Well yesterday was the first day working at the high school and I'm still on the fence about how confident I feel about it. I went into the day feeling pretty strong and prepared to talk to these kids. Then when they all had gotten to the class I got a chance to look at their faces and I wasn't sure how to interpret what I saw. Many students looked disinterested, others looked curious. Some looked downright bored too. It was kind of a scramble at first picking people to work with. I think the idea was that the groups the students had formed the day before would pick what people they wanted to work with from the university. The kids really didn't jump to pick who they wanted because they had no idea who we were. So we had to mill around and figure out who needed us. As my group got started we were informed that two of the four students were absent that day and that the two students who were there had to brainstorm and formulate an idea for the entire group. There were a girl and a boy in the group and two other girls that would be there for our next meeting. They both looked tired and bored, the boy more than the girl. I think she realized that we were having to do this for our education so she went along with it even though she knew what she was doing. She had some art knowledge already. The boy didn't speak much at all, and at some point the girl threw her pen at him because he had fallen asleep. I tried to pull him into the conversation several times, asking him what he was interested in, what he did for entertainment, stuff that might get him to have a opinion on something. He really just didn't care, that was kind of upsetting, but we muddled through. After some coaxing the girl had some great ideas and with the help of use three university students they came up with a pretty good idea. The only problem with that however is that the two absent students needed to have a say, and jobs needed to be assigned to complete the assignment. So the idea is that the two missing girls would be back today (Wednesday) and that on Thursday (suprise, we are going Thursday too) they would be prepared and have a better more concrete idea about what they were going to do. Also my group was told to have one of us sit on either side of the boy to make sure he is alert and also to keep him from ditching class (which he has been known to do). Whew, we will see what happens on Thursday, I feel like I might need to have some more authority over the boy in the group. The first day was kind of spent getting our feet wet, and now I will try to enforce some more authority to get him to participate equally.
Chapter 2 of Fires in the Bathroom was pretty much summarizing everything I have been thinking about prior to beginning my education classes. I had been thinking a lot about respect and how important it is to have in a classroom, especially ones with students who are nearly adults. They want to be treated fairly, and that they have a chance to do something significant in the class. This includes knowing the material I am teaching them. I have to be able to remember details and be able to troubleshoot if things don't go as planned. I also have to remember that each student is a complex being and I shouldn't make judgments about them until I have gotten to know them personally. A major point for me is the not showing favoritism. I used to teach Sunday school art classes to preschoolers, and it was really hard for me to not show my preference to one little girl in specific. She was just like me when I was little, and she always needed hugs from me throughout the day. In fact many of the kids, girls and boys wanted hugs, but she was always the first to dive for me. I felt really bad one day because I had made a project for the kids and I saved one task for her because I knew she would like doing that. I really hope the other kids in the class didn't realize I had done that. But even at the age of 4-5 I'm sure they could understand the concept of favoritism. I still feel really awful about it to this day and I regret ever making any of my students feel less important. Ugh, that feels good to get off my chest though. At any rate the ideas and quotes from students in chapter two were all things I had thought about before and I'm glad that my opinions about how a teacher should interact with students were similar to those in the text. Chapter two of From Ordinary to Extraordinary was interesting, it was nice to see some actual examples of classroom activities. I tried to think of ways I could incorporate some of those projects into one that would be best suited to my teaching and what I hoped to teach my students. So anyway, I guess I'm a little nervous for Thursday, but I have to try to pique the interest of these kids so they don't think we are entirely lame. :-P
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Second Blog
Scoping an Audience:
I decided to read about Gillian Wearing for this blog. She works as a photographer documenting a world not many people get to see. Wearing works to discover the secrets ordinary people carry with them and hide from others. Her photo series Signs that say what you want them to say and not signs that say what someone else wants you to say allowed average people to say what they really felt, no judgments made, just a way to confess their troubles. I loved this idea, and have had friends do similar things.
The questions I'm responding to are from the user's manual and relate to documenting past events and the truth that lies within the piece of art.
A) Art as a repository for collective memory essentially documents works that have been deemed important to a global society. Whatever message the art conveys, reflects the beliefs and conceptions of a society. Prior to the invention of photography any work of art could be seen as subjective, especially if one's opinion might lean towards realism and facts. It was the artist's decisions as well as abilities that influenced their work and until photography came about, what they felt should be included in their work became the only source of visual information. When photography came on the scene, this new technology allowed a moment to be captured permanently, therefore any question raised could be answered factually with a photograph. Photography in the common era can obviously be reproduced as well. So as opposed to having only one painting to show the world, you can reproduce the image and anyone who wants to could hold the work in their hands. Photography allows the collective memory of art to represent actual moments in time and the truth will be evident to anyone who sees the photograph.
B) To say that the Third of May, 1808 by Francisco Goya is a memorial is fairly obvious. It is a memory/story of the French retaliation against the Spanish who ambushed Napoleon's soldiers the day before. The French fought back by executing Spanish citizens, and the execution is illustrated in this painting. However I would not go so far as to call it an official memorial because it is Goya's interpretation of the story. There is no doubt that this incident took place, but the facts and details of what happened shouldn't be taken from this painting. The way the men are arranged, the expressions on their faces were Goya's influence, and he meant to encourage empathy for the Spanish peasants through this painting. It seems as though this painting could be seen as propoganda to enrage and empower the Spanish people. This would be a case where photographic evidence would show the truth and the reality of the scene might be more powerful than a painted memorial. An example of photographic evidence might be the famous vietnam headshot photograph...
Sometimes a photograph is just more powerful, and I am reminded why I have a passion for photography.
So on to happier things! :-) I think my practice of searching for new inspiration and things that pique my interest will help me give my students ideas on how to find their own intrests and passions that will help guide them as artists. I think that is what is most essential to being an artist, the ability to find inspiration if you know how to go looking for it. Artists spend a great deal of time working and re-working and this helps create patience which is very important when it comes to teaching others how to create on their own. I will use my artwork to show my background and abilities, but I want my students to see a wider range of artwork, including working artists in the community and around the world. I plan on continuing my art education throughout my life. I want to travel and see how different artists work and their ideas so I can bring that back to my own artwork as well as influencing my student's work. I think it is incredibly important to continue learning about art especially if you are a teacher. The concept of art changes over time and with the rapid pace of technology the methods of art could change drastically in the time I will be teaching in.
I think the realtionship between teaching and art making is that they both go hand in hand. To make any kind of art a skill must be taught and new ideas introduced by others could be considered teaching. Growing up, I taught myself how to draw, making and learning about the art are very similar if not the same.
I will most likely be working with technology most of the time when I am a teacher. Hopefully I will be able to teach photography classes at some point so I will need to constantly be learning new technologies to keep up with the fast pace of photography. There is a way to maintain creativity even if students are working mostly with technology. If you give a student enough training on a certain program they will find a way to make it their own. Technology doesn't mean lumping students all in the same barrel, it is allowing them to take control and make decisions for themselves.
I decided to read about Gillian Wearing for this blog. She works as a photographer documenting a world not many people get to see. Wearing works to discover the secrets ordinary people carry with them and hide from others. Her photo series Signs that say what you want them to say and not signs that say what someone else wants you to say allowed average people to say what they really felt, no judgments made, just a way to confess their troubles. I loved this idea, and have had friends do similar things.
The questions I'm responding to are from the user's manual and relate to documenting past events and the truth that lies within the piece of art.
A) Art as a repository for collective memory essentially documents works that have been deemed important to a global society. Whatever message the art conveys, reflects the beliefs and conceptions of a society. Prior to the invention of photography any work of art could be seen as subjective, especially if one's opinion might lean towards realism and facts. It was the artist's decisions as well as abilities that influenced their work and until photography came about, what they felt should be included in their work became the only source of visual information. When photography came on the scene, this new technology allowed a moment to be captured permanently, therefore any question raised could be answered factually with a photograph. Photography in the common era can obviously be reproduced as well. So as opposed to having only one painting to show the world, you can reproduce the image and anyone who wants to could hold the work in their hands. Photography allows the collective memory of art to represent actual moments in time and the truth will be evident to anyone who sees the photograph.
B) To say that the Third of May, 1808 by Francisco Goya is a memorial is fairly obvious. It is a memory/story of the French retaliation against the Spanish who ambushed Napoleon's soldiers the day before. The French fought back by executing Spanish citizens, and the execution is illustrated in this painting. However I would not go so far as to call it an official memorial because it is Goya's interpretation of the story. There is no doubt that this incident took place, but the facts and details of what happened shouldn't be taken from this painting. The way the men are arranged, the expressions on their faces were Goya's influence, and he meant to encourage empathy for the Spanish peasants through this painting. It seems as though this painting could be seen as propoganda to enrage and empower the Spanish people. This would be a case where photographic evidence would show the truth and the reality of the scene might be more powerful than a painted memorial. An example of photographic evidence might be the famous vietnam headshot photograph...
Sometimes a photograph is just more powerful, and I am reminded why I have a passion for photography.
So on to happier things! :-) I think my practice of searching for new inspiration and things that pique my interest will help me give my students ideas on how to find their own intrests and passions that will help guide them as artists. I think that is what is most essential to being an artist, the ability to find inspiration if you know how to go looking for it. Artists spend a great deal of time working and re-working and this helps create patience which is very important when it comes to teaching others how to create on their own. I will use my artwork to show my background and abilities, but I want my students to see a wider range of artwork, including working artists in the community and around the world. I plan on continuing my art education throughout my life. I want to travel and see how different artists work and their ideas so I can bring that back to my own artwork as well as influencing my student's work. I think it is incredibly important to continue learning about art especially if you are a teacher. The concept of art changes over time and with the rapid pace of technology the methods of art could change drastically in the time I will be teaching in.
I think the realtionship between teaching and art making is that they both go hand in hand. To make any kind of art a skill must be taught and new ideas introduced by others could be considered teaching. Growing up, I taught myself how to draw, making and learning about the art are very similar if not the same.
I will most likely be working with technology most of the time when I am a teacher. Hopefully I will be able to teach photography classes at some point so I will need to constantly be learning new technologies to keep up with the fast pace of photography. There is a way to maintain creativity even if students are working mostly with technology. If you give a student enough training on a certain program they will find a way to make it their own. Technology doesn't mean lumping students all in the same barrel, it is allowing them to take control and make decisions for themselves.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
First Blog
The name of my blog is a nod to my favorite t.v. show Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Into every generation a Slayer is born...) hehe. Ah, on to the purpose of this blog. As for my experiences in high school, I probably wasn't an average student. My freshman and sophomore years were pretty much just me learning to exist in high school and not blend into the wall. My Junior and Senior years however were spent working on different projects. I was the only photographer for the yearbook for quite a while, so much of those two years were spent in the darkroom or at school events . It was nice to feel like I had a purpose those last two years. I went to Kirkwood Community College my senior year too so I was pretty busy. It was nice to feel important even if it was just for the yearbook and newspaper. I feel like most high school students now feel like they want a purpose too. Just going to classes and doing what you're told kind of gets boring at that age. To have an additional responsibility or something to work on (art for example) really helps keep the creative juices flowing and it doesn't feel like just creating artwork because its required.
I worry that I will end up talking "down" to the high school students, even when I know I don't want to. I know students are smarter than most people give them credit for. My personal goal is to talk to these students as if they were legitimate artists (which they are). I want to be straightforward and discuss things with them as if they were an adult. If you think about it high school is just practicing to go out into the real world, so I think practicing acting like an artist would be beneficial to their development.
I have a feeling I will learn to let the students go at their own pace. I keep thinking I want to steer them towards being great artists, but I don't want to push too hard and have them end up disliking art. So I guess I will go for a gentle nudge of art appreciation.
I am most excited about seeing what kind of art students are doing these days. I haven't had high school art classes for close to eight years now, so I'm wondering what has changed, if anything. I'm also excited to get used to talking about art to students, if the student is eager then it will be easier, but we will see...
The above photograph is one of my photos from when I went to the Professional Photography program at Hawkeye.
One more thing. Does anyone remember "Bob Lawblaw's Law Blog" from Arrested Development? Making this blog reminded me of it, haha.
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