Asking Questions

The two questions that Barrett asks students to refer to, in the book Contemporary Issues in Art Education, are simply two questions that ask the students to dig deeper into their personal experiences and interpret the works of art from their own perspective, from their own shoes: “What do you see? and What does it mean?” (p293) This pair of questions, as pointed out by Barrett, can produce both descriptive and interpretive statements from the students. The students can pull from their own experiences, by describing the work in ways that no one else may be able to comprehend.
    By using these questions as a starting point, when viewing a work, the educator can then help students identify certain themes that may have influenced the artist, the mood that is present by the use of color, line and shapes that can all be written down, shared with each other and then built upon as repetitious viewings, revisiting, of the same work are touched upon in future lessons. They will retain the information more so, if it then becomes meaningful to them as was quoted of Paul Ricoeur, that “an interpretation is incomplete until the interpreter has meaningfully appropriated the significance of the work for his or her own life.” (p294) If students are able to eventually bridge the gap between the artist, whom they do not know, and themselves, whom they are struggling with in knowing, and be able to use this type of questioning in other subject matter that they observe and interpret as well, it will “better one’s life” and create a purpose within themselves and the world around them.
    Once students are allowed to express what they think something means, know that they are in a safe environment to do so and to realize that their interpretations are of value to the whole collective of the class. And, once students are able to share their interpretations with others, they will soon find that their world is not so small and that more people struggle with or experience the same ideas and thoughts that they are experiencing by viewing the work.
The student’s emotional and social issues of the time will be identifiable in the works that they are observing and interpreting, because many of the social issues that are present are enduring themes that have been present throughout history, and thusly the students will learn how to verbally communicate with the class about the artist who produced the work without ever meeting them, but by engaging with a dialog of knowing themselves.
The mysteries of these enduring social ideas will begin unfolding before their eyes, once students are allowed to use their voice to describe what they think that they see and what they think it means. Because there are no right or wrong answers, and no one person has experienced the world in quite the same way, each interpretation will leave a lasting impression upon them and change the way that they view the world around them, not only through the lens of an artist, but through the lens of their own eyes, looking at and interpreting the work with their own voice.

The Art of Small Actions

Every day that we draw breath, as we walk this Earth, our surroundings and ideas change all around us with the energy of life. In our students’ lives, as well as our own, we are exposed to an assortment of actions that, in turn, have reactionary effects, no matter our background status. Children learn this reality as their lives are growing and taking shape, influenced by the world around them. Our classrooms should not ignore the contemporary issues that they face each and every day, but embrace them (whatever they are) and learn how to engage in and continue growing through whatever influences their every life. We, as educators need to help them foster the idea that even in small actions, when combined with other small actions, great possibilities can occur as an end result.
    Students who are faced with issues such as crime in their neighborhoods, domestic violence and/or drug abuse, or are simply bombarded with the vast ‘pop culture’ media of our age, sometimes do not understand how to interpret these ideas, to change them, to question the morality or truths that they posses. By questioning the student’s knowledge of the world around them and incorporating these ideas into lesson plans of a greater thematic idea, of suffering and pain or rites of passage, educators will help to make the information that the students are learning more relevant, more meaningful and easier to translate and then communicate.

Students need to be helped to realize that their confusion in understanding these ‘facts of life’, that they go through in an every day-in-the-life, are the some of the very same enduring ideas and themes that many artists, writers, musicians and thespians have attempted to communicate and have struggled with as well. When educators take on a thematic approach, that of teaching to those enduring ideas, with the lessons that they teach, the contemporary issues that students deal with daily, from the culture that surrounds them, students will gain a vast understanding of how to deal with those contemporary issues.

Teaching from a thematic approach will encourage students to think deeply and compare their lives to those of the subject they are identifying with. However, this is unlike an issues-based curriculum, where the contemporary issues they face are the basis for instruction. A thematic approach will prove to help students to become more sympathetic to those enduring ideas and find ways to convey and identify with the reasons why they are lasting experiences across the history of human kind and how they have affected their lives at present, Instead of dwelling on the issues at hand, they will survey the topic and then relate it to their lives.

If placed properly throughout the curriculum, contemporary ideas, when paired with enduring themes, can serve the classroom environment as an engagement tool, a motivational tool, a jumping off point to the greater, more heart-felt meanings that lay beyond the subject matter that they are studying. For, “it is important that children imagine and work to realize the possibilities of a world that values other than material possessions and cultural practices that disrespect and destroy.” (Guay, 313) They will come to realize that cultural issues and moral values, beliefs and conflicts throughout history have not changed, but the commentary on these themes and how others have dealt with them have. To bridge this gap from their social lives to the classroom will not hinder them, but bring them closer to being able to carefully and critically analyze their every day choices in cause and effect.

Contemporary Issues in Art Education; Yvonne Gaudelius, Peg Speirs; Prentice Hall; Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458; 2002

The Art of Small Actions

Every day that we draw breath, as we walk this Earth, our surroundings and ideas change all around us with the energy of life. In our students’ lives, as well as our own, we are exposed to an assortment of actions that, in turn, have reactionary effects, no matter our background status. Children learn this reality as their lives are growing and taking shape, influenced by the world around them. Our classrooms should not ignore the contemporary issues that they face each and every day, but embrace them (whatever they are) and learn how to engage in and continue growing through whatever influences their every life. We, as educators need to help them foster the idea that even in small actions, when combined with other small actions, great possibilities can occur as an end result.
    Students who are faced with issues such as crime in their neighborhoods, domestic violence and/or drug abuse, or are simply bombarded with the vast ‘pop culture’ media of our age, sometimes do not understand how to interpret these ideas, to change them, to question the morality or truths that they posses. By questioning the student’s knowledge of the world around them and incorporating these ideas into lesson plans of a greater thematic idea, of suffering and pain or rites of passage, educators will help to make the information that the students are learning more relevant, more meaningful and easier to translate and then communicate.

Students need to be helped to realize that their confusion in understanding these ‘facts of life’, that they go through in an every day-in-the-life, are the some of the very same enduring ideas and themes that many artists, writers, musicians and thespians have attempted to communicate and have struggled with as well. When educators take on a thematic approach, that of teaching to those enduring ideas, with the lessons that they teach, the contemporary issues that students deal with daily, from the culture that surrounds them, students will gain a vast understanding of how to deal with those contemporary issues.

Teaching from a thematic approach will encourage students to think deeply and compare their lives to those of the subject they are identifying with. However, this is unlike an issues-based curriculum, where the contemporary issues they face are the basis for instruction. A thematic approach will prove to help students to become more sympathetic to those enduring ideas and find ways to convey and identify with the reasons why they are lasting experiences across the history of human kind and how they have affected their lives at present, Instead of dwelling on the issues at hand, they will survey the topic and then relate it to their lives.

If placed properly throughout the curriculum, contemporary ideas, when paired with enduring themes, can serve the classroom environment as an engagement tool, a motivational tool, a jumping off point to the greater, more heart-felt meanings that lay beyond the subject matter that they are studying. For, “it is important that children imagine and work to realize the possibilities of a world that values other than material possessions and cultural practices that disrespect and destroy.” (Guay, 313) They will come to realize that cultural issues and moral values, beliefs and conflicts throughout history have not changed, but the commentary on these themes and how others have dealt with them have. To bridge this gap from their social lives to the classroom will not hinder them, but bring them closer to being able to carefully and critically analyze their every day choices in cause and effect.

Contemporary Issues in Art Education; Yvonne Gaudelius, Peg Speirs; Prentice Hall; Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458; 2002

Finding Commonalities

To understand a work of art, we must first understand ourselves and in so doing, relate our own lives to that of the artist in question. In order to help students question the meaning behind a specific work of art, we must first ask them to question the life of the artist. This requires much research, either on the part of the educator or on the student, but also deep reflection. We must help them to develop questions about the work that not only reflect their own dealings, but the cards that have been dealt to another, to relate to situations that they may or may not have experienced.

Understanding aesthetic valuing in art, known also as the philosophy of art, centers its focus around such questions as these, that ask students, “what is art?” and “why is it considered art?”, reflecting on “how they arrive at their conclusions, decisions, and solutions through processes of meta-thinking” (200). Students who are engaged in these conversations with their art educator and within themselves will ultimately develop the ability of looking deeply at a work of art, and also life in general. They will gain an understanding of observational qualities, to note the work’s realistic, formal, and expressive qualities, or a combination of all three. Students will be intrinsically rewarded, in time, by ultimately being able to uncover the bigger ideas that the artist raises through this mode of questioning, relating to it as it pertains to their own relative lives and the life of the artist.

    To help students develop this understanding, educators must also be avid, participating students, always questioning and ever-hungry for knowledge about the artist in question. They ask themselves the very same questions so that they may be able to help students think critically and become open to the honest responses that life encounters can only tell. They (educators) must also be “willing to journey with the students into the worlds of contemporary art have the opportunity to touch students’ lives in ways that educate about life and its realities” (199). For, to stand at the doorway of a work of art and be able to serve as the student’s tour guide through the imagery is the educator’s key and tool in opening those doors in the student’s mind. By doing the initial leg-work, art educators “plan encounters with works of art that raise questions about society and the human condition” (200) and the student can then relate it to their own waking life.
    As educators continually research and seek out more in depth information about certain artists and/or themes, that are of important issues prevalent through various art works, they will be continually feeding the well of knowledge for their students. They will be able to pass along and relate that information, teaching students how to do the same. “As issues are found in the contexts that surround works of art, they integrate well with the contexts for subjects...issues that run the gamut from the general to the particular. Generalities that deal with the human condition...” (202) By doing this, educators can provide students works that add a dose of healthy perspective on life, by viewing their own through the looking glass of another.
    For, it is by discovering meaning within ourselves and questioning the human condition of others that we, as human beings, gain a more firm grasp on the commonalities and linear truths that span the world over. “Works of art can help students realize that other people in the world may share the same quandaries or excitement about life” and “develop a respect for the multitude of ways that artists create art works that speak to us.” (203) To be able to understand ourselves, we can ruminate over the meaning of the work of another.

Contemporary Issues in Art Education; Yvonne Gaudelius, Peg Speirs; Prentice Hall; Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458; 2002

Conversations Between Disciplines

Each morning when we open our eyes to a brand new day is a moment that we can change our lives for the better and for those around us. The more we, as educators, can instill that purpose through the information given to our students, the more meaningful the impact upon their lives and those around them. By considering the diversity of the populations within each classroom, all the multiple intelligences and learning differences, an interdisciplinary approach to universal topics is undoubtedly the answer as it is able to reach all students at all levels of learning. When students are allowed to put together the puzzle pieces of the relationships that are formed throughout curriculum, linked to their own lives and interests, they will ultimately become more invested in taking part in their own learning environs simply because it makes more sense to them.
    As an elementary art educator, at the beginning of each school year an initiation of communication between myself and the elementary teachers was had, involving what their learning goals were for our students. This opening of communication led to many more interdisciplinary collaborations, “synergistic effects”, between their classrooms, which led them away from staying “within the insular world” of their own rooms. My goal, in this, was to understand the units that students were studying in the primary classroom environment, through math and science mainly, and to weave it “in a manner that interrelated” into what I wanted students to take away from the art room as well. (Adams, 360) It was a personal goal to ‘link up’ the chain of reasoning within their minds and build relationships between other disciplines and teachers along the way.
    When I designed my lessons, they were to be built upon each other, not in the same school year but spanning the students’ elementary careers, making each concept a little bit harder each time they reviewed it, much like learning basic principles in any subject. By including, integrating, other disciplines within my curriculum (reading, writing, math, history, science) and referencing them as I taught basic art fundamentals and principles, I found that more students left my classroom “with a deeper understanding of the subject matter” (Adams, 360) and attributed (verbally by many older students) their learning (and testing) in other areas to this approach.
    All of life is a matter of modification, in the ways that we learn the information that gets through our senses to our processing brain. “When attempting to implement social change”, such is as what interdisciplinary education is trying to do for the betterment of our students, what could be more right than involving “as many different disciplines as possible”? (Adams, 362) The simple facts are that when students start connecting basic ideas, the neurons in their brains start firing at more rapid a pace. They immediately want to know more because they can grasp the information - it has become important to them.

Also, if we involve ourselves, as educators, in the learning of concepts within other subject areas, other than our own, and modify our scope to step across those boundaries that separate to show that the information matters and why it matters, it will become something that matters to our students as well. But, only once the conversation has begun between educators of the disciplines, and a “personal commitment and ownership to the idea” (Adams, 367) of interdisciplinary education is formed, will the results spread like wildfire throughout the school, the district, the community and the surrounding area.

    By helping our students understand their “sense of purpose” in their learning, they will go on to thrive, create and breathe goodness into every day they live. (Adams, 359) When and if students are given the chance by adults to shine with their own unique talents and explore topics that are near and dear to their hearts, while learning the significance of these topics as it relates to them, the more information will be learned and the easier it will be for them to learn it - learning that lasts lifetimes in their memories. When we “choose social issues that relate directly to students’ lives and approach issues on levels that they would understand” (Adams, 361) it becomes an investment in the future of our world as we know it. For, when we understand, we can change things for the better. If we do not understand, everything stays the same.

Contemporary Issues in Art Education; Yvonne Gaudelius, Peg Speirs; Prentice Hall; Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458; 2002