Issues and Theories

I believe some of the major concerns with the project were excluding other culture group in the community, appropriating the Native American totem-pole "style" in the artwork, not allowing much student voice, and in fear in lack of knowledge excluding valuable multicultural discussion and lesson. The author wasn't sure about participating in the project because she felt like she didn't know enough about the different cultures, but didn't take the extra step to research and learn the facts. Her only prior experience was cultural appropriation of Native Americans with headdresses and brown paper bags. She wasn't sure what direction to take with it. Personally, I sometimes have this same worry because of lack of knowledge or experience with some cultural groups. If I don't have much prior knowledge about a culture's heritage or history, I might avoid the topic because I don't want to be offensive or give false information. I think after reading thi...

I really enjoyed this book and I think it had a lot of great points for all types of teachers. It was an interesting and fun read! One of the themes it really focused on was the challenge of good classroom management and how to balance standards with your own teaching style. One example of this that really stood out to me was when the administration came in to observe Bill and make sure he was following standards and policies. He struggled with this internally because he felt that if he fell into this mundane pattern of requirements, he would risk losing focus on the student. I can see this as being a huge challenge in teaching. You want to make it interesting for the student and have their curiosity help drive their learning, but you are also in charge of making sure they are understanding and learning all the material. I think Bill achieved this easily by having students do real-world and hands-on activities to learn the material. It's nice because in art, students are always doi...

Some problems the community faced in Chapter 12 were lack of understanding and general confusion about the project. I don't think Mrs. Clark and the others involved in the Pinwheel Project meant to disrespect or oppose the work that military veterans did, but were looking at war as a bigger picture. I don't think they meant for their art to personally attack those who fought, but instead make a point to those who started the fighting and violence. It's very unfortunate that they got shut down by their administration before they could explain their side of the story or display their beliefs freely. However, I understand why other teacher didn't want to get involved in the controversy. Maybe though if the other teachers did try to stand with Mrs. Clark and help her communicate her intentions, the community could see their point. I think it's just important to be clear with your intentions on a project and communicate with the public on why you created the piece...

One thing I related a lot to from the chapter is when the teacher seemed a bit nervous when there was backlash and vandalism against the club. She was doubting and questioning if she was making the right move to have her students "talk back". I worry sometimes that I won't know what the right move is if there is controversy in my classroom. I think the best way to tackle this is just to be knowledgeable and open. For example, if I'm unsure about something in a student's culture or background and don't want to offend anyone I should just talk to them and have them explain something to me instead of thinking I know all the answers. Educators should be always willing to learn more and not afraid to go the extra mile to truly get to know their students. I think the teacher in this chapter did a good job of believing in her students and backing them up to express themselves and their identities, instead of letting the vandalism and disrespectful actions silence the...

Service learning isn't just community service. The reading defines service learning as "lessons that connect to the curriculum, meet a need, have a theoretical base, involves students in planning, and allows for reflection." I see service learning as a way to teach students (using the curriculum) about a big idea and connecting students to art and their community through a service project. By having students work with community members, it teaches them good citizenship and service participation. Focusing on a big idea  for service learning lessons, as well as other lessons, helps students explore a common theme or topic. However, leaving it as a big idea empowers them to choose their own approach to the lesson and what direction they want to take it. Service learning doesn't just benefit the students, but also helps the teacher to get outside of the classroom with his/her students and possibly go out of his/her comfort zone for the benefit of the community. Service le...

This chapter was particularly interesting to me because from preschool to 12th grade I attended a private school, but would always wonder how public school art education differed from my own experiences. My parents chose a private (Catholic) school because they wanted my sisters and I to have religious education focused on their faith. Although, they always allowed us to have say in where we wanted to attend. For example, I enjoyed my school and had friends that attended there, but my sisters sought other opportunities at the public school that my school didn't provide for them. My middle sister transferred to the public school at the beginning of her junior year of high school. She wanted to attend a larger school and her best friend went to the public school. My youngest sister transferred for her freshman year because of her interest in marching band and jazz band. The private school didn't have many opportunities in music. Looking back, I enjoyed the activities I partic...