Deb - Art Class Revelations - 8/26/99
"My mistakes, my limited experience, gave me a window on
how my students must feel when I matter of factly give directions and expect
them to succeed."
Last week I was asked to make a presentation about grant writing to a group
of teachers who were attending a summer art institute at a nearby art center.
The institute was advertised as an opportunity for classroom teachers, not
art teachers, who would like to expand their experience vis a vis basic
art skills.
I was given the opportunity to attend the week long institute in exchange
for my presentation on grant writing. Since I wasn't busy and I have never
had much art training, I decided to attend.
It was an exciting week. I got to sample lots of materials and techniques
which I'd never tried before. I also got to feel what it's like being "the"
student who generally messes up things. I was pretty unsucessful in every
new project and because all but one of the other participants was an art
teacher, I was the odd one out.
A couple of mornings, I almost stayed home, but I decided to continue and
play the week out. I'm glad I did. My mistakes, my limited experience, gave
me a window on how my students must feel when I matter of factly give directions
and expect them to succeed.
The other participants were very accepting and helpful and no one scolded
me directly, but I was savvy enough to know that when instructors described
my work as very "narrative", it meant limited or narrow. I wonder
how often students feel stung by what we think are our subtle comments...?
I was also given the opportunity to participate on many levels, so that
my ineptitude with the art materials was balanced by my ability to develop
project ideas or brainstorm funding sources for the other teachers. When
my students expose their inexperience or difficulty with a subject, I'm
not sure they get to recoup by displaying other strengths.
I especially enjoyed the opportunity of talking with artists who have a
different way of looking at things. These folks think, almost exclusively,
outside the conventional box. They shared much of themselves as we worked
on our clay pots or learned to work with jewelry tools. They spoke about
being "different" and about the difficulties thay often experienced
in traditional classroom settings.
I'm still not an artist, but I certainly had my thinking pushed during my
week at the art center. I've been thinking a lot about offering my kids
more options and different options for showing what they know and feel about
the topics we address. I'm also thinking about bringing in visiting artists
who can share their craft and their own, sometimes lonely experiences, as
individuals who think differently.
This whole notion of thinking differently, thinking creatively has me somewhat
preoccupied. It's reminded me of a Harry Chapin song which someone on Middle-L
recommended last year. The song is called "Flowers Are Red" and
you can read the words here
-- but the gist of it is about the way we, as teachers, can discourage and
crush the creative thinking which students have at a young age.
In the song, a little guy comes to school with a vision of all the colors
of the rainbow, all the possibilities that exist. He is quickly told that
there's a set time for art and that flowers are red with green leaves, end
of discussion. When the student tries to defend his view, he's labeled "sassy"
and is punished. He learns the lesson well and conforms. Later when he meets
a creative, open teacher, he's too closed to respond, except to say:
"Flowers are red, green leaves are green
There's no need to see flowers in any other way
Than the way they always have been seen."
Must flowers be red in factory model classrooms, where conformity is equated
with good behavior and regurgitated answers garner top grades? How can we
foster creativity and inventiveness, if standardized tests dictate school
funding, teacher effectiveness and student placement and or future opportunities?
My head is filled with these contradictions as I sign off and get ready
to leave for school. I'm going in to see out SAT-9 test scores. It seems
that science scores are a sore point city wide. I'm anxious to see how my
students performed, but I'm also anxious to know if I helped them, in some
small way, to think creatively too. If I did, will the test scores show
it...ugh?
Deb's Diary Will Return in Early September
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