Burton, J.M. (2013). Part 1 Creating a “Vision” Part 3. The art of planning lessons. In, Guide for teaching and learning. Noticings: - Major ideas come in excellent buckets of 4. "Material, Product, Motivation Dialogue, and Objective." " how objects, ideas, thoughts, and events might look, feel, act, and are situated, etc." - Importance of "balance" is explicitly noted several times throughout the research. Everything holds a relationship that should be carefully thought-through. And when we consider the area of learning, it is not solely for the sake of the child, but we must be open to learning ourselves. (Very Teacher SEL) - Stresses the value of play and experimentation in the learning process. - Every material has a unique opportunity and possibility. Materials and subject matter go hand and hand, one can lead the other. "... different materials will invite different kinds of reflection on subject matter for each possesses its own characte...
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Quotes : It is scary to believe that we are a part of a system such as this. I am so honored to be an educator and yet I know all of this to be true and what stands between me and a student. I really enjoy this line. I can't begin to tell you how many times students talk about how unimportant my class is. Do I even need Art? Why do I have to do this? I don't really need this class to get into high school anyway right? This quote is so invigorating because it beckons us to think beyond the now which is extremely challenging for my generation and those to come after. Questions : What does it take? Application : How do I actually discuss complicated and controversial issues with students without creating a riot in my classroom? Without over imposing my viewpoints? With setting a positive standard of a quality "character" when so much of character and morality connects with culture?
Important : This article came at an important moment in time. We are currently thinking about the level of value human beings hold in the United States given their complexion, ethnicity, or socio-economical status. This article reminds us all of the greater picture which is the historical invention of "schools." Scholars were a gathering of individuals who chose to meet to learn about the life within and around them. How we have changed our ideals?! I work for a school that is dualistic in nature (like many of other philanthropic organizations in the 21st century). We came from a place of servitude and found ourselves wanting more. And in doing so, we've entered the systematic approach of what to do. This article highlights the shortcomings of "methodology." I live in an extremely method-thinking and method-approaching place. I feel the strains of it even more as an art educator. I can see the thirst for knowledge in children. I can see the desire for more an...
I am so happy that I read this article. It came at perfect timing due to the decline in student submissions. In this pandemic, I've had projects that really got my students invested, while others laid to waste. This article reminded me of the value of using the digital tools that are available to our students. It also emphasized the need for exploration and investigation in digital media and tools. Many of my students would not consider themselves "drawers" which is why the observational unit is going down. I am not there with them to encourage, guide, and support. So, its best that I use tools that are easily accessible and engaging. You know, speaks their language while also peaking their interests.
Reading this article provided me newfound confidence in getting kids to draw in middle school. It was something that I avoided for awhile because of the overwhelming feeling the class gets when they have to draw. As Dr. Burton described, its palpable the air of anxiety, stress and discomfort with seeing something and the inability to create what we see perfectly. This strive for perfection while at the most chaotic, chasmic clash of independence, dependence, insecurity, and rebellion makes drawing nonsensical in the past. Kids would be melting. But I have more encouragement and more things to say now. So, for this quarter, my goal is to get them away from the computer. I want them making things. We will do 2-3 weeks of observational drawings, 1-2 weeks on memory drawing and close-out the quarter with memory drawing. The buckets are: Create and Connect I want them to connect with themselves and their communities. The people, places an...
In Search of Memories - Eric R. Kandel The conversation on cognitive awareness of self in relation to objects is genuine. It reiterates that we all perceive the world in our own way and there is not one truth. I appreciated the connections he made to psycholanalysts, behaviorist, psychologists, and theorists. It further enlightens that we all need to interact and make connections in order to have a more informed synthesis of the world, perception, and self. Questions: I would like to further learn about how depth, motion, form, and color are studied. I am interested in understanding how scientists are able to know how animals and humans use these "features" of the world in order to inform their cognitive awareness. Are there examinations that could give me a clearer understanding of children's "mastery" or abilities with these features? Beyond having children do more observational drawings, what should I look for in order to evaluate if children how a high a...
Egan, K. (1988). Chapter 6, The origins of imagination and the curriculum. In, K. Egan & D. Nadaner (Eds.), Imagination and Education , New York: Teachers College Press. I'd first like to reflect that the end of the article (the conclusion almost) was a perfect bow-tie to a length and challenging conversation about imagination, culture, literacy, and our binary experiences in this world. I appreciate Egan's statements: Language is the first disruptor of the infant's intimate participation in the natural world: Language creates distance between the self and the object...That unique consciousness of reality, which is the birthright of each of us, can seem hopelessly lost if language becomes a purely conventionalizing instrument, which persuades the child that its uniqueness was merely an illusion and that one is simply a socialized unit among others who are the same. Art can provide ways of accounting for our experiences in the...