Artistic Vision
Art Education. Straight Up.Archive for October, 2009
Rethinking my art curriculum (part 2)
As I stated in my previous post, I am rethinking my curriculum once again. I originally changed the curriculum to be more focused because the kids in my school come to me with little prior knowledge outside of elementary art ed. Further, there is little continuity from elementary to high school for art ed. Students can go up to the twelfth grade without having taken an art class leaving them to take two classes in their senior year.
So, I’m considering a switch up to the more “traditional” Art I, II, III and IV (AP) structure.
What will changing my curriculum get me?
First, I would be setting things up as units. For me, that would probably mean drawing, painting and ceramics. I will be able to focus on fewer projects or introductory projects that reinforce skill development and then a final project to allow them to showcase what they learned.
Second, the introduction of units would afford me the opportunity to spotlight art historical periods and/or artists versus feeling like I should cover it all.
Third, using the more traditional nomenclature and structure could allow me to control the progress students make.
How might switching to Art I, II, III and IV (AP) hurt me?
Well, first off, I am greatly concerned about those students being able to move through the sequence. I tried this year to implement an Academy with students who believe themselves more dedicated to art as a course, but the restructuring of the schedule at the beginning of the year forced the class to be canceled because of “core” classes which have priority. Would I end up with students who never progress beyond Art II?
Second, would (or should) I keep my other classes: Drawing from Observation, Introduction to Painting and Ceramics classes as separate classes? The unit skills taught in Art I and II would be identical to those taught in those classes, though the level of detail wouldn’t be there, and I would change the projects. But, then again, I could check for interest from the students and then work behind the scenes to provide more advanced students with independent studies.
Lastly, how would I deal with seniors who need two art classes to graduate on time? How would I refine a student’s growing skills in Art II when they are taking Art I concurrently? How could I hold a student accountable for a class they don’t have the knowledge or skill to handle?
Lots of questions. No sure direction for me, yet. Any thoughts from those who presently teach the Art I, II, III and IV (AP) class lineup?
Rethinking my art curriculum
I redid my curriculum last year and find myself already back at the drawing board (no pun intended) as I project myself into next year. When I first took the job the default class was Studio Art I and II. Unfortunately, no one ever seemed to progress to Studio Art II.
Now, I teach four classes: Ceramics, Intro to Painting, Drawing from Observation and Art & Design Technology. However, as it stands now, I’m really considering collapsing the first three into the traditional Art I, Art II, Art III and Art IV (AP?) structure.
I broke the skills out after believing I’d get students with a more clear perspective on what they would be learning and that would help focus them on learning-specific skills towards a more specific goal (vs. the generalized goals in a survey course). Well, I’m not so sure that was a wise move after having interacted with my urban student population (who exhibit little to no prior knowledge with art) during these past few years.
I’ll lay out a few ideas in the coming posts; however, in the interim, I would love to hear how some other art teachers implement their programs. What do you cover in Art I, II and III? What do you call those types of classes at your school?
So, until next time.
Pleasing the boss or, the pain of overcommitment
Last year, I did a “quilt” project with Trish Maunder, who works with the Faith Ringgold Foundation. Trish does her own story quilt idea in school classrooms. During that time she also educates students about Faith and her story quilts.
Students pick a theme and then each student translates that theme into a personalized image. They also need to pick a famous quote or write a poem to accompany their image. The pieces are glued onto a larger piece of canvas with fabric strips covering the seams and then a fabric border is set around the whole thing. They turn out really well.
Well, the founder of my school saw the quilt my class did and wanted another one to auction off at an annual fund-raising event. Long story short, I exploded the original idea into a series of smaller quilts based on the founding principles of the school’s charter IN ADDITION TO the large quilt that would document the school’s growth from conception to fruition. It’s moments like that where I think to myself, “I know, let me put this bag over my head so you can all beat me with a stick.”
Well, the students let me down at the end of last year and I didn’t get much done. So, I ended up having to hijack my two painting classes to complete the work. It’s going to take the entire quarter to get all of the quilts done. I’m just hopeful that when they are all put together that they are strong pieces. Of course, they better sell too! LOL!
Friends tell me they get roped into doing things like this too. Why do we, as art teachers, fall for this stuff? I know on some level I liked the original idea and wanted to see it come to pass. In the end, though, I need to remember my ADD tendency to over-commit. It’s during those moments that I need to remind myself to be practical and realistic. In the end, I know my students better than any administrator because I work with them every day.
So, lesson learned. In the end, though, I’m thankful to 1) have a job and 2) have a job teaching art.
2009 Art Educators of New Jersey Fall Conference
I came back from this year’s Art Educators of New Jersey Fall Conference with some new things to think about. I have to admit to wondering what this year’s conference was going to be like since the State refused the petition for a waiver for schools to cover overnight stays. But, the hotel was booked and things seemed just as crowded as last year.
While my school couldn’t cover my stay at the hotel, they did cover my food, tolls, registration/membership and mileage. The mileage coverage will bring my car rental to about $2-3. (My car has 195k miles on it and the engine smokes if I drive it longer than 15 minutes. LOL!)
I have to admit that one of the classes I signed up for was a dud primarily because the instructor for the class left too much time (an hour and a half) for “playing” and “experimentation” versus walking us through doing certain techniques with the medium. To me, direct instruction in those venues seems to have more value for participants. But, that’s me.
The non-hands on wire animal sculpture session was great and is something I can immediately bring to my classes this year. This plus a couple of other events made it a worthwhile adventure.
I’d love to be able to go to the National Art Educators Conference in Baltimore next year but I can’t swing being away from the family. Plus, my school probably won’t foot the bill. I may try to get there for a day. We’ll see.
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