"Teaching that does not promote learning makes as much sense as selling that does not promote buying."
That is a powerful, and very true statement. I believe that the ultimate purpose of an education is to give students the opportunity to achiever a higher and more meaningful quality of life. If the education does not promote learning, then we are failing as educators.
"In education, the really important effects of teaching are located outside the school." This quote struck me because when thinking about this idea simply, it would seem that we teach students so that they can succeed in school and therefore move on to the next level of school, succeed there and so on. However, I think that it is probably true that a truly well-rounded and meaningful education prepares our students for life itself, giving them the opportunity to succeed and contribute to the society in which they live.
I appreciated the list Eisner gave of ideas for entry points to talk about students' work:
That is a powerful, and very true statement. I believe that the ultimate purpose of an education is to give students the opportunity to achiever a higher and more meaningful quality of life. If the education does not promote learning, then we are failing as educators.
"In education, the really important effects of teaching are located outside the school." This quote struck me because when thinking about this idea simply, it would seem that we teach students so that they can succeed in school and therefore move on to the next level of school, succeed there and so on. However, I think that it is probably true that a truly well-rounded and meaningful education prepares our students for life itself, giving them the opportunity to succeed and contribute to the society in which they live.
I appreciated the list Eisner gave of ideas for entry points to talk about students' work:
- Comment upon the way the form of the work was crafted
- Comment upon the way the materials were handled
- Comment on the relationships among forms
- Call the students' attention to the relationship between his or her work and the work of others
I found this list to be helpful because it is important to me that I genuinely comment on each students work and engage them in a meaningful conversation. I think that students can quickly recognize commentary that is individualized and genuine versus commentary that is general and vague.
Eisner also brought up the debacle of knowing when to "back off and allow the student to find out for him- or herself.'' This is something that I struggle with. I think that one of the greatest rewards in art is knowing that you have put in great effort to solve a problem. However, sometimes just the slightest bit of guidance can greatly impact and improve your work. The problem for me is- how do I know when one of these moments is right in front of me?!
I love the idea of aesthetic experiences. Eisner describes a practical experience as adding cream to your coffee and tasting it, but an aesthetic experience as slowly pouring the cream into the coffee and watching the white cloud burst and spread throughout its dark surrounding. As art teachers, I think that we often see life as an aesthetic experience. When it is snowing, I find myself wanting to take photo and video of the mass amount of miniature, ornate, fluffy white snowflakes falling to the ground. I am amazed by the aesthetic simply created by nature. One that would be nearly impossible for humans to reproduce. I want to teach my future students how to marvel at aesthetic experiences and to notice deeply the world around them.
"Teaching that does not promote learning makes as much sense as selling that does not promote buying." and "In education, the really important effects of teaching are located outside the school." were two of my favorite quotes as well because of the wave of truth behind them. There were many times this year when I was sure my students just weren't getting it...but then at the end of the year BAM! They pull out all this sneakily hidden background knowledge that their little sponge minds absorbed after all. Just goes to show that what happens outside of school is not always working against you, but can also be the places where learning comes to the surface in renewed form.
ReplyDeleteI also am an advocate of (well much of Eisner) both quotes but especially that second quote. "In education, the really important effects of teaching are located outside the school." We are spending time with kids to instill in them the ability to interact responsibly, process, make sense of and then translate and share experience. Whether through art or otherwise. What happens in school will most certainly extend beyond it, or it should. Otherwise whats the point? The beauty and magic lies in thats space between what we bring as educators and what they bring as students. :)
ReplyDeleteI had those same 3 quote highlighted! I struggle with the "back off and allow the student to find out for him- or herself.'' what if you back off and they end up creating something horrible? failure! too bad. how do you know when to back off? I know its ok to fail but how to you teach a student its ok when its your fault? does this make any sense or am I rambling? I'm tired!
ReplyDeleteAdding cream to the coffee really hit me this morning as I rolled off of the couch. Except for me its more like adding coffee to my cream. Adair, I agree, well agreed with your struggle on "back off and allow the student to find out him-or herself" I rarely give parameters for my students art, I like to give an idea or medium then let them run with it, I have to make sure I allow my students to collaborate and critique and I even become a helicopter teacher and fly around the room keeping them on task.
ReplyDeleteWow, it really is interesting the way that we as art teachers all highlight the same pieces of information. I wonder if people reading the text who were not teachers would highlight the same information. This concept reminds me of teaching itself, some lessons will (hopefully) be forever ingrained in our students' memories while others will be quickly forgotten. It is important for the delivery to impact and engage the students, the same way that those quotes from Eisner impacted us.
ReplyDeleteKate, I really enjoyed reading your post! It seems like you and Eisner were really jamming and I was very interested in his points of entry as well. The one thing that I enjoy about Eisner is that his teachings are very much universal across the K-12 curriculum. You state in the last paragraph of your reflection that, "I want to teach my future students how to marvel at aesthetic experiences and to notice deeply the world around them." Can I be in your class? But seriously, this is why I think art education is so powerful, we are teaching our students to see the world around them and be able to interpret the things that they are seeing and interacting with on a daily basis. Also, Ditto to everything that Amy said in her comment. :)
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