The postings about the changes in Ohio standards, the postings about
people's schedules and building access and the postings about the
conditions under which some of us teach...in fact a lot of the
discussions seem to center around the topic of respect for and
appreciation of the importance of visual arts education. I am going to
list what I think are greatest impediments to our full inclusion and
what I have experienced with some of them. I will try to be brief with
anecdotes, and I would like to hear from the list if they have similar
experiences, additional ones, and of course anecdotes are helpful.
1. Art is a dumping ground
I went to an assembly called because certain entire classes were ill
behaved. The Principal asked a community leader to talk to our
students about consequences of the kinds of behavior they were
exhbiting. I looked around the auditorium and realized that I had
taught every student, every one of these ill behaved classes. Why was
I not given the "good" classes?
Recently I asked if I shouldnt' have a paraprofessional in my room
when I was teaching certain students (those with IEPs, those with
histories of violence). I had been told by a college professor that
this was a legal requirement and he wondered why I had not had this
support all along. When I put it like that to administrators, a great
change! I have had paraprofessionals in the classes every day since I
brought up the question. If you don't ask, you don't get, of course.
2. This brings me to the "specials" like art. Special in what sense?
Because art is considered unimportant or playtime, art teachers don't
need the additional support of paras as academic teachers do...
3. Which brings me to art being unimportant. In one of these ill
behaved classes, during their science lesson, the teacher told them to
save their bad behavior for art class. Implied that it didn't count.
And like many of you, I hear that from students like now, around
grading time. Failed art but it doesn't count. And you know, in actual
fact, it doesn't!
4. Arts education? PLEEEEEZE. Each art is different. If music is
considered just the same thing as visual art, soon all visual arts
programs will be at risk. In a research project we did during a class
at Columbia TC, the art and music teachers used a survey instrument to
find out what was most important to the teacher. We found widely
different things mattered to music teachers (correct technique, drills
and practice, doing things the (only) right way) art teachers valued
higher order thinking skills, imagination, thinking out of the box,
problem solving, creativity, etc. But because of the way music classes
are organized, around accepted norms of discipline, they are safer,
especially for children who have behavior problems. There have also
been all the research about music/math connections and the beloved
(and wrong) so called Mozart effect that music listening and learning
can have on other classes. While this has not been proved, just as the
connection between visual art resulting in measurable improvements in
other subjects have not been proved, there is widespread acceptance of
music as being more intellectual and academic than visual art. (Please
weigh in on this one, especially)
5. As long as art does not count, that is, it does not effect the gpa
or student acceptance into college; as long as art credits are not
counted by colleges and universities when they tote up student high
school credits, art does not exist. If it can be valued credit-wise,
and counted, we will see a change in education's attitude and art will
be a real requirement, not an elective equal to shop, home ec,
technology, and all the other things that are considered classes for
the non-academic kids. What is the deal in your state?
6. Traveling art teachers. I spent yesterday with my childhood friend
who was once a traveling art teacher. We talked about this because I
was relating some of the rescent postings from this list to her. She
had the extremely difficult art on a cart, driving to schools far
apart as some on this list do. Is there any other subject that imposes
this impediment on the teacher? Which other disciplines have this
split up schedule as a regular and expected feature of teaching that
subject?
I can think of more, but this is getting long, and I wonder what other
impediments to excellence in visual arts education you deal with.
Thanks for letting me vent, please vent to me, off list if you think
that will be better.
