Shadow and stick puppets are one of our younger students favorite activities. Here is a link to a movie of how we begin some of our stick puppets. Enjoy!
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Theodore Potter Elementary Art Camp
We have made a change in the dates of the art camp. We will run the camp during the week of June 18-22. We have at the time of this blog post approximately 24 participants signed up for the camp. My most sincere appreciation goes to Mr. Tim Clevenger, Principal of School 74 for making everything happen. Remember, Theodore Potter Elementary students recieve scholarships and their families will incure no costs to attend camp. I will see everyone on the morning of June 18 at 9:00 AM. See you then! Clyde
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Theodore Potter Art Camp: June 11 - 22
We are doing a choice based art camp at School #74, Theodore Potter Elementary. This is where I got my start as an art teacher back in 1984. Because of this special connection to IPS, all Theodore Potter Elementary students are recieving scholarships to attend the camp. I can't wait to begin working with the kids from Woodruff Place and surrounding neighborhoods. This art experience will be fantastic! There is contact information on the jpeg. Just click it to enlarge. More to come later! Best wishes.....Clyde
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Spotlight on 2nd Grade
Here are a few images from my hard charging 2nd graders. Everyone at this grade level demands their weekly visits to the art room where they live life on the creative edge. Enjoy the pics!
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Sunday, May 07, 2006
What Happens Inside My Classroom?
My colleague Judy Decker, webmaster of the Incredible Art Department asked me how I might describe the choice based curriculum in my program to a prospective employer if I were to interview for a position as an elementary art teacher, so I wrote this response which she was able to post on the Getty's "Artteacherexchange" list serve:
Curriculum as we know it are the activities one employs for whatever it is you expect your students to learn. For the choice based art teacher, learning to think like an artist is our goal here and there are two curriculums going on simultaneously. One is the teacher centered curriculum, one in which a series of lessons or activities that tie into state standards or essential learning. The other is the student-centered curriculum, which can be negotiated between student and teacher or facilitated by the teacher for the student. In between these two curricula is a third unwritten curriculum, the one in which experimentation is afforded, risks are taken, discoveries are made and newfound knowledge segues into deep, profound personally meaningful learning experiences. When curriculum activities are centrally prescribed, planned sequentially and outcomes already determined, surprise and discovery are marginalized. The main thing that attracted me to choice was the amount of diversity within this three-pronged approach to curriculum. There is a dynamic within the art curriculum now that I never had before. The kids know it, I know it and everyone else knows it. This is why the art room experience today is more important to the kids than it ever was before. More to come later...thanks again...Clyde
I did see this question earlier, and didn't have time to respond. So here is another response. I think the applicants would do themselves well, if they could describe how “curriculum” would look, as it might be employed inside of an actual class. So let’s take the "painting curriculum" for example as it might apply to a choice art program. Again, I am expecting to have three forms of curriculum going on simultaneously for this subject area and I am describing what goes on in the choice art room for this interviewer. (Actually, today, there are usually committees doing the interviewing so let's imagine I am in the "hot seat" and I am speaking to a group of distinguished parents and educators) "After describing to the group the way curriculum might work in a choice art room, I would give them a description of a class with a lesson from the painting curriculum and would describe my room, complete with all of my “art centers.” Then begin my narrative;
“After students enter the art room, I invite them to the demonstration table for the daily lesson. I have 29 2nd graders. I know their attention span is only about a minute or two, so I have to be good and fast with this demo. I have a copy of the "Starry Night" in front of me at my table. “Boys and girls, this is the 'Starry Night' by Vincent Van Gogh! Notice how Van Gogh was inspired to paint the night sky! With swirls of color and movement! ‘Why the sky looks ALIVE!’ Look at the combination of lines colors and brush strokes! Today, one of your choices is to paint your version of a landscape like the Starry Night! Let's look at the way Van Gogh divides his painting into parts and creates one of the worlds most famous paintings!” Now I get my paper and paint out and show them how to dip two colors of liquid tempera paint onto the end of one brush using blue and red. I begin to draw the horizon line, and work in the background, middle ground and foreground. “What is happening here?” “What happened to my two colors?” The children all tell me it turned purple inside the painted lines. “What would happen if I use other combinations of color?” At this time the kids are ready to bust out….They are primed and ready to go. In previous lessons they have learned how to acquire materials from the paint center and several students who are ready to work in this medium are suiting up into their smocks. I ask the students, “Ok. Are you ready to go to work on your art now?” They answer with a resounding “yes!”
Ten boys, who had already formulated plans earlier, go directly to the cardboard construction center. They begin constructing space ships, aircraft and other “inventions” with pre-cut cardboard, glue and tape. Eight girls and four boys go to the paint center and begin acquiring painting materials. Of the painters, five paint their versions of “Van Gogh” landscapes. The other nine explore the sensory qualities of the paint and experiment with the brush technique I demonstrated earlier working in abstract compositions. Four girls, who have been working with stick puppets from earlier classes, go to the cardboard construction center, gather paper, cardboard, yarn and textile materials and begin creating puppet characters and formulate a play about a little girl, her friends and a lost puppy. At the same time, two other boys begin working from the block center and construct a “city.” After the students have gotten into “flow,” I get out my digital camera, and begin to take pictures of them “in action” because some of the artworks are transitory, and will be de-constructed from the next class. Later, after the work has been created, two two-minute puppet plays performed, clean up and art work put into storage or prepared to be taken home, the end of class is almost at hand and we look at the digital pictures we have taken on my teacher computer screen (It would be great if it was hooked up to a larger monitor.) This is a time for self-reflection, discussion and feedback. Many of the students eagerly share their discoveries and stories about their experiences in today’s art class.
Here is what happened within the curricula. Not everyone was interested in painting Van Gogh landscapes. That is ok. They weren’t buying what I was selling and I accept that. They were still apart of the experience and listened to my introduction of Van Gogh and my analysis of landscape composition. Those who chose not to paint “van goghs” had formulated their own plans just like real artists do. As you know, artists work from MEMORY, IMAGINATION, OBSERVATION, EXPLORATION and FEELINGS and EMOTION. This is the core of the student-centered curriculum. When we weave the two curriculums together the dynamic third part of the whole curricula shifts into gear.
The puppeteers did a play near the end of class and the cardboard spaceship inventors who were inspired by them, went to the puppet stage afterward and turned their sculptures into spaceship puppets and reenacted a scene from “Star Wars.” The painters, who started to experiment with paint and color, took cardboard from the construction center and began to draw into their paintings with cardboard sticks. Then they began to pull mono-prints off of their paintings. So the third curriculum kicks in and this is important because discovery learning is happening here and is the most potent form of learning known to educators and cognitive scientists. It is conceiving of ones own learning from one’s own mind and going beyond the given information and this is how real artists operate and imaginative thinking capabilities cultivated.
I was talking to a friend of mine who is an engineer, and he said, “All engineers prefer to work with STATIC elements because you can control them. They don’t want to work with DYNAMIC elements, because you can’t control them.” Well, I thought, that’s great, but if you are an educator, you want to exploit the dynamic because we are working with dynamic individuals all the time. So the curriculum should be flexible to account for individual differences, because we are all different, with different structures of mind.
Curriculum as we know it are the activities one employs for whatever it is you expect your students to learn. For the choice based art teacher, learning to think like an artist is our goal here and there are two curriculums going on simultaneously. One is the teacher centered curriculum, one in which a series of lessons or activities that tie into state standards or essential learning. The other is the student-centered curriculum, which can be negotiated between student and teacher or facilitated by the teacher for the student. In between these two curricula is a third unwritten curriculum, the one in which experimentation is afforded, risks are taken, discoveries are made and newfound knowledge segues into deep, profound personally meaningful learning experiences. When curriculum activities are centrally prescribed, planned sequentially and outcomes already determined, surprise and discovery are marginalized. The main thing that attracted me to choice was the amount of diversity within this three-pronged approach to curriculum. There is a dynamic within the art curriculum now that I never had before. The kids know it, I know it and everyone else knows it. This is why the art room experience today is more important to the kids than it ever was before. More to come later...thanks again...Clyde
I did see this question earlier, and didn't have time to respond. So here is another response. I think the applicants would do themselves well, if they could describe how “curriculum” would look, as it might be employed inside of an actual class. So let’s take the "painting curriculum" for example as it might apply to a choice art program. Again, I am expecting to have three forms of curriculum going on simultaneously for this subject area and I am describing what goes on in the choice art room for this interviewer. (Actually, today, there are usually committees doing the interviewing so let's imagine I am in the "hot seat" and I am speaking to a group of distinguished parents and educators) "After describing to the group the way curriculum might work in a choice art room, I would give them a description of a class with a lesson from the painting curriculum and would describe my room, complete with all of my “art centers.” Then begin my narrative;
“After students enter the art room, I invite them to the demonstration table for the daily lesson. I have 29 2nd graders. I know their attention span is only about a minute or two, so I have to be good and fast with this demo. I have a copy of the "Starry Night" in front of me at my table. “Boys and girls, this is the 'Starry Night' by Vincent Van Gogh! Notice how Van Gogh was inspired to paint the night sky! With swirls of color and movement! ‘Why the sky looks ALIVE!’ Look at the combination of lines colors and brush strokes! Today, one of your choices is to paint your version of a landscape like the Starry Night! Let's look at the way Van Gogh divides his painting into parts and creates one of the worlds most famous paintings!” Now I get my paper and paint out and show them how to dip two colors of liquid tempera paint onto the end of one brush using blue and red. I begin to draw the horizon line, and work in the background, middle ground and foreground. “What is happening here?” “What happened to my two colors?” The children all tell me it turned purple inside the painted lines. “What would happen if I use other combinations of color?” At this time the kids are ready to bust out….They are primed and ready to go. In previous lessons they have learned how to acquire materials from the paint center and several students who are ready to work in this medium are suiting up into their smocks. I ask the students, “Ok. Are you ready to go to work on your art now?” They answer with a resounding “yes!”
Ten boys, who had already formulated plans earlier, go directly to the cardboard construction center. They begin constructing space ships, aircraft and other “inventions” with pre-cut cardboard, glue and tape. Eight girls and four boys go to the paint center and begin acquiring painting materials. Of the painters, five paint their versions of “Van Gogh” landscapes. The other nine explore the sensory qualities of the paint and experiment with the brush technique I demonstrated earlier working in abstract compositions. Four girls, who have been working with stick puppets from earlier classes, go to the cardboard construction center, gather paper, cardboard, yarn and textile materials and begin creating puppet characters and formulate a play about a little girl, her friends and a lost puppy. At the same time, two other boys begin working from the block center and construct a “city.” After the students have gotten into “flow,” I get out my digital camera, and begin to take pictures of them “in action” because some of the artworks are transitory, and will be de-constructed from the next class. Later, after the work has been created, two two-minute puppet plays performed, clean up and art work put into storage or prepared to be taken home, the end of class is almost at hand and we look at the digital pictures we have taken on my teacher computer screen (It would be great if it was hooked up to a larger monitor.) This is a time for self-reflection, discussion and feedback. Many of the students eagerly share their discoveries and stories about their experiences in today’s art class.
Here is what happened within the curricula. Not everyone was interested in painting Van Gogh landscapes. That is ok. They weren’t buying what I was selling and I accept that. They were still apart of the experience and listened to my introduction of Van Gogh and my analysis of landscape composition. Those who chose not to paint “van goghs” had formulated their own plans just like real artists do. As you know, artists work from MEMORY, IMAGINATION, OBSERVATION, EXPLORATION and FEELINGS and EMOTION. This is the core of the student-centered curriculum. When we weave the two curriculums together the dynamic third part of the whole curricula shifts into gear.
The puppeteers did a play near the end of class and the cardboard spaceship inventors who were inspired by them, went to the puppet stage afterward and turned their sculptures into spaceship puppets and reenacted a scene from “Star Wars.” The painters, who started to experiment with paint and color, took cardboard from the construction center and began to draw into their paintings with cardboard sticks. Then they began to pull mono-prints off of their paintings. So the third curriculum kicks in and this is important because discovery learning is happening here and is the most potent form of learning known to educators and cognitive scientists. It is conceiving of ones own learning from one’s own mind and going beyond the given information and this is how real artists operate and imaginative thinking capabilities cultivated.
I was talking to a friend of mine who is an engineer, and he said, “All engineers prefer to work with STATIC elements because you can control them. They don’t want to work with DYNAMIC elements, because you can’t control them.” Well, I thought, that’s great, but if you are an educator, you want to exploit the dynamic because we are working with dynamic individuals all the time. So the curriculum should be flexible to account for individual differences, because we are all different, with different structures of mind.
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Discovery Learning: NAEA Chicago
It is time to get ready for the National Art Education Association's annual conference coming up in Chicago at the Hilton Towers this March 22nd. Clark, Kathy, Diane, Nan and I will be presenting on "Discovery Learning In The Choice Art Room." Clark and I did a similar presentation on the same topic this past fall at the Indiana Art Education's state conference. We had lots of movies and pics of our kids "going beyond" the given information. That is why I have embraced the "choice" approach with whole heart. Where a child ends up with their art experience always fascinates and surprises me because the outcome is never determined by teacher. More often than not, experiences go very, very deep!
In addition to the presentation, we are hosting an art exhibit/social gathering somewhere in the Hilton Towers facility in one of their conference rooms on Saturday, March 25th. Anybody who reads this blog, who will be in attendance at the conference, please consider yourself invited.....we will begin around 5:00 p.m. and continue until......?
I watched the PBS special on child development titled "Raising Caine" by Michel Thompson, PhD. This documentary openned my eyes to both my boys and girls and their art making tendencies.....Girls love to make art about "friendships and relationships." Boys love to make art about "action, adventure, fear and death!" According to Dr. Thompson, this is a natural outgrowth of being a child. These are recurring themes running throughout a considerable percentage of our kid's subject matter and I feel each of these themes will continue to provide us with meaningful art experiences and joyful learning....I will keep you posted on this "discovery." I plan to mine every bit of educational gold I can from this observation....Check back later.....CG
In addition to the presentation, we are hosting an art exhibit/social gathering somewhere in the Hilton Towers facility in one of their conference rooms on Saturday, March 25th. Anybody who reads this blog, who will be in attendance at the conference, please consider yourself invited.....we will begin around 5:00 p.m. and continue until......?
I watched the PBS special on child development titled "Raising Caine" by Michel Thompson, PhD. This documentary openned my eyes to both my boys and girls and their art making tendencies.....Girls love to make art about "friendships and relationships." Boys love to make art about "action, adventure, fear and death!" According to Dr. Thompson, this is a natural outgrowth of being a child. These are recurring themes running throughout a considerable percentage of our kid's subject matter and I feel each of these themes will continue to provide us with meaningful art experiences and joyful learning....I will keep you posted on this "discovery." I plan to mine every bit of educational gold I can from this observation....Check back later.....CG
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
District Article
Here is a copy of the text for an article I submitted for our quaterly district newsletter for publication. I did not make mention of my landmark meeting with Kathy Douglas, Diane Jaquith, John Crowe and Clark Fralick at the National Art Education Conference in Denver in "04. This meeting was of pivotal importance because it set the stage from which I now operate my choice classroom and pedagogical approach.
Meaningful Connections in the NPE Art Room
By Clyde Gaw
Regular opportunities to develop personally meaningful art from self-directed pathways are a central component of our choice based art program here at New Palestine Elementary. An examination of art and reflective writing can illuminate the cognitive dynamics employed by students within this approach to learning. “We draw and draw and draw until we feel totally satisfied about what we have been thinking about. We use ink, paint, and pencil to create what we have expressed within ourselves,” writes 5th grader Scott describing his experiences working from his mural project from last year. 3rd Grader Edward explains, “I can make new inventions and draw what I want to draw.” Third grader Shelby states, “It’s fun because it’s your own creation.” Third grader Alexandria makes it clear, “I like it better when I get to choose because you can be amazed by what we create.” In the NPE art room, students become highly motivated learners when they have a personal stake in the learning activities they are engaged in.
Our transition to choice based art education was a gradual process that began in 1998 when SCE art educator Clark Fralick and I, with the assistance of the Indiana Department of Education and support of the Southern Hancock Schools Administration, began an electronic portfolio program with our elementary students. From our observations within this program, we could see patterns of ownership developing that affected student motivation and learning; reflective writing was more passionate and substantial when students had creative control over their art making processes. In the spring of 2004, after conferring with NPE Principal Mark Kern, the determination to implement a full time choice art program during the 2004-05 school year was made. The dividends of intellectual and creative growth are paying off with dramatic results.
In March of 2005, prominent works from NPE students were sent to the Hynes Convention Center and Arnheim Gallery at the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston. Katherine Douglas of M.C.A. who curated the exhibit of choice based art from across the U.S. exclaimed, "I don't want to give much away, at the center of the exhibit is the largest artwork ever made by a 5th grader,” referring to NPE student Alex's “Dragon Mural.” Last spring, the Southern Hancock Elementary Fine Arts Festival held at Sugar Creek Elementary provided a panorama of compelling, individually unique art from NPE and SCE students. Student generated animation films, drawings, paintings, pottery, masks, sculpture, construction projects and a myriad of other self-directed works augmented with student-generated writing, including NPE first grader Anna's painting “Cool” and 343 word artist statement, reflected the powerful educational experiences occurring in the art programs.
Implications of Choice
Choice based art experiences honor students as real artists, providing unlimited possibilities from which students work from their own ideas, creating personally meaningful, authentic works of art. Indiana fine arts and academic standards are woven into daily lessons so students are continuously exposed to essential content from which they construct meaning on their own terms. The combination of choice art experiences and assessment through electronic portfolios support classroom teacher’s continuing efforts in the language arts curricula and affords students multiple opportunities to increase imaginative, creative and intellectual growth.
Meaningful Connections in the NPE Art Room
By Clyde Gaw
Regular opportunities to develop personally meaningful art from self-directed pathways are a central component of our choice based art program here at New Palestine Elementary. An examination of art and reflective writing can illuminate the cognitive dynamics employed by students within this approach to learning. “We draw and draw and draw until we feel totally satisfied about what we have been thinking about. We use ink, paint, and pencil to create what we have expressed within ourselves,” writes 5th grader Scott describing his experiences working from his mural project from last year. 3rd Grader Edward explains, “I can make new inventions and draw what I want to draw.” Third grader Shelby states, “It’s fun because it’s your own creation.” Third grader Alexandria makes it clear, “I like it better when I get to choose because you can be amazed by what we create.” In the NPE art room, students become highly motivated learners when they have a personal stake in the learning activities they are engaged in.
Our transition to choice based art education was a gradual process that began in 1998 when SCE art educator Clark Fralick and I, with the assistance of the Indiana Department of Education and support of the Southern Hancock Schools Administration, began an electronic portfolio program with our elementary students. From our observations within this program, we could see patterns of ownership developing that affected student motivation and learning; reflective writing was more passionate and substantial when students had creative control over their art making processes. In the spring of 2004, after conferring with NPE Principal Mark Kern, the determination to implement a full time choice art program during the 2004-05 school year was made. The dividends of intellectual and creative growth are paying off with dramatic results.
In March of 2005, prominent works from NPE students were sent to the Hynes Convention Center and Arnheim Gallery at the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston. Katherine Douglas of M.C.A. who curated the exhibit of choice based art from across the U.S. exclaimed, "I don't want to give much away, at the center of the exhibit is the largest artwork ever made by a 5th grader,” referring to NPE student Alex's “Dragon Mural.” Last spring, the Southern Hancock Elementary Fine Arts Festival held at Sugar Creek Elementary provided a panorama of compelling, individually unique art from NPE and SCE students. Student generated animation films, drawings, paintings, pottery, masks, sculpture, construction projects and a myriad of other self-directed works augmented with student-generated writing, including NPE first grader Anna's painting “Cool” and 343 word artist statement, reflected the powerful educational experiences occurring in the art programs.
Implications of Choice
Choice based art experiences honor students as real artists, providing unlimited possibilities from which students work from their own ideas, creating personally meaningful, authentic works of art. Indiana fine arts and academic standards are woven into daily lessons so students are continuously exposed to essential content from which they construct meaning on their own terms. The combination of choice art experiences and assessment through electronic portfolios support classroom teacher’s continuing efforts in the language arts curricula and affords students multiple opportunities to increase imaginative, creative and intellectual growth.
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
A New Year Of Choice
After a whirlwind first year I am wondering what new surprises await us in the NPE Art Room for this new school year. Some of the highlights from last year were Alex's Dragon mural, the myriad of self-generated drawings, paintings, collages, construction sculptures, textile works, prints, animation films and computer art and electronic portfolios created by students throughout our school. It amazes me what our kids can do on their own with a little support from teacher. Just give them an opportunity and they will "take off." This year I am going to look for more opportunities to record student reflective thinking via writing or audio recording or digital video. Clark showed me a cool feature on PowerPoint. All one needs for recording audio directly to a file is plug in a microphone to the reciever jack on the back of the computer, when the file is opened with an image, click on the Insert button, click Movies and sound, click "record sound," click the record button and begin speaking into the microphone. Upon viewing in slide show mode, click on the audio button and there it is! Instant audio recording! This is one of the coolest features on PowerPoint I have seen and I plan on exploiting this feature quite a bit this year. I am going to tell those kids to write up what ever it is they are going to say so they will have a foundation to speak from. I want them to have an opportunity to hear themselves talking so they can critically self-assess their own thinking....another way to get at meta-cognition! Ok, time to go to school so I can get the room ready for the new year. This should be fun! Check back later! Clyde
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Draw With Gaw
I have officially completed my first year of choice based art here at New Palestine Elementary School. I cracked the door open a little with choice two years ago and ended up busting the door wide open by the end of this year! I am not looking back, but moving full forward with this dynamic concept! I believe this form of education has "legs" across the curriculum! Making personal connections to student interests and passions is at the heart of education reform....academic rigor, without meaningful connections, is "learning in a vacuum"....content goes in one ear and out the other.....this is what I have learned over the past several years with my kids and the experiences in our choice based art classroom have solidified this important point.
Since I closed out the school year, I now look forward to completing our summer art camp, "Draw With Gaw" June 13-24. We have a wonderful bunch of kids in this classroom of mixed abilities and ages.....and they love the choice concept.....I will update soon with some pictures and more reflection....Check back again! Clyde
Since I closed out the school year, I now look forward to completing our summer art camp, "Draw With Gaw" June 13-24. We have a wonderful bunch of kids in this classroom of mixed abilities and ages.....and they love the choice concept.....I will update soon with some pictures and more reflection....Check back again! Clyde
Sunday, April 10, 2005
The Incredible Lightness of Being
Wow, what an exhilarating time the month of March was for me. Last month was filled with incredible experiences and incredible expenditures of energy. My good friend and colleague, Kathy Douglas describes the feeling an art teacher has who produces a major student art exhibit and survives it as the "incredible lightness of being." That is exactly the way I felt after our student exhibit at Sugar Creek Elementary School this past March 18th, 2005. Top that with a whirlwind weekend at the National Art Education Association's annual conference where we had a family reunion of sorts with the founding members of our TAB Group.....Clark and I first met Kathy, Diane Jaquith, and Dr. John Crowe last year at the '04 NAEA Conference in Denver and it was such a thrill to meet up with them again on their home turf in Boston! We also got to meet TAB colleagues Nan Hathaway, Lucy Gatchell, Stacie Konesky, Laurie Anderson, Yoshiko Maruiwa and also met George Szekely and Kathy Topal. It was so rewarding to see everyone...I can't wait to visit all over again when NAEA comes to Chicago next spring....this time we will be on my home turf!
One of the interesting events of the Boston Conference was listening to Elliot Eisner speak. I was sitting with Clark and Kathy when Mr. Eisner started talking about deficiencies in current efforts at education reform and the ineffectiveness of standardized testing to support creative and imaginitive forms of thinking.....Mr. Eisner zeroed in on the importance of emergent curriculum, learning to think in the absence of rules and surprise and discovery in learning......and I think it was Kathy or Clark who said "He is describing a choice based art program..." And I said..."I know!"
Every spring, we do a large district wide elementary art exhibit called the Southern Hancock Schools Elementary Fine Arts Festival held at Clark's school. We have art combined with music productions from the three schools in our district. It really is a fantastic exhibit with the art and wonderful music performances from our hard working music teachers....But this year, I was very proud of our art exhibits. Every single work of art we had on display was different and unique....nothing was the same as in years past......Everything was authentic....We had those artist statements up with the art and it was very compelling....the statements from our kids regarding their art were in many, many cases, very profound.....I will publish some examples asap so you can see for yourself....right now, I am going to get some rest, and get ready for 1st and 2nd Graders on Monday.....until then, check back later....Clyde
One of the interesting events of the Boston Conference was listening to Elliot Eisner speak. I was sitting with Clark and Kathy when Mr. Eisner started talking about deficiencies in current efforts at education reform and the ineffectiveness of standardized testing to support creative and imaginitive forms of thinking.....Mr. Eisner zeroed in on the importance of emergent curriculum, learning to think in the absence of rules and surprise and discovery in learning......and I think it was Kathy or Clark who said "He is describing a choice based art program..." And I said..."I know!"
Every spring, we do a large district wide elementary art exhibit called the Southern Hancock Schools Elementary Fine Arts Festival held at Clark's school. We have art combined with music productions from the three schools in our district. It really is a fantastic exhibit with the art and wonderful music performances from our hard working music teachers....But this year, I was very proud of our art exhibits. Every single work of art we had on display was different and unique....nothing was the same as in years past......Everything was authentic....We had those artist statements up with the art and it was very compelling....the statements from our kids regarding their art were in many, many cases, very profound.....I will publish some examples asap so you can see for yourself....right now, I am going to get some rest, and get ready for 1st and 2nd Graders on Monday.....until then, check back later....Clyde
Sunday, February 27, 2005
NAEA Boston
Here is my agenda for the month of March:
Attend NAEA Conference at Boston on the 4th, 5th and 6th and present with Clark on our "Transition to Choice" and "Electronic Portfolios in the Choice Classroom." During that time I plan to meet with all of our distinguished TAB colleagues along with other art education professionals and participate in discussions of what the future may hold. March 7th through 17th will be devoted to preparations for our mega elementary exhibit with Clark's elementary school, Sugar Creek, the Southern Hancock Elementary Schools Fine Arts Festival. This will be our 4th annual exhibit and it is a great show but takes a lot of planning and preparation to pull off.....Lately, I have had our kids busy as can be getting their art work ready with touchups, mounting, artist statements and everything else.....I am determined to have those kids do as much of the work as possible so when show set up time comes, all I have to do is plaster it up on to the walls....
Here in Indiana, public education revenues are not looking good. Our new Governor, Mitch Daniels, proposed withholding previously promised revenues to the amount of 27 million dollars, will be withheld to public schools across the state. Next year, education funding is basically frozen at the current amount.....What does this do to school corporations whose financial situation is allready tight? Programs are cut, RIFs are levied and kids lose out....fortunately, the legislature has not approved these cuts yet.....We will see what happens.
Attend NAEA Conference at Boston on the 4th, 5th and 6th and present with Clark on our "Transition to Choice" and "Electronic Portfolios in the Choice Classroom." During that time I plan to meet with all of our distinguished TAB colleagues along with other art education professionals and participate in discussions of what the future may hold. March 7th through 17th will be devoted to preparations for our mega elementary exhibit with Clark's elementary school, Sugar Creek, the Southern Hancock Elementary Schools Fine Arts Festival. This will be our 4th annual exhibit and it is a great show but takes a lot of planning and preparation to pull off.....Lately, I have had our kids busy as can be getting their art work ready with touchups, mounting, artist statements and everything else.....I am determined to have those kids do as much of the work as possible so when show set up time comes, all I have to do is plaster it up on to the walls....
Here in Indiana, public education revenues are not looking good. Our new Governor, Mitch Daniels, proposed withholding previously promised revenues to the amount of 27 million dollars, will be withheld to public schools across the state. Next year, education funding is basically frozen at the current amount.....What does this do to school corporations whose financial situation is allready tight? Programs are cut, RIFs are levied and kids lose out....fortunately, the legislature has not approved these cuts yet.....We will see what happens.
Thursday, February 03, 2005
Spring Art Show Preparations
We have been "goin to town" in the art room, getting ready for our annual Spring art show. Our kids have been writing artist statements on the computer, touching up previously selected art, updating electronic portfolios, and creating new art.....I am having some success getting kids to write their reflective statements voluntarily but I know I will have to extrinsically motivate others to complete this part of their art show preparation tasks......We have been experimenting with our digital video camera creating home made stop/action animation films. The kids do automatic drawings on 24 x 18 inch paper. So far I have strung together 60 seconds of animation and it is very cool to watch the drawings morph from a blank piece of paper. The kids who have worked on the animation want to continue and so they are really into it and always on me to do more. I have been interested in using digital film since I saw Hall Davidson at the Indiana Computer Educators Conference last year. More on our adventure into animation later.
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