, the Latin roots of the word emotion are e (out) + movere (move). In an ideal world, emotions create feelings that flow naturally. But oftentimes they get dammed...

Using art to deal with tragedy may seem a heady topic for this time of year. Especially because early June is typically a hopeful time when students and teachers look forward to a break during the summer; and when graduating seniors celebrate their achievement. We all know that’s not exactly the case this year though....

Shelter-in-place and stay-at-home orders have made teaching tougher than ever. (Tell you something you don’t already know, right?) But how do art teachers institute distance learning when their classes have such a physical component? For example, many of the classes at Arts Academy in the Woods in Fraser, Michigan, involve materials, group activities, and even...

At the time of this writing, a lot of Americans are still in “lockdown” in their homes. In times of trouble, one place where humans shine is in their ability to come together. It’s something we embrace all the time at Arts Academy in the Woods. But right now, we’re forced to be apart. And...

Authentic voice in the world at large is difficult to find these days. The birth of fake news and the polarization of politics and social issues certainly haven’t helped. Plus, the complete dismissing of dissident opinions and inconvenient truths have only worsened the situation. Some could argue that some of these very factors played a...

Right now, most of us are faced with more isolation than we’ve known before. This health crisis that even just a year ago seemed inconceivable is forcing everyone to look at humanity and re-evaluate the ways we’ve ALL been living. It’s giving us a chance to look at how much we’ve lost touch with our...

This Saturday, March 14th, young people will speak up about the issues they care about most. The second annual Bonior Soapbox Challenge will be held at the Detroit Institute of Arts.  Middle and high school students from the Detroit Metro Area will give speeches answering the questions: What is the most pressing issue facing young...

Artists are no strangers to standing up on behalf of the political views they espouse. But when we say an AAW student gets political, we aren’t so much referring to that notion. While many Arts Academy in the Woods students certainly have and share their political views through their art, what we’re addressing here is...

How did the AAW Wildcats come to be?  Last year, digital arts teacher Brett Guay had an idea to start a basketball club. That may not sound like a revolutionary idea. But Guay is a teacher at Arts Academy in the Woods in Fraser – a school that has traditionally not had much of a...