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Lesson Plans


Taking the sting out of competition /art teachers that manipulate

From: Sharon Heneborn (heneborn)
Date: Fri Mar 03 2000 - 05:44:26 PST

  • Next message: Deeknik: "Re: art teachers that manipulate"

    I feel the same way about contests so I am very selective about the
    ones I present. That is subject for another post.

    I realize that competition will be a major part of their adult art
    world and I want them to experience it while they have me for support.
    Alternate years I address this competition dilemma. I arrange for an
    exchange of art work with the Art Ed students at the local teachers
    college or the art students at the middle school or HS. We hang the
    work and pretend we are the panel of judges. Each class (3-5) decides
    on the criteria for the selection and each person must select a 1st,
    2nd, & 3rd place winner. They agonize over the selection and try to
    get me to expand the number of winners. We graph the selections and
    the "winners" from each class.( Some have been caught sneaking an
    extra token because the decision is too difficult. I love it when
    this happens so I can emphasize how really difficult it is to make a
    decision.) From this experience they begin to understand that the
    winner was simply a chance of who that particular panel of judges were
    and winners change from panel to panel. Each group would have a
    different selection. "So what does this say to you about your work
    when you are not selected?" This seems to take the sting from not
    being selected when they realize the pieces they had to reject were
    deserving of winning but only 3 could be chosen.

    ----------
    >From: Artemis420>
    >Subject: Re: art teachers that manipulate
    >Date: Fri, Mar 3, 2000, 1:31 AM
    > Rdunkelart writes:

    >I 've put on plain mats but not altered the painting or made
      the matting
    > a work of art unless it was with the child and they did the work. My
    > students have won in some contests with their own work (3rd, hms etc. ) and
      I am proud of them.
    > Personally I don';t like children to enter contests - my school expects it
     of
    > me because of the precedent already set - the outcome of the contests
    > sometimes gives a non-winning child a negative message about their art
    > work. 

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