Post #4....the Art of meaning making

First I will apologize for this post since it will be short. I am running on fumes and may crash and burn at any moment.
I never knew how exhausting a small group of six graders could be, especially when their are six, out of 24, that need constant redirection, tailored instruction and personal attention. However it is my belief that if the teacher would have set the room up differently and would allow for group learning, these six would benefit from what John Dewey titled, "The Educational Situation". In his article he explores how the construction of meaning was not only. "Activated by the prior experience the child brought to the situation; it was also the result of the child's interactions with the social and material conditions in which he or she worked." The art room, that I am teaching in, is void of any group democratic input, or personalization of space. There are no representations of visual culture or any kind of modern, contemporary art to view. It is more like a workshop where students come to work individually with little to no interaction. If the students had some choices, or even their art displayed in the room, they may feel more comfortable to explore and take risks.
Eisner and Freedman both speak of learning within a community and building a space and a curriculum that incorporates visual culture with an understanding and engagement of cross cultural, interdisciplinary and extra-disciplinary contexts. While Freedman says that this will ..."allow information from inside and outside of school to be connected to school subjects", It will also allow the students to be connected to one another and to the environment they create together. The six graders I speak of have no reference points, no back ground, expect for the correlation's between social studies and art from different countries on posters, they have no visual text to read that relates to them or their daily life. "Although the purposes of public school art education have socioculutral roots, children have been represented in curriculum as though they are without attributes of culture, Such a conception of individualism supports the idea of a fictional free self -expression in school (an inherently social institution) through the teaching of art (a product of cultural communities). The focus on this conception of "natural" individualism in curriculum has resulted in the neglect of both cultural similarities and differences." Freedman, (75).

Post #3 doing some Theorizing

"Theorizing art in education is difficult because it involves two often conflicting forms of practice - education, which seeks predicted learning outcomes; and art, which seeks the unpredictable."

(The anti-art teacher likes predicted learning since it is easier to grade)

"...art education seems under-theorized in the sense that curriculum is often a succesion of isolated, skill-based activities rather than being based on rich conceptual frameworks."

(The anti-art teacher likes isolated, skill-based crafts, because it is neat and tidy busy work that is easy to grade)

"Visual culture creates, as well as reflects, personal and social freedoms, and as result, consideration of its character and impact is critical to a democratic education."

(There is no choice, voice and for sure no democracy in the anti-art teachers art room!)

While working in direct contact with middle school students and seeing how they respond to art activities first hand, I feel I am in the perfect situation to start connecting the dots and making sense of what our chosen authors are theorizing about. While working with the anti-art teacher I have witnessed her/his art lessons to be "monological". According to Kerry Freedman's theory, this term refers to mediated quasi-interaction, usually from books, TV, or the web, yet the anti art teacher's lessons are one-way transmissions of information that do not demand a reflective response. As a teacher in training, this is a problem since a school, a classroom and, most definitely, an art room are some of the few structured, dialogical environments for students to help decode and make meaning out of their monological experiences. As I have been thinking of ways to create a dialogical relationship with the students I have been thinking how each student has different backgrounds, influences, cultures and possibly different 'mediums' for learning. Suddenly the students become pre-teen walking, talking works of art. And my job is to try to 'interpret' and understand them within their historical and present day context. I began to think of ways of teaching and ways of how to better understand their pre-teen minds and I thought it was interesting how I could substitute the word, "pre-teen student" in place of the word "Art" for most of Terry Barrett's, Principles for Interpreting Art.

Try it yourself....

"All art is in part about the world in which it emerged."

"All art is part of other art."

"To interpret a work of Art is to respond to it."

"Artworks attract multiple interpretations and it is not the goal of interpretation to arrive at single, grand, unified, composite interpretations."

Before I can teach pre-teens how to interprete art and visual culture I need to first be able to 'read' my pre-teens. They too have hidden codes that are, "open to some and closed to others because of culture, age, gender and familiarity with current and past events..." (Barrett: Interpreting Visual Culture)

Even though the art teachers have teamed up with Social Studies to plan their lessons for a integrated curriculum, it seems to me they have missed the point. The lessons are the same each year and are based on the traditional arts and crafts made within a chosen country. There is no questioning, no room for greater interpretation or comparison. Freedman would not approve, since number 5 of, "foundations of teaching visual culture" is: Cultural Response, not cultural copy crafts. Upon inquiry into wether the anti-art teachers had tried lessons with the Big Idea concept, Both teachers said, "No, the students cant grasp those kind of ideas."
The anti-art teachers are not to blame, they simply have not been reformed yet. The new Art ministry does not go door to door with the "Art for the 21st century bible". And no one has turned them on to the transmedial experience. And Semali, has not told them that... "the authority of teachers and the certainty of what was learned in the classroom and regarded as stable have begun to slip and slide. With the introduction of computers, the Internet, and a plethora of ways to access academic resources that come with these technologies, knowledge is being democratized.

The existence of multimedia calls for multiple forms of literacy, forms that can represent the world of ideas, emotions, and events with multiple symbols."

(from the article, Tansmediation as a Metaphor...)

I guess I will find out for myself when I barrow from Dewey, Postmodernists and transmediation to construct my own art curriculum with the aesthetic of conceptual/performance Art.

After all, "Great works of art are often considered great because they go beyond expectations." Freedman, told me so.

"A culture populated by a people whose imagination is impoverished has a static future. In such a culture there will be little change because there will be little sense of possibility."

(Taken from: The Arts and the Creation of Mind)
By: Elliot W. Eisner

What is this word "Possibility" and why does it sound familiar to me???

Post #2 "Yes and....I have a confession"

Confession
After two very challenging weeks teaching along side the Anti-Art teacher from Burn-Out Town, along with other life challenges I felt my "Juicy" creative fule was drying up fast and soon I would crumble into a fine dust. Just two hours ago I seriously contemplated 8740 Suicide. I was ready to just give up and end it so I could slip into a peaceful mindlessness cushioned with bad sit-coms and big pillows. But suddenly Eisner's book fell on the floor and revealed chapter 3. I decided to give it one more glance and there on the page was my salvation!
The quote,
"The surest road to hell in a classroom is to stick to the lesson plan, no matter what" (Eisner)
became illuminated and I heard the choir of dead artists singing, "You're not alone, stay, stay and save them from which they know no better." "We will show you the way, stay!"
So here I am. Eisner has ushered me back and is showing me, in the first few pages of chapter 3, all the reasons why I am witnessing, first hand, the 'killing' of young imaginations.
He is reaffirming for me that my ideas and beliefs are sound and true and that the ill feeling I have in my stomach is from having to be a silent bystander while anti-art torture takes place inside the sacred temple of imagination.
When reading the quote above I knew it was a sign for me to keep 8740 alive and use its enlightened teachings as a protective shield and sword to ward off anti-art ghosts from the dark ages.
The anti-art teacher has been sticking to a lesson that was implemented back in November and is forcing students to finish a very tedious, ill planned, mosaic made by cutting small bits of colors from magazines and pasting them onto intricate drawn boarders around a centrally drawn animal. In the two weeks I have been there over half of the total students have fallen into hell and are becoming defiant, snarling anti-art demons. Most pretent like they are working or do the bare minimum. Some have chosen not to do any more work since it has lost all appeal and instead has become a punishment.
Offense number one:
The anti-art teacher merely transmits information with little or no instruction or examples and instructs students to copy a castel tower "EXACTLY" how it looks on the handout. Eisner explains how each student will mediate and modify what is being conveyed and in this case several students were dropping like flies as the blood left their sweet little faces and they sank down saying, "I hate this, I dont like art, I cant draw like that, I cant make it look exactly like that." The point was not to mimic but to notice and to translate yet the anti-art teacher did not explain the point and did not show tricks or even give tips.
The "Situation" set up by the anti-art teacher did not promote a creative appetite to learn. The students were not learning through qualitative related experiences, even though that was most likely the purpose of the lesson; instead, they were learning how to follow directions and how to dislike art since it was a tedious chore to keep them busy and quiet.
In Creating Meaning Through Art by Simpson, and others, they state, "Factors that got my students involved included my understanding of them, the classroom environment I created , and the teaching strategies that I used." Viktor Lowenfeld wrote that, "Motivation is meaningful if it is adequate to the developmental level and is keyed to specific interests of the child"
Offense number two:
Not participating in improvisation and saying, "Yes and..." as explored in Imagination First. The anti-art teacher teaches art like it is a serious math class and shehe uses what Eisner calls, canned scripts. Shehe expects the correct response to hisher prefabricated, formulaic instruction. "Externally defined routines might be appropriate for workers on an assembly line...; they are not appropriate for teachers."
I know it sounds bad, and I was being a bit mello dramatic, but the anti-art teacher has good intentions after all. Shehe got lost in the woods along the way and has developed, "secondary ignorance"; that is, by not knowing that you dont know." Which is part of how Eisner has helped me to understand how the anti-art teacher had to face, "the arduous task of trying to figure out on 'hisher' own how things went and what might be done better."
(Stay tuned......more to come)

Lincoln Center Institute
Capacities for
Imaginative Learning
LCI has created the Capacities for Imaginative
Learning as a framework for student learning,
applicable to the Common Core Standards across
the curriculum.
The Capacities operate as both
strategies for, and outcomes of, study according
to LCI’s practice.

Contact Us: 212.875.5535
Email: lci@lincolncenter.org
Visit: www.lcinstitute.org

The Capacities for Imaginative Learning are:

Noticing Deeply to identify and articulate layers of detail in a work of art or other
object of study through continuous interaction with it over time.
Embodying to experience a work of art or other object of study through your senses,
as well as emotionally, and also to physically represent that experience.

Questioning to ask questions throughout your explorations that further your own
learning; to ask the question, “What if?”

Making Connections to connect what you notice and the patterns you see to your
prior knowledge and experiences, to others’ knowledge and experiences, and to text
and multimedia resources.

Identifying Patterns to find relationships among the details that you notice, group
them, and recognize patterns.

Exhibiting Empathy to respect the diverse perspectives of others in the community;
to understand the experiences of others emotionally, as well as intellectually.

Living with Ambiguity to understand that issues have more than one interpretation,
that not all problems have immediate or clear-cut solutions, and to be patient while a
resolution becomes clear.

Creating Meaning to create your own interpretations based on the previous
capacities, see these in the light of others in the community, create a synthesis, and
express it in your own voice.

Taking Action to try out new ideas, behaviors or situations in ways that are neither
too easy nor too dangerous or difficult, based on the synthesis of what you have
learned in your explorations.

Reflecting/Assessing to look back on your learning, continually assess what you
have learned, assess/identify what challenges remain, and assess/identify what further
learning needs to happen. This occurs not only at the end of a learning experience,
but is part of what happens throughout that experience. It is also not the end of your
learning; it is part of beginning to learn something else.

Ping Pong Post #1

“Work in the arts is not only a way of creating performances and products; it is a way of creating our lives by expanding our consciousness, shaping our dispositions, satisfying our quest for meaning, establishing contact with others, and sharing a culture.”

(Eisner)

This makes me think of “the art of fine living” These are the principals of how to live an artful life. Ping over to Freedman, and it refers to her opening quote about, “When students develop a deeper understanding of their visual experiences, they can look critically at surface appearances and begin to reflect on the importance of the visual arts in shaping culture, society, and even individual identity.”

Ping back to Eisner, and his Principle Four, under guiding practice, is art education should help students become aware of their own individuality.
So true so true, after all, artists are individuals not conveyer belts. This is important and I am seeing first hand how art lessons with prescribed outcomes are mechanical, leave no room for expression and teach nothing but how to follow directions and mimic the same basic form. This turns into a monological type of communication which is one sided and as Freeman states, “does not demand a reflective response.”

I like the way Eisner distilled down the process of how we recognize, make note of, filter and finally share those fleeting ideas we grab, nurture and allow to grow into a separate entity. Through what Eisner says is, “the role of the arts in refining the senses and enlarging the imagination”, he gives us terms to use for the process of realizing, harvesting and then manifesting that which we call art. Through inscribing, editing and communicating, representation takes place. I find it interesting since I have always thought of the creative act as being a spiritual act, one in which the artist is in communion with the collective unconscious. If open to receive the gift of an elusive, or as Eisner says, “evanescent” idea an artist can give birth to art which then becomes a conduit for new interactions and communication. And this reminds me of a wonderful TED TV talk by Elisabeth Gilbert when she speaks of nurturing creativity and the origin of the word Genius. (MUST WATCH link below)

http://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

Both Eisner and Freeman speak of visual signs and visual culture. They both mention how important it is for our art curriculums to teach our students artistic intelligence. This will empower them to construct their own visual culture and enter into a multicultural dialogue. And all of this goes hand in hand with Creating Multicultural Learning Communities by Sonia Nieto.

Just as art education is becoming part of the interwoven fabric of a well rounded curriculum so is the realization that all of our curriculums need to be interrelated and in a democratic relationship to help foster the types of inspired imagination that it takes for a culture to progress and evolve. In Nieto’s book, she states that we should, “build on what your students know”. Build on their strengths. “Acknowledging that students have significant experiences, insights and talents to bring to their learning and finding ways to use them in the classroom.”

Bumper Stickter

"A culture populated by a people whose imagination is impoverished has a static future. In such a culture there will be little change because there will be little sense of possibility."

(Taken from: The Arts and the Creation of Mind)
By: Elliot W. Eisner

Still reading, slow going, but Wow! lots of juicy meat to consume!

Teach

Here is the link to the New ART 21 teaching resource page:

Teach

Nikos Kazantzakis

"Ideal teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross, then having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create bridges of their own." -- Nikos Kazantzakis

"Learning is finding out what we already know. Doing is demonstrating that you know it. Teaching is reminding others that they know just as well as you. You are all learners, doers, and teachers." -- Richard Bach

"A teacher who can arouse a feeling for one single good action, for one single good poem, accomplishes more than he who fills our memory with rows and rows of natural objects, classified with name and form." -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"Thought flows in terms of stories -- stories about events, stories about people, and stories about intentions and achievements. The best teachers are the best storytellers. We learn in the form of stories." -- Frank Smith

"Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them become what they are capable of becoming." -- Goethe

Helen Keller

"Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement, nothing can be done without hope and confidence." -- Helen Keller

"Once children learn how to learn, nothing is going to narrow their mind. The essence of teaching is to make learning contagious, to have one idea spark another." -- Marva Collins

"In education it isn't how much you have committed to memory or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you do know and what you don't. It's knowing where to go to find out what you need to know and it's knowing how to use the information you get." --William Feather

Education World: Student-Led Conferences: A Growing Trend

Student-Led Conferences: A Growing Trend

Education World: Student-Led Conferences: A Growing Trend

Here are some links to a video and to some sites that have tips for teachers for classroom management, lesson plans, and how to deal with difficult behaviors and poor attitudes.
If you have any good ideas or resources in these areas please share them with me, I am trying to prepare myself for all the extra stuff we dont have training in yet, thanks!

Classroom Management Video Tips for Teachers

http://bcove.me/l2wsrmi7

http://www.wholebrainteaching.com/

http://youtu.be/W1kxpBPtqyI

Begin each class period with a positive attitude and high expectations. If you expect your students to misbehave or you approach them negatively, you will get misbehavior. This is an often overlooked aspect of classroom management.
Come to class prepared with lessons for the day. In fact, overplan with your lessons. Make sure to have all your materials and methods ready to go.Reducing downtime will help maintain discipline in your classroom.
Work on making transitions between parts of lessons smooth. In other words, as you move from whole group discussion to independent work, try to minimize the disruption to the class. Have your papers ready to go or your assignment already written on the board. Many disruptions occur during transitional times during lessons.
Watch your students as they come into class. Look for signs of possible problems before class even begins. For example, if you notice a heated discussion or problem before class starts, try to deal with the problem then. Allow the students a few moments to talk with you or with each other before you start your lesson to try and work things out. Separate them if necessary and try to gain agreement that during your class period at least they will drop whatever issue they have.
Have a posted discipline plan that you follow consistently for effective classroom management. Depending on the severity of the offense, this should allow students a warning or two before punishment begins. Your plan should be easy to follow and also should cause a minimum of disruption in your class. For example, your discipline plan might be - First Offense: Verbal Warning, Second Offense: Detention with teacher, Third Offense: Referral.
Meet disruptions that arise in your class with in kind measures. In other words, don't elevate disruptions above their current level. Your discipline plan should provide for this, however, sometimes your own personal issues can get in the way. For example, if two students are talking in the back of the room and your first step in the plan is to give your students a verbal warning, don't stop your instruction to begin yelling at the students. Instead, have a set policy that simply saying a student's name is enough of a clue for them to get back on task. Another technique is to ask one of them a question.
Try to use humor to diffuse situations before things get out of hand. Note: Know your students. The following example would be used with students you know would not elevate the situation to another level. For example, if you tell your students to open their books to page 51 and three students are busy talking, do not immediately yell at them. Instead, smile, say their names, and ask them kindly if they could please wait until later to finish their conversation because you would really like to hear how it ends and you have to get this class finished. This will probably get a few laughs but also get your point across.
If a student becomes verbally confrontational with you, remain calm and remove them from the situation as quickly as possible. Do not get into yelling matches with your students. There will always be a winner and a loser which sets up a power struggle that could continue throughout the year. Further, do not bring the rest of the class into the situation by involving them in the discipline or the writing of the referral. More on dealing with confrontational students in your classroom.
If a student becomes physical, remember the safety of the other students is paramount. Remain as calm as possible; your demeanor can sometimes diffuse the situation. You should have a plan for dealing with violence that you discussed with students early in the year. You should use the call button for assistance. You could also have a student designated to get help from another teacher. Send the other students from the room if it appears they could get hurt. If the fight is between two students, follow your school's rules concerning teacher involvement as many want teachers to stay out of fights until help arrives.
Keep an anecdotal record of major issues that arise in your class. This might be necessary if you are asked for a history of classroom disruptions or other documentation.
Let it go at the end of the day. Classroom management and disruption issues should be left in class so that you can have some down time to recharge before coming back to another day of teaching.

Tips:

Recognize the warning signs of disruption. Obviously this comes with practice of classroom management. However, some signs are fairly obvious.
Sarcasm should be used sparingly if at all. If you do use it, make sure you know the student who you are using it with well. Many students do not have the capacity to know that sarcasm is not meant to be taken literally. Further, other students could find your sarcasm as inflammatory which would defeat your purpose of greater classroom management.
Consistency and fairness are essential for effective classroom management. If you ignore disruptions one day and come down hard on them the next, you will not be seen as consistent. You will lose respect and disruptions will probably increase. Further, if you are not fair in your punishments, making sure to treat all students fairly then students will quickly realize this and lose respect for you. You should also start each day fresh, not holding disruptions against students and instead expecting them to behave.
It's easier to get easier. Start the year very strict so that students see that you are willing to do what it takes to have your classroom under control. They will understand that you expect learning to occur in your room. You can always let up as the year goes on.
Classroom rules must be easy to understand and manageable. Make sure that you don't have such a large number of rules that your students can't consistently follow them
http://712educators.about.com/od/discipline/ht/class_manage.htm