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Lesson Plans


Re: Types of experience

[ Thread ][ Subject ][ Author ][ Date ]
Dennis Freeman (freemad)
Mon, 01 Nov 1999 19:04:12 -0700

RIGHT ON! We need to think about improving our profession, not putting a
fence up around it. We need to enforce certification standards, and we also
need to welcome into the profession those who "feel the call", whether they
followed the standard route or not. Passion is as often missing from art
teaching as is (sadly) content knowledge. Both are required for excellence!
----- Original Message -----
From: Betty Bowen <bbowen.ok.us>
To: <artsednet.edu>
Sent: Monday, November 01, 1999 4:34 PM
Subject: Types of experience

> > I am one of "those" teachers you described, who got certified by excet
> >test. I take offense to the implication that we haven't "paid our dues"
> > in getting a fine arts degree.
>
> While that comment hurt my feeling too, it's important to remember that
this
> "quality of experience" topic is a routinely recurring subject on this
> list - the most interesting thing about it is that it seems to work in all
> directions -
>
> The original poster (not the message above) is an experienced degreed
> certified teacher who wants to find a way to begin to teach art.
>
> Many of us have gotten the same "you've got to pay your dues" "what makes
> you think you're qualified" remarks because we have MFA's and no education
> degree...like me. (with frequent comments on how "artists can't teach
art" -
> that sort of thing.)
>
> Then those of us with MFA's point to, say, encountering an
education-degreed
> art teacher who had to ask us how to mix orange at a workshop (a true
> story), or other dramatic examples of an astonishing lack of depth in SOME
> art teacher's visual arts and art history knowledge. Even with art ed
> degrees and lots of "dues paying".
>
> Neither of these positions is helpful.
>
> This is the thing that has surprised me the most in my process of finally
> being allowed to enter the teaching field. I really didn't expect to find
> this sort of prejudice and division within the profession - or myself.
> We can't afford this at a time in our country's history when the arts are
> under siege in so many ways. There is supposedly an art teacher shortage.
> But if somebody is interested in teaching art, help then (us) find ways to
> learn how to do that WELL, please don't just say - "you're experience
isn't
> exactly like mine, therefore you can't possibly be any good at this."
>
> Betty
>
>