My adventure
Ive been teaching over twenty years to small classes and some students repeating during the day.. I was exhausted from reinventing the wheel to teach the same skills. Projects looked great but ended in the trash. they didn't invest in them. The Open Art Room entered my world and I made 12 pages of Open Art Room book notes.
it addressed high school TAB. I found out I was just teaching creatively infused exercises, not creativity or thinking. My students cant handle ambiguity now because of that. They needed to learn to hunt down a good idea with warm ups and play. Eventually revisiting ideas challenged them towards progress they see value in. They feel more validated by being given artists that they resemble by me. They still have problems. They try to say I finished my project. That doesn't hold true now. They keep pushing their previous idea forward, or sideways. They need to find their path and inspiration. That is now their responsibility. I miss the blame of their lack of interest on me. Its there responsibility to do the foot work for their inspiration. I presented materials as exercises just call them "challenges" and watch them come alive. I did not expand into lessons that had to have a major product. These chalenges were bootcamps to get them to play and explore a new material. At the same time they were given a theme prompt as a back up idea to think about. When the challlenges were done they could choose to ues the material for their project or continue using a previously introduced one. By the half year mark all skills are taught and so are the nine ways artists think. Then they are released to choice. Critiques helping them find their voice. In terms of teaching them to think we did the Nine Themes by Ian Sands to cover all the different ways that artists think. The year hasn't been perfect. I have structured everything around the four step process of art:inspiration, design, creation and reflect. Kids still think they can just draw anything off line.They have to combine 2-3 resources to make it their own meaning. They think if they did a warm up then thats meeting the lesson requirements. When its work everyday on your path. I'll need to work out better pacing, handouts, and create choice menus. Creating them on the back side of teaching them sometimes for next year. I want to make my own videos that I demo and place on the website. Practicing what I'm preaching according to Open Art Room start with Inspiration, Design, Create and Reflect. Ive let the kids know I am in process too. |
The power of choice, my testimonial
When I go on vacation. I like to plan out the place I can feel inspired. I consider all the options as I book and plan my grand design. I am looking for certain experiences that match the mood Im in for outtings. I plot my course, choose my means of travel. I can spend as much time as I want on any activity, as long as it holds my interest. I then become mindful of other opportunites and roll with it. Might even change plans.Its great to just be me on vacation, I reconnect with my own self. I'd like art to be that vacation for my students, one of their own doing.
As an art teacher I like to think of myself as one heck of a travel agent just for them. This beats a classroom with one plan. Thats like loading them all in the family truckster and not expecting them to complain if were there or done yet. I cant go get fast food with my kids they never agree. My worst students are now my best, My best are amazing. Those kids that skate along, I'm still working on them but they were that way before. I have found with TAB that my personal artwork has rekindled as I create mind maps to play with my thoughts and how i can visualize them. I even got tears from students and awes by the meaning, and symboliism at play. Check out my art up to now I havent been saving my work, suddenly Im gifting it to loved ones. Art is the only subject that is about students finding their voice and themselves |