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Lesson Plans


Re: Art Tests

[ Thread ][ Subject ][ Author ][ Date ]
Sandra Hildreth (shildret)
Sat, 21 Nov 1998 16:02:29 -0500

Fred wrote:
> I'm confused by the way you pose the two alternatives: a wonderful creative
> experience on the one hand, learning something on the other. I always thought
> that the best way to see if my students had learned something was to see if
> THEY could design interesting problems to solve -- which is really their art.
> Was I wrong?

I was just presenting my opinion - of course you're not wrong. I firmly
believe children learn things through creative experiences. I just also
firmly believe it is the art teachers job to design those creative
opportunities in such a way that students learn something of use.
Motivated kids, excited about art, will always learn something from what
they get totally immersed in and enjoy. But what they learn could be
totally accidental - what ever comes up through their own unique problem
solving approach. That's fine. We art teachers need to help make sure we
orchestrate things so they learn about skills and knowledge that will be
valuable to them as they grow and become adults. We've also got to
consider and plan for all the unmotivated kids that don't seem to care
about responding to any kind of art challenge.

-- 
Sandra Hildreth
Home Page: http://www.northnet.org/hildreth
Art 7-12, Madrid-Waddington Central School, Madrid, NY 13660
School Pages: http://www.northnet.org/mwcsart/mwart.htm
Art Methods, St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY 13617