Saturday, October 15, 2011
Why teach art? DB #3
I've wanted to be involved in art and be making art for a very long time. I was always coloring, painting, playing with play doh, and all kinds of other things for as long as I can remember. But, being a teacher was something I thought I'd never want to do for some reason. Going through my high school career however changed that thought. I graduated with a class of 44, so obviously I went to a small school. At this small school what was stressed were grades in Math, English, and Science class. Art was never stressed and COMPLETELY optional. With the art class being optional there were a lot of students in there that were there so they didn't have to take band or choir. The teacher never paid attention to these kids and just let them be bored and sail through the class. Just thinking about this makes me upset again today. This is what caused me to think that everyone could and should be interested in art. Even though these students didn't seem interested there is always something in art to spark everyones interest. Not only that but students learning visually through art can help in their other content areas. Learning through my art curriculum can help the students become more creative problem solvers by showing them that maybe there is more than one right answer to their questions. It can show them that their individuality not only in art but in everyday life is a good thing. They will also learn that with some things (like everything in art) are relative. What this means is that what seems to be right and real at one point may be completely different when compared to something else. "Blue may not look as blue as when it is put next to orange." Learning the arts can teach students to express what is not said normally, that putting their feelings into something can create awesome results. Students learning through art has endless results in all aspects of life. Art is very important to learning about other time periods and cultures and will prove important in the future generations.
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I also came from a small town and graduated in a class of around 80 and our Art I class was a joke. It was not a joke because the teacher was not any good, but more because there were kids in the classes, because they did not want to do either band or choir, who would just make the classes kind of crazy and hectic. They took forever to finish a project and just would not let the teacher focus on the academic side of her class but instead how to manage it. She also had very little help from her superiors because these students had to have this credit to pass. I wish my teacher would have been able to engage these students so they would have been more excited about doing art. So I completely agree with how this made you upset.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your passionate teaching philosophy but I also want to know how you would advocate for the arts. What will you say to the PTA on Back to School night about your program? Why is art important. I also want you to synthesize the Erikson, Eisner and Freedman articles in your manifesto.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who never took a single art class until my second or third year in college, I have to agree with you when you say that it is frustrating that students would take the class as a 'blowoff' class and wouldn't take it seriously. I had always wanted to take an art class but i was in choir and orchestra, and so I had no time for other electives. I find it interesting that these students you speak of did not take interest to art. I also agree with you when you say that an understanding of the world of art can help students in their other content areas as well. This is commonly overlooked in today's society. Many people do not understand the value of art and do not see how it can relate to any other subject matter. This is one of the most important views that we, as future art teachers, can help to change.
ReplyDeleteArt is important because it can teach many things that apply to other things in our lives. It can teach students that everything is connected and interacts with each other. As Eisner says, "there is no content without form, and no form without content." This can help in math and science and just about any other subject matter. Like I said before, it can help students be able to articulate what they see in a more successful manner. When students look at an artwork or approach an english exam over a book, they should be able to articulate in the same way what their thoughts are trying to tell them. Also, it helps the students in problem solving tasks, it helps them to try many possibilities before finding the best answer. As art can help with other school subjects, it can also help with our students everyday lives. It helps expand the imagination and teaches students how to use their imaginations. I've notices recently that art education has taken a back seat to other subjects in many schools. Why? It's not smart to put it on the back burner. Half the things we know and understand about times long ago is because of cave drawings, paintings, and pottery. Art is important to show many different views of all of the many things going on around this world. If we rob these kids of art programs and inspiration we are robbing future generations of information given by the artists of our time.
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