| Art Education Papers |
Thoughts on Curriculum
October 2001
A few of my students may have a limited art background, but most will be in the art
classroom for the first time. In this introductory class we will focus on the basics of art
history and art practice. The art history portion of the course will follow the path laid out for
us by history and will be supplemented with projects appropriate to the time period being
studied. As an example, when studying Cubism, students will draw a still life and then
bring the image to the level of abstraction as a Cubist might, through use of dissecting lines
and various shading techniques. Western art will be the focus, but our study will be
supplemented with discussions of art created through out the world.
The art practice portion of the class will consist of several small projects, the ongoing
creation of a drawing portfolio and four to six big projects. Smaller projects, which can be
completed in one to three days will be will be done throughout the semester. These will
reflect the culture or art movement being studied. Students will work on their drawing
portfolio two or three times per week. In the drawing portfolio students will have the
opportunity to practice and master basic drawing skills, such as contour drawing or
gesture drawing. Big projects, one for each of the major time periods studied, will take up
several days of class time, in some cases requiring one or two weeks. For instance, after
studying African, North and South American and Oceanic art and learning of the
importance of masks to native cultures, students will create their own masks, which will
reflect ideas or values important to each student.
In the fall of 2000, Art was made the fifth standard in public education in California. The
State recently adopted five standards for art education: Artistic Perception, Creative
Expression, Historical and Cultural Context, Aesthetic Valuing and Connections, Relations
and Applications. Though some private groups (The National Art Education Association and
the Getty Institute) have written and suggested national standards, none of which are
widely used, most states have chosen to write their own set of standards. The California
standards are based on the Getty Institute’s program Discipline Based Arts Education
(DBAE), which stress four important areas: art production, art history, art criticism and
aesthetics. DBAE is designed for use in all grade levels, particularly in a K-6 setting, but
has more specific standards for use in the art classroom.
I will build my class projects and history lessons around the California standards, but will
blend in ideas gleaned from the work of the Getty Institute as well as other sources. For my
student teaching, I will also rely heavily on the plan set forth by my cooperating teacher,
Mrs. C*. Mrs. C has taught high school art for nine years and has developed her own
curriculum. In her classroom, she does not use textbooks as a primary teaching tool; rather
she relies on overhead projection to show images of artwork for study and for note taking
purposes. There are books available in the classroom for students to read through and
students in the advanced class use them for research projects, however, beginning
students do not typically use these books. Since textbooks are not a major concern in this
art classroom, I did not focus on texts in my conversations with Mrs. C; instead we have
spent a significant amount of time discussing resources available to the art teacher. She
has also allowed me to look through her two extensive file cabinets, which are filled with
lesson plan ideas and lesson pans she has previously used. She is very open and willing to
share her expertise and she has referred me to several other good teachers to help round
out my knowledge of classroom organization and management.
Curriculum in the art classroom varies significantly depending on the teacher. As stated, I
will follow the plan Mrs. C is using, however I do have a different teaching style, a different
art history background, and a different focus on art styles than she. Additionally, I will
bring to the classroom a different knowledge base and a fresh perspective (since I am new
to teaching I will undoubtedly handle the classroom differently the Mrs. C might). Most
importantly, I will bring knowledge gained in the last four months (and described in DLA’s
1, 2 & 3) which I expect will help me to more effectively handle classroom situations. For
example, with DLA #1, I learned how to determine what a students needs are and how I
might best accommodate each student. I also learned that it will be important to balance
what all of the students need with what they need to learn in my classroom, while being
mindful of their responsibilities in other classes and at home. With DLA #2, I developed a
plan for what my ideal classroom might look like. In my student teaching, I will not have
the opportunity to set this in place, but I will gain solid knowledge of how (or if) this type of
classroom works.
February 2002
After leading my own classroom for four weeks some of my thoughts on curriculum have
changed. A strong curriculum is a great foundation for a beginning teacher to start, but it
becomes the skeleton on which the structure of the class must be built. My plan for whom
and what I would teach was set. My style of how I would teach was set long ago. All was
theory; the question that remained was how would this work in practice? I have a lot of
experience working with kids in all age groups, but until I began my student teaching I
was never responsible for so large a group nor was I ever expected to teach such specific
material for so long a time.
Mrs. C, my cooperating teacher, manages her class with such style and grace that she
actually makes it look easy and for I time I thought I would have as good a command of
classroom discipline as she. I was too quick to forget that she has been a teacher for nine
years and has developed an ability to retain her student’s attention. Additionally, I
thought, since she and I have different levels of tolerance for noise, that kids talking in my
class would not be of concern to me. It turns out that my liberal talking policy has
effectively backfired on me. I think the social aspect of school and specifically of the art
classroom is immeasurable. I want my students to have fun while they learn. While they
are working I want them to talk to their peers. I think it will make their time in class seem
to fly by rather than drag (I think that is important in any class, but especially in a 95
minute block schedule class.) The problems arise when I need to tell my students
something that will be important to the project they are working on or to future class work.
If I can get everyone’s attention, I only have to say something one time, but it is difficult to
get everyone to listen at the same time.
In his book, Horace’s Compromise, Theodore Sizer discusses docility. There is the idea that
docile students will be better behaved in the classroom, but Sizer wonders if that is what is
really best for kids. The students who are docile are presumably easier to teach because
they are seated and quiet and ready to be lead. Sizer tells of teachers who crave classrooms
full of ‘hungry’ students, those who desire or hunger to learn, the opposite of their docile
peers. In practice, a teacher must find a balance. I have stuff to tell my students that will be
important for the work that they must do in my class. I want to tell them things that will
become important to their lives whether they pursue art or not. Kids have a different agenda
in school. Some are there for the grade, some for the social aspects and some because we
make them go to school. Many other reasons exist but ideally all are be blended together if
we are to progress as a class.
That is to say there are times when the students need to be (relatively) docile and there are
times when I want them to be excited and ready to get to work. I must find that balance to
accomplish my classroom goals and the students must find balance within my classroom
(and other classrooms as well as at home) in order to accomplish their goals and meet their
needs. At the same time students are seeking balance they may need to decide what they
hope or want to get out of school. Sizer also speaks of incentives in school. Students
consistently ask “why are we dong this?” I will not tell student that if they show up enough
they will probably graduate from high school eventually. Rather, I will tell them that the
way to get an ‘A’ is to do everything I ask you to do, to the best of your ability. While this
may not result in an ‘A’, students may at least attempt it. In my classroom, students are not
allowed to work on their Math or English homework, but are expected to do Art related work
only. If they do this, their grades will not be an issue. Sizer suggests an ideal environment
for a student when he says “If a school awarded the diploma whenever a student reached
the agreed-on level of mastery at the completion of a student’s study rather than after four
years of attendance and the collection of credits, the effect on student behavior would be
dramatic.” (p. 63) He further suggests placing “emphasis on ends, on exhibited mastery.” No
student would graduate and be pushed out into the world of work before he was ready to
tackle this adult situation. This may result in more than a few 23 year-old high school
students, but that might not be bad. As Sizer says “a student can elect to exhibit his
mastery when he is prepared to do so not when his birthday signals he ‘ought’ to be ready.”
This could be seen as a radical idea and I am certain that no state budget would ever
approve such a plan, but I think our focus should be less on money and more on the
personal development of our students. If that means louder classrooms that appear unruly
maybe that is not such a bad thing. If students graduate from High School at 21 instead of
18, that might be ok, too and if some students don’t graduate ever … I don’t know what to
say, but maybe that is ok, too.
In his chapter on commonality, Sizer quotes Franklin Zimring who says, “…part of the
process of becoming mature is learning to make independent decisions. This type of liberty
can not be taught; it can only be learned.” (p. 51) Sizer follows up by saying, “Adults can
help this learning…by being honest, by trusting young people, and by giving them the
compliment of both asking much of them and holding them accountable for it.” We can
show respect to our students by giving them responsibilities and expecting them to follow
through. Those students who are up to the challenge will meet it. Other students may have
simply not reached the necessary maturity level and should be given more of what they
need (time, instruction, etc.) to meet their goals. This goes back to the idea of incentive and
leads to questions of what are our goals in educating our youth. Are we attempting to
create a docile population, whom we can expect to bend to the will of the elite-educated
minority or do we want a populace than can make intelligent decisions on their own and
who can work together to accomplish whatever needs to be done?
Notes:
* = My cooperating teacher's actual name has been left out to retain her anonymity.
** = Ted Sizer founded Coalition of Essential Schools. "The Coalition of Essential Schools
(CES), founded in 1985, is a national network of schools, support centers and a national
office engaged in restructuring schools to promote better student learning and
achievement.(description from their website.)" His book "Horace's Compromise: The
Dilemma of The American High School." is the first part of a trilogy which includes
"Horace's School" and "Horace's Hope: What Works for the American High School." These
books can be a valuable asset to any teacher.
October 2001
A few of my students may have a limited art background, but most will be in the art
classroom for the first time. In this introductory class we will focus on the basics of art
history and art practice. The art history portion of the course will follow the path laid out for
us by history and will be supplemented with projects appropriate to the time period being
studied. As an example, when studying Cubism, students will draw a still life and then
bring the image to the level of abstraction as a Cubist might, through use of dissecting lines
and various shading techniques. Western art will be the focus, but our study will be
supplemented with discussions of art created through out the world.
The art practice portion of the class will consist of several small projects, the ongoing
creation of a drawing portfolio and four to six big projects. Smaller projects, which can be
completed in one to three days will be will be done throughout the semester. These will
reflect the culture or art movement being studied. Students will work on their drawing
portfolio two or three times per week. In the drawing portfolio students will have the
opportunity to practice and master basic drawing skills, such as contour drawing or
gesture drawing. Big projects, one for each of the major time periods studied, will take up
several days of class time, in some cases requiring one or two weeks. For instance, after
studying African, North and South American and Oceanic art and learning of the
importance of masks to native cultures, students will create their own masks, which will
reflect ideas or values important to each student.
In the fall of 2000, Art was made the fifth standard in public education in California. The
State recently adopted five standards for art education: Artistic Perception, Creative
Expression, Historical and Cultural Context, Aesthetic Valuing and Connections, Relations
and Applications. Though some private groups (The National Art Education Association and
the Getty Institute) have written and suggested national standards, none of which are
widely used, most states have chosen to write their own set of standards. The California
standards are based on the Getty Institute’s program Discipline Based Arts Education
(DBAE), which stress four important areas: art production, art history, art criticism and
aesthetics. DBAE is designed for use in all grade levels, particularly in a K-6 setting, but
has more specific standards for use in the art classroom.
I will build my class projects and history lessons around the California standards, but will
blend in ideas gleaned from the work of the Getty Institute as well as other sources. For my
student teaching, I will also rely heavily on the plan set forth by my cooperating teacher,
Mrs. C*. Mrs. C has taught high school art for nine years and has developed her own
curriculum. In her classroom, she does not use textbooks as a primary teaching tool; rather
she relies on overhead projection to show images of artwork for study and for note taking
purposes. There are books available in the classroom for students to read through and
students in the advanced class use them for research projects, however, beginning
students do not typically use these books. Since textbooks are not a major concern in this
art classroom, I did not focus on texts in my conversations with Mrs. C; instead we have
spent a significant amount of time discussing resources available to the art teacher. She
has also allowed me to look through her two extensive file cabinets, which are filled with
lesson plan ideas and lesson pans she has previously used. She is very open and willing to
share her expertise and she has referred me to several other good teachers to help round
out my knowledge of classroom organization and management.
Curriculum in the art classroom varies significantly depending on the teacher. As stated, I
will follow the plan Mrs. C is using, however I do have a different teaching style, a different
art history background, and a different focus on art styles than she. Additionally, I will
bring to the classroom a different knowledge base and a fresh perspective (since I am new
to teaching I will undoubtedly handle the classroom differently the Mrs. C might). Most
importantly, I will bring knowledge gained in the last four months (and described in DLA’s
1, 2 & 3) which I expect will help me to more effectively handle classroom situations. For
example, with DLA #1, I learned how to determine what a students needs are and how I
might best accommodate each student. I also learned that it will be important to balance
what all of the students need with what they need to learn in my classroom, while being
mindful of their responsibilities in other classes and at home. With DLA #2, I developed a
plan for what my ideal classroom might look like. In my student teaching, I will not have
the opportunity to set this in place, but I will gain solid knowledge of how (or if) this type of
classroom works.
February 2002
After leading my own classroom for four weeks some of my thoughts on curriculum have
changed. A strong curriculum is a great foundation for a beginning teacher to start, but it
becomes the skeleton on which the structure of the class must be built. My plan for whom
and what I would teach was set. My style of how I would teach was set long ago. All was
theory; the question that remained was how would this work in practice? I have a lot of
experience working with kids in all age groups, but until I began my student teaching I
was never responsible for so large a group nor was I ever expected to teach such specific
material for so long a time.
Mrs. C, my cooperating teacher, manages her class with such style and grace that she
actually makes it look easy and for I time I thought I would have as good a command of
classroom discipline as she. I was too quick to forget that she has been a teacher for nine
years and has developed an ability to retain her student’s attention. Additionally, I
thought, since she and I have different levels of tolerance for noise, that kids talking in my
class would not be of concern to me. It turns out that my liberal talking policy has
effectively backfired on me. I think the social aspect of school and specifically of the art
classroom is immeasurable. I want my students to have fun while they learn. While they
are working I want them to talk to their peers. I think it will make their time in class seem
to fly by rather than drag (I think that is important in any class, but especially in a 95
minute block schedule class.) The problems arise when I need to tell my students
something that will be important to the project they are working on or to future class work.
If I can get everyone’s attention, I only have to say something one time, but it is difficult to
get everyone to listen at the same time.
In his book, Horace’s Compromise, Theodore Sizer discusses docility. There is the idea that
docile students will be better behaved in the classroom, but Sizer wonders if that is what is
really best for kids. The students who are docile are presumably easier to teach because
they are seated and quiet and ready to be lead. Sizer tells of teachers who crave classrooms
full of ‘hungry’ students, those who desire or hunger to learn, the opposite of their docile
peers. In practice, a teacher must find a balance. I have stuff to tell my students that will be
important for the work that they must do in my class. I want to tell them things that will
become important to their lives whether they pursue art or not. Kids have a different agenda
in school. Some are there for the grade, some for the social aspects and some because we
make them go to school. Many other reasons exist but ideally all are be blended together if
we are to progress as a class.
That is to say there are times when the students need to be (relatively) docile and there are
times when I want them to be excited and ready to get to work. I must find that balance to
accomplish my classroom goals and the students must find balance within my classroom
(and other classrooms as well as at home) in order to accomplish their goals and meet their
needs. At the same time students are seeking balance they may need to decide what they
hope or want to get out of school. Sizer also speaks of incentives in school. Students
consistently ask “why are we dong this?” I will not tell student that if they show up enough
they will probably graduate from high school eventually. Rather, I will tell them that the
way to get an ‘A’ is to do everything I ask you to do, to the best of your ability. While this
may not result in an ‘A’, students may at least attempt it. In my classroom, students are not
allowed to work on their Math or English homework, but are expected to do Art related work
only. If they do this, their grades will not be an issue. Sizer suggests an ideal environment
for a student when he says “If a school awarded the diploma whenever a student reached
the agreed-on level of mastery at the completion of a student’s study rather than after four
years of attendance and the collection of credits, the effect on student behavior would be
dramatic.” (p. 63) He further suggests placing “emphasis on ends, on exhibited mastery.” No
student would graduate and be pushed out into the world of work before he was ready to
tackle this adult situation. This may result in more than a few 23 year-old high school
students, but that might not be bad. As Sizer says “a student can elect to exhibit his
mastery when he is prepared to do so not when his birthday signals he ‘ought’ to be ready.”
This could be seen as a radical idea and I am certain that no state budget would ever
approve such a plan, but I think our focus should be less on money and more on the
personal development of our students. If that means louder classrooms that appear unruly
maybe that is not such a bad thing. If students graduate from High School at 21 instead of
18, that might be ok, too and if some students don’t graduate ever … I don’t know what to
say, but maybe that is ok, too.
In his chapter on commonality, Sizer quotes Franklin Zimring who says, “…part of the
process of becoming mature is learning to make independent decisions. This type of liberty
can not be taught; it can only be learned.” (p. 51) Sizer follows up by saying, “Adults can
help this learning…by being honest, by trusting young people, and by giving them the
compliment of both asking much of them and holding them accountable for it.” We can
show respect to our students by giving them responsibilities and expecting them to follow
through. Those students who are up to the challenge will meet it. Other students may have
simply not reached the necessary maturity level and should be given more of what they
need (time, instruction, etc.) to meet their goals. This goes back to the idea of incentive and
leads to questions of what are our goals in educating our youth. Are we attempting to
create a docile population, whom we can expect to bend to the will of the elite-educated
minority or do we want a populace than can make intelligent decisions on their own and
who can work together to accomplish whatever needs to be done?
Notes:
* = My cooperating teacher's actual name has been left out to retain her anonymity.
** = Ted Sizer founded Coalition of Essential Schools. "The Coalition of Essential Schools
(CES), founded in 1985, is a national network of schools, support centers and a national
office engaged in restructuring schools to promote better student learning and
achievement.(description from their website.)" His book "Horace's Compromise: The
Dilemma of The American High School." is the first part of a trilogy which includes
"Horace's School" and "Horace's Hope: What Works for the American High School." These
books can be a valuable asset to any teacher.
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| Kathe Welch |
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