We continued preparing the screens this week which included applying water tape to cover the stapled areas and coating the wooden frame with polyurethane to keep water from absorbing into the wood so they will dry quicker and not warp. Kathy also did the first printing demo of the semester. Everyone had one chance to practice with the squeegee. This demo seemed fast to me, but most of learning is through trial and error. I was thinking about how repetition is a large part of teaching, Kathy has this class back to back so I could see how doing a demo and the explanation can be sooo redundant, maybe this could be the reason for breezing through the demo. She said some days are worse than others, which is like anything you have to do. Also she mentioned changing the classes you teach every few years keeps things fresh and on your toes in certain disciplines, especially something so technical like printmaking. This class is quite different than my undergrad experience with screen printing, mainly because we started printing in the first week and made temporary "quick" stencils out of tape, paper, ect. just to get the feel for it. I find it strange that the first assignment isn't due until midterm. I am also unsure of the value of having students build these silkscreens, it takes up so much time in a class that is already only 1.5 credit hours. It is of course nice that students get to take the screen they make with them, but how many ever use it again?