Anna-
I felt myself nodding a lot when reading your reflection blog, this week. You are not alone in dealing with the nagging voice in the back of your head that says traditional is the tried and true method. One of the many difficult obstacles we face in teaching art is explaining or validating to others why conceptual art is so important. Another difficulty lies in grading or assessing work that is based on pure creativity. And to top it off simply motivating students into being more experimental can be trying, too.
I empathized with you as you discussed your struggle with ambiguity as well. I came from a background in Housing & Design. When I was in Undergraduate school, drafting and residential design classes allowed for inventive concepts. However, we were almost always developing plans that could be potentially built by construction teams. Our blueprints had to be to scale or it could mess things up for the person who might end up building our creations. We always had strict project guidelines and yet we were told to be innovative at the same time. It wasn’t until I started taking some Undergrad studio art classes that I began to kind of break out of my shell. However, once I did, I loved the freedom. I really enjoyed not being confined to a box. I still have issues sometimes with open-ended assignments. However, once the anxiety of the “blank canvas” has passed, I find it liberating.
I felt myself nodding a lot when reading your reflection blog, this week. You are not alone in dealing with the nagging voice in the back of your head that says traditional is the tried and true method. One of the many difficult obstacles we face in teaching art is explaining or validating to others why conceptual art is so important. Another difficulty lies in grading or assessing work that is based on pure creativity. And to top it off simply motivating students into being more experimental can be trying, too.
I empathized with you as you discussed your struggle with ambiguity as well. I came from a background in Housing & Design. When I was in Undergraduate school, drafting and residential design classes allowed for inventive concepts. However, we were almost always developing plans that could be potentially built by construction teams. Our blueprints had to be to scale or it could mess things up for the person who might end up building our creations. We always had strict project guidelines and yet we were told to be innovative at the same time. It wasn’t until I started taking some Undergrad studio art classes that I began to kind of break out of my shell. However, once I did, I loved the freedom. I really enjoyed not being confined to a box. I still have issues sometimes with open-ended assignments. However, once the anxiety of the “blank canvas” has passed, I find it liberating.
LaVonna-
Yes, I think you are right about the postmodern curriculum
being relevant for all subjects. As contemporary classrooms encourage the use
of interdisciplinary overlaps it seems that these concepts would be vital to
the framework. I also think that no matter what class or subject is being
taught there are ways to implement more conceptual lesson plans. I’m hoping
that I can include more projects that focus on topics such as identity,
culture, and social justice. Like you, I feel that studying the past and
present is important. This is how students can begin to see where influences
and inspirations come from. These studies can become a jumping off point in
which students can begin to make meaningful learning connections.
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