Buoyancy- Our Journey through learning to be art educators

Buoyancy: Able or apt to stay afloat or rise the top

Journey:

•  Image of child has evolved over the course of ART 205 & 307: from simple, innocent, vulnerable and “empty vessels” to an image of children as having different learning needs, a vast collection of personal experiences; resilent; and strong and capable.
•  Role of art: art is accessible to every learner and can reach every child in a way that other subject matters may not be able to.
•  Art teaches us how to relate parts to the whole and the whole back to its parts. Art teaches us how to take risks. Teaching Art requires discipline, skill as a teacher; background knowledge in art and in child development and patience.
•  Art education has been seen as a skill set for workers, a leisure activity, and is now understood as an opportunity for the wholistic development of the child.

The Balloons

•  Full balloon represents the fullness of children’s experience
•  Papier-Mache as a process: layering like the layering of children’s experiences and how these are built up and strengthen the child.
•  The puzzle pieces are like the parts that make up the whole; the completed puzzle image is like the whole with its parts.
•  Balloon flight risky.
•  Balloons require a skilled operator to be able to take flight.
•  Regardless of why you are in the balloon (to advertise, in a competition, or as a leisure activity) in the end, it always about the experience of being there.
•  Importance of being a reflective, reflexive practionner.
•  The relation between the learner and the teacher (balloon and its navigational tools)

The landscape

•  Past experience and current experiences: as you are further up in the balloon, you are looking back; your no longer there; you are looking at where you were and where you are going.
•  Looking at the landscape is like the looking and listening that is required of the reflective/reflexive practitioner.

Class Instillation

The experience of working on the instillation together as a class has been a very positive experience. I felt like we all connected to the theme right away and no one really opposed it. Most people had some input on what they wanted the instillation to include and everyone pitched in on bringing some sort of supply. We were all reluctant to break apart our puzzles, but I think we found a good compromise. Everyone has control over their own balloon for the most part so this allows for more personal touches in the work. Working with other people is great because the ideas end up being richer and more well thought out. This group work brings together all of the things we learned this year in a fun and all encompassing way.

What we learn through working collaboratively...

Working collaboratively added the following understandings about what one learns through art:

• Making art requires the artist to co-operate with the materials and the content. When working with other people it adds the dimension of working with another person's ideas about content and materials.
• Making art requires developing ideas to a place that is personally fulfilling and fulfilling to the viewer. When working in a group we have to please and incorporate each other's ideas to where the group is comfortable.
• Through art we learn a lot about ourselves. When working in a group we learn lot about other people.
• When making art we need to learn new skills to execute our ideas. When working collaboratively we learn skills from others which contribute to the project at hand.
• Making art requires time management. When working with others we have to manage several people's time and learn to do tasks on our own as well as in a group.

Our notions of visual art as a solitary activity come from several places. The first might be from the dawn of capitalism. Society revolves around individual success in a capitalist society. "Everyone is for them self" We are taught to make our own goals and to always work for our own interests. When looking at art as a individual activity, this context makes sense. It does not make sense when looking at it from a historical perspective. In the past arts and crafts involved the whole community (homemade textiles, quilting, public spaces, memorials, historical portraits). Today the artist is encouraged to show their own personal ideas as opposed to the ideas of the group. The stereo typical image of the artist is one who is cooped up in their studios working away without leaving for human contact for days.

I personally believe that an artist cant develop their ideas to their full potential without collaborating their ideas with others. Through engaging with others we have more inspiration and view points to refine our work. Collaborative works of art are fulfilling because you learn to be a flexible thinker, a team worker, and to be open to new and exciting ideas. Some of the limitations could be that personal ideas get lost and people who feel they aren't being heard become disengaged from the group. It can also be discouraging when not all group members are equally engaged in the activity. One less excited person can bring the whole group moral down. There is a delicate balance that must be achieved for collaboration to be positive. When this balance is found beautiful art can be created.

Moving Beyond Western Middle Class Cirriculum

Learning in, through or about art changes when we move beyond standard, Western European based, middle class curriculum in the following ways:

• We become perceptive of other cultures and art can become more diverse, colourful and cultural.
• We become perceptive of each student's special gifts and needs and our lessons will be more accessible to all learners.
• From a new view on art we are opened to new possibilities for materials and subject matter in art.
• Through art we can learn about other circular areas or interests outside of the traditional western ideas.

This brings up central issues for educators:

• We must always assume we do not know as much as we think we do. This reminds us to be constantly looking for different perspective on our student's and what we teach.
• We should be well educated in all cultures and not confine our thinking to only one cultural pedagogy.
• Special cases in education remind us that not every student is the same and such, our teaching should be as flexible, responsive and varied as the student's needs.

Some of the things that succeeded in my child workshop included:

• Having Christian engage and become interested in art. Prior to my experiences with her she had not been involved in art experiences on her own time.
• She learned some skills which she had not known before such as:digital photography, powerpoint, iPhoto and fashion design.
• I believe I picked a topic which connected to Christian's interests.

Some things that did not succeed were:

• Christian could not focus for long periods of time. I could not find a way to have her engage for longer. In the future I would try things like taking breaks to go outside or having music playing or changing the task frequently to keep her attention.
• I did not have enough time to do a good job at introducing the projects. In future I would plan my lesson better so that I could explore everything with her more easily.
• If I were to work with her again I would have had more evocations and provocations to peak her interest initially. As well I would find ways to keep her engaged and excited.

Community Based Learning

Community based learning is most often voluntary by the participant. This ensures that it is learner focused and not curriculum focused in most areas. It usually has smaller class sizes which makes the learning more individualized. In this setting children will be able to learn skills they may not be able to in school (swimming, music, skating...) as well as focus in on areas they want to learn more about. It can foster their talents and interests. Teaching in a community based setting allows the educator to develop their own program. They own it individually and can often tailor it to their philosophy and needs. There are exceptions where certain objectives need to be met, but the educator has an easier time because the learners want to be there in most cases. In a community based setting an educator can have more expertise in the area they want to teach.