Sunday, October 30, 2011
Where is the line?
Being in a co-op school has been quite interesting. Art, in particular, has been quite the experience.
Where is the line between allowing kids to be creative on their own and actually teaching technique?
In our art class, the parents are very much involved and lead the whole subject. My concern though is when they look at the students' artwork and analyze it and tell them to do it in a different way, the way that their (the parent's) example looks like. Isn't art to let the students be creative in their own way? What happens when there is too much structure? Better yet, is it ok for the parents to be telling the student to do it in a different way? so many questions and concerns... a very fine line.
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There is a fine line here. I feel that Art is about the child's own interpretation of the assignment. Children need to use their own imagination to create their piece of art. I know a lot of classroom's do the same art project because then they have an opportunity to asses and it makes managing the task easier. But I feel that we as teachers should show students a new technique and then the students can choose how to use that technique. It will change the look of the hallways because there will not be a symmetry of having all the projects be the same.
ReplyDeleteIs it art if you tell the students not only how to do it but what precisely to do? Teaching technique or how to use a particular medium is one thing but then I agree, let them create and express.
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ReplyDeleteI would think the benefits of a cooperative school far outweigh the drawbacks, but what you are talking about here certainly doesn’t seem like an ideal situation. There are valuable lessons in art to be learned and it will at some point be important for students to be able to do certain things in a particular way (maybe in interpreting the style of a particular artist or something) but it doesn’t sound like this is what was happening in your class. It sounds like the teacher may need to give instructions to the parents as well as the students.
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me of something that happened at my school—the night before school started we had an open house where students’ and their parents could meet the teacher and drop off school supplies. The students were supposed to write their names with pens and paper provided and put in on a desk of their choosing. One mother took over that assignment and made her daughter’s name in fancy bubble letters instead of letting her daughter create her own.
It can be so tempting, especially for parents, to do things for our children, or expect them to do things in a certain way. I can definitely see this as an obstacle to overcome in cooperative schools.