After driving 7 hours, giving a lecture,then a workshop ,a reception, and then loading up my art, only to spend the next day driving the last 5 hours against a cold front with high winds, I am very happy to be home. This is the part of being an artist no one ever tells us about...travel, prep for workshops, packing /unpacking usually alone with only CDs for company.
For the last part of Craft in America I am going to suggest another change. Look over the chapter, enjoy the beautiful images and keep them as a reference for your future work. In place of a question over this reading I want to revisit an issue that came up in our last question on your best lesson. A couple of students shared with us stories of being challenged in a harsh or dismissive manner. I know those lessons and have my own scars from my MFA. I try not to be that kind of teacher. I hope I am not that kind of teacher. If you take a face to face seminar with me you will hear me at times says that some part of a writing response in "bullshit". Yet, I know I continue and explain why I find that part of the assignment misleading or shallow. And I work to help the words become true and meaningful. My point is I believe that we have the power of changing all education and especially art education (at all levels) by changing the way we explain /motivate/guide. So, I am asking each of you to think about the hidden or not so hidden hurt from being dismissed. Why do we (and I am including myself) think we need harsh criticism/ mean spirited assignment? Why do give the power of our art away to one teacher, one gallery, one critic? What can each of us do to make a difference?
Do not get me wrong. I am not proclaiming that no work or totally lazy work is OK. What I am talking about the energy in a class or group of artists that is motivated by excitement and joy and support. In place of the moaning and bragging about how hard it is, imagine a classroom or joint studio filled with conversation on what someone just figured out or is trying to figure out. The celebration when someone, even if it not you, completes a solid good work of art. Try to think about a place where artists of all ages and all stages of development want to come and work.
If you think I am crazy take a little time to look at Outsider Art or Visionary Art. Look at the art of kids. See the heart connection that is not broken by mean words or an arrogant attitude.
You have been a wonderful class. I thank each of you for the thoughts you shared with each other. I can't wait to meet you in person. And Stephen, best of luck with your MFA. Know you are always a part of TTU and if you ever need to share or talk we are here for you.
See you in Junction.
I honestly don’t know why we (teachers, humans, everyone really) feel like harsh criticism is a way of good teaching methods. I personally have never succeeded from this teaching method as a student. I have a problem with obtaining confidence in my work and that type of demeanor just pushes me way back. During my undergrad, there was a professor in the Fashion Design Department that had tenure and was like this. I heard horror stories about this professor before taking her class and my classmates and I were all terrified. Her class was first stage of pattern making, which is the hardest technique to understand and succeed in fashion design. This professor, (we all felt) profiled her students and just by looking at you, she knew if she liked you or not. If she didn’t like you then it was basically (pardon my french)… hell. She would say the meanest stuff to you in front of everyone, call you stupid and tell you that you didn’t have a chance in this field. We had written test and used scantrons and when she passed them back out to show our grade there were no marks on the scantron, indicating which questions were wrong (which is suspicious). If you asked her and she didn’t like you, she would say, “You should know which questions you didn’t know the answer to” and never could justified your grade, so basically ¾ of the class failed. This means you had to wait a year to retake the class because it was a prerequisite for upper level classes. I have never seen so many students cry in my life. Even the students that were liked by her were in fear and they weren’t even in jeopardy of failing the class. I wasn’t liked by her and I stayed after class every time and asked her to help me and show her that I was sincerely willing to learn the material. She would shush me away after five minutes but I think she passed me because she was tired of me bugging her honestly. I first of all don’t think you should ever call a student stupid. Second, I don’t think you should ever neglect a student from learning because you have a personal problem with them. I think sometimes we use harsh criticism because we feel it will either catch the student’s attention, show you are serious, show you are in charge or dominance and I think sometimes we use harsh language to show our passion sometimes. I think as a teacher you must present a lesson with joyful excitement and encouragement, demonstrations to help with intimidation and most of all teach with love. I think love is way more powerful then ridicule or hate. I would want to teach my students like this and I would also want each of the students to treat each other like this as well. I definitely think support should be all around. There was a lot of jealousy in the horrible class I mentioned above because honest good students were failing for a reason they didn’t know. A class with so much hate, confusion and no hope developed a lot of animosity between everyone. I think if you teach fair and give everyone the same equal opportunity and celebrate goods all together and all help each other with struggle then you develop an atmosphere that is easy for a student to find their place and are excited to learn. I honestly don’t know how I manage to live through that class. I would cry every night and pray for courage and bravery to not break down and give up. Staying every time after class was gut wrenching, and knowing the outcome each time left me feeling hopeless. The saddest thing was that I know the professor knew I was sincere and was basically begging for guidance but still shunned me. I don’t know how anyone could do that really. However, I think that situation made me a better person in the end and I know If I was to ever teach, I would strive for a method completely opposite as the professor I mentioned above. I want my students entering my classroom feeling protected and having trust in me. Don’t get me wrong I want there to be honestly but I think there is a better way to go about it than using foul language and meanness.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on giving support all around, and that the students should feel that you are approachable. SOme of the horrible students that I would have in my class, I would ask them why they were acting as they were, and that they were destroying the class dyamics. I would then sit with these students, because proximity sometimes helps, and work with them on a one on on basis. It would help, until I walked away.
DeleteI would never want fear as a driving force in my classroom. Respect, yes. But my students functioning/learning in an environment where they feared my reaction and the power I could lord over them.
DeleteThere are so many in education that operate this way and I don't understand. Perhaps that was their educational experience, so they teach what they know? Or maybe once an educator gets too settled into their kingdom--where they hold all the power--they forget the give and take of education? I don't know. I sincerely hope that none of my students feel this from me.
Brea, you are so right. Trust is vital to a classroom--whether it is elementary, secondary, or collegiate.
Thank you for the moving and all too true story.
DeleteToo bad the students did not know that as a group they have more power than then know...really. Dean's hate have a group of students come in mass with a very thought out list of reason a professor should be re-assigned.
I'm not even sure how to respond to this post because I have mixed feelings on the subject. My teacher, who called me out for being lazy and having nothing to say, turned out to be quite beloved to me. To this day I actually call him a friend. I personally needed someone to hold a mirror up to me and kind of shake me into reality. I don't think that this approach would be good everyone, but it did wake me up to my failings, and motivated me to try harder and become more than I was.
ReplyDeleteI think that warmth and encouragement always win out in the motivation department. I would never approach any of my students with negative feedback....but, if i could not "reach" an advanced student to get them to move to the next level, I might prod them with tougher feedback. ...but I'd never be so harsh that I'd make someone feel sad or cry. My motivation would be to give them the not so lovely feedback, and then build their ego back up so they could work on getting better.
In my opinion, So much of the negativism in education I think comes from unhappy teachers. They become unhappy because of bureaucracy and red tape, limitations and guidelines that make no sense, plus low pay and under appreciation. This makes them resentful of the system, and eventually the students. How do we fix the system? I'm not experienced enough with this subject to truly offer any solutions, but the issues are so pervasive that I don't think that money alone will fix it. My only suggestion is that the "system" needs to be rebooted to approach things as "why not!" instead of "we can't."
To address Brea's comments, there is never an excuse for a teacher or anyone in an authoritative position to denigrate a student. With that said, I do believe that teachers are people, and sometimes people get pushed to the brink of what they can take. Last summer, I remember a situation in a class where the student just kept pushing and pushing, she was a disruption to the entire class and brought down the morale of everyone she encountered. It was all the teacher could do to keep it together and not go off on her. Eventually she imploded and spiraled out on her own, but it was an awful thing to witness for everyone involved. This is something that happens more than we'd like to admit.
Teachers, especially those of us in art, are part therapist, part educator, part administrator, part traffic cop and part motivator. My question is how do we equip instructors to manage these roles and keep them excited and motivated to be their best. When the teacher is happy and motivated, the students will have a great experience. This program has motivated me to be better, to embrace teaching and to be a better artist. Maybe this program should be mandatory for all art teachers. Hell, it should be free too! ....as long as i'm dreaming!
Thanks for a great semester! Can't wait to meet those of you I haven't in Junction. Can't wait to see those I know again!!!!
Future, I can totally connect to your weekend! I slept 18 hrs when I came back from my class in Phoenix. I'm really looking forward to Junction....for a rest! :)
Deletestudents that have issues, and distrupt the dynamics of a class makes it diffult to maintain class order, and the other students suffer as a result. I have had many of a class like this, I have tried working individually with that student, or group of students to try and make a connection, and an understanding of their behavior to try and correct it. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn.t I then turn to ruling with an iron hand, rule based classroom, and consequences for ones actions. This helps in the extreme cases, but there are students that are in art because it is an easy class, or not because they want to be. This is when teaching is not fun.
DeleteDebbie...sigh...my 6th graders. Oh gracious. This year I have had a group of boys in my 6th grade choir group that are on a mission to disrupt art for everyone. I really don't understand it, because art has the most freedoms of their day and one would think they would flourish in an environment of choice. But I've had to struggle all year to keep their poor decisions from disrupting the art experience of the other students. I'm honestly glad I have one last class with them this week and then I'm finished with these guys. I'm hoping maturity will set in and solve some of their issues. Sooner rather than later.
DeleteAnd the RED TAPE!! I'm on board with you, Gail, about the red tape causing a lot of the anger/disgruntledness in teachers.
DeleteI feel like such a manic/depressive between my two campuses--my own parents have even commented. I am so bogged down on the campus that has, sorry for the bluntness, POOPY communication, poor administrative leadership, and overwhelming class sizes. On my "good" campus (where I'm at now, done with 2 out of 3 weeks in this rotation), I'm smiling, happy, able to handle an even tighter schedule than the "bad" campus. Because there my administrators talk openly with me, my team not only communicates with me but we all hang outside of work at the gym or for "cocktails and curriculum", and my faculty in general is happy and friendly. So yeah, red tape, or poor leadership tangling employees up in red tape, makes for angry, helpless teachers. I try my hardest to not let my students see my attitude at the "bad" campus, because really none of it is their fault, but I know they do perceive some of my frustrations. :( I feel powerless and that affects how I handle the work load and the bureaucracy.
I strongly agree with you gail on their being no excuse for a teacher to berate a student in class, I consider this abusive behavior, and the teacher should recieve disciplinary action for it. It funny how many students will post things on insta gram about a teacher and her behavior. A teacher has many eyes watching her, so she is not safe from abuseive behavior.
DeleteEven though I teach at the elementary level, I'm always cautious about cell phones!! I know firsthand of an art teacher loosing her job because her students taped her cussing them out. YIKES!! I would never use that kind of language, but I do think that in our age of videos and photos a lot can be misconstrued when context is lost through editing or intentional misdirection. So, I'm super careful.
DeleteI agree that it gets hard not to be pushed to your limit when a student is being disruptive and going out of control. I think there is a difference though when a student is pushing in a bad way, or pushing for answers because he/she wants equality learning. I also think age has to filter into what motive you use as well. With my personal situation we were all adults and everyone was very mature in my class, we just all wanted fairness.
DeleteEmily-
DeleteI have a group of 5th graders this year for a long term sub position that have really made me question myself. This one class does make it so hard to create a positive atmosphere for those willing to create. It does also make me question the way the school I am in has art in sections that sometimes number 38 -42 students. The art and music teacher has this many students as well but the Physical education teacher has an aid. I do think all special area teachers need aids when they numbers are this high. I am glad that most of the classes only have about 28 -34 students but... this is still I feel too many students. It would I think help if the class could be more a choice based classroom but being here for teacher on Maternity leave I kept her routine and plans as much as possible.
I agree with you Brea, I think when a teacher is too intimidating to share ideas with it is not helpful for a their students. We as teachers need to be inspiring not put downers. However, I think a little advice can be helpful, but needs to be sent in a way that is not discouraging. When dealing with an unmotivated student who does not want to try is sometimes hard to be positive and remain positive. I also think people's art is more for themselves. Therefore it is not always fair to judge someone else's work.
ReplyDeleteJudging another's art is difficult but judging isn't really the word I really like to use here either as it create a good & bad.. It is of course so different in dealing with elementary and college or studio environment sometimes... But I would hope that all would be encouraging but challenging as well. The word criticism is often seen as only judging in a negative way when really as artists we need feed back, and it won't be what we already know, hopefully. Or maybe it will be a comment or help that we just have not recognized in ourself. I know that at times negative comments have challenged me to step up do more. As an adult I feel more empowered to say no to some comments and wow when a comments makes me rethink.
DeleteWhy do we give the power of our art away to the criticism of others? There may be many reasons for this, depending on the artists. For instance, does it depend on the artists self-image, insecurity about one’s own work, the damage that could be done to ones reputation as an artist’s? I am not sure. Are the things being said about ones work, to be taken as a direction? Harsh words versus constructive criticism are to different things. Harsh words are one person’s power over another. It is very difficult to put one ’s self out there, and not be understood or valued. There also has to be the right audience for your work to be understood to its fullest.
ReplyDeleteOne of the great things about being a long term art teacher is that you get to work with all age groups, so I have had the great experience of working with ages K-12, and to see the dynamics in motion at each of these levels. From my training as a teacher, and my own personal experience I have found that dynamics in a room starts with the teacher. Is she upbeat, approachable, excited about the work, students, to be there etc. In order for a student to be successful there needs to be some form of direction and instruction in order for them to become successful, especially when the student is struggling. Being more of facilitator and not a teacher is an approach that I believe teachers should take, for it puts the power of learning in the students hands. Make learning creative, fun, and give the students freedom of choice. I always play music, and joke around with the students to loosen up the atmosphere and put them in a creative mode. I work with the students to try and make a connection with them. I look at my room not as a class but as a studio. I always tell my students that accidents can be happy ones, and that all artists make mistakes. I know that encouragement, and constructive criticism is a positive reinforcement, instead of a negative. I have had more classes than I can count where teachers have not taught the basics of the medium, or given direction or brainstormed with you on alternate possibilities. I come out of those classes exasperated that I did not learn anything, that I spent money for nothing, and a sense of hopelessness. I would then turn to books and utube for self-instruction. I had taken an acrylics class with my daughter and the instructor’s only instruction was to start painting, and your work will flow from your imagination. I had never acrylic painted before, so you can imagine how I felt after that class was over. Another really important thing that I do with my students is to make myself approachable, for I want the students to feel comfortable enough to come to me with issues, concerns, or questions they might have. Over the years, I have constantly struggled with my works as not being worthy, but I am in the slow process of healing through my studies of what an artists is, and through the continued is an artist, and continued release of my imagination through my art. .
Debbie,
DeleteInsecurity. That can be a big reason why we give away the power of our art. I've watched throughout my own classes how a fear or others' perception or just insecurity in one's ideas/talents can cause students to back away from standing up for their art. Something in my own mind clicked when I left high school and I no longer gave that kind of power to most people. People that I held in high regard could probably still influence me, but general folks that I thought, "meh, what does (s)he know?!" no longer could cause me to back down.
I think a general lack of critique experience can cause negative critiquing to continue. If we aren't exposing students to many forms of critique--informal, written, group--than they can think that critique consists of a large group or prof bashing work.
I am reading the book Lean In, written by the CEO of Facebook, Sheryl Sandberg. One of the things she discusses, is that women have cheated themselves by not staying engaged. Instead of having their distinct voices be heard they allow someone else to control the conversation. We disengage: we don't explain circumstances or situations: women often just quit. If we would " stay engaged, “sit at the table,” seek challenges, take risks, and pursue goals with gusto", all voices would be heard and things would change for all women and our culture.
ReplyDeleteHow does that concept connect to teaching art in a kind, generous and supportive way?
People like to be encouraged not discouraged--it actually changes brain chemistry. One way to change the negative energy is to stay engaged as a force of consideration.
Sometimes it's difficult to model behavior, which has not been demonstrated. Kind instruction helps us all stay engaged, changes the conversation, and promotes more creativity because we are fundamentally more open to ideas not closed off by criticism.
I am not a classroom teacher, so the way I frame the world is different. I do appreciate those different experiences and challenges.
I will speak to you from my years of working as an artist and as a curator and educator.
For some in Art, there is a fear scarcity.
So much of my experience in my career in art is perceived scarcity--not enough commissions, not enough money. That perception often prevents kind communication of ideas and resources--people pulling away, not sharing, losing community.
Its difficult to nurture and stay engaged when there is a fear of not enough.
If we look at the great movements in arts and crafts, it was a community or an individual interested in sharing ideas or processes. We started our course with the Arts and Crafts movement; with William Morris and the PRB. We have seen many movements, (Vienna, Ohio, California, Black Mountain, and Michigan) and individuals who have stayed engaged and continued to pour out their artist insights in abundance. To avoid that negative teaching style, we need to hear engaged kind voices, open conversations, freedom of ideas. We can start a movement.
That sounds like a wise book to read. I think everything revolves around energy for sure. Nothing is worse than being around someone with bad energy and then all of a sudden you’re the bad energy.
Delete“To avoid that negative teaching style, we need to hear engaged kind voices, open conversations, freedom of ideas. We can start a movement” Amen! I couldn’t agree more.
I have been told, and experienced that the positive energy from others is contageous, and that people rebel from negativity. It is not your looks or what you do, some times it is just your energy
ReplyDeleteI have a ex-prof/colleague who was trained in a harsh environment--thereby causing his handling of his "kingdom" to be equally as punitive and demeaning. His gleefully retells stories of how his tenured grad ceramics prof trained his grad students to load the undergrad ceramic work in with clay bombs--poorly made pieces with air pockets designed to explode and break the "crappy" undergrad work. I remember when i first heard this thinking: how does that facilitate learning? It trains grad students to undervalue what new clay students have to offer to their learning. It sells the undergrad students short; they never receive a good critique of their work, why it is aesthetically "crappy" or poor, and therefore never progress. This ex-prof/colleague of mine posts rules and signs everywhere; rather than teaching and training students to be self-sufficient clay thinkers, he gripes about how they know nothing and make problems. I ask, "then why are you here?" Go be a studio potter and have things exactly how you want. Teaching is messy. It should be messy.
ReplyDeleteIn my classroom messes are frequent, daily in fact. My room gets loud. There is lots of movement. Yet, my little students know where to find the tools they need/want. They know how to take care of their immediate needs: where is the pencil sharpener? where/can I get new papers? where does my art go when I'm done for the day? I find that teaching kids to be autonomous cuts out a lot of work I don't need to do so I have time for things only I can do. If someone makes a mistake, or a large mess, we address it head on and find a way to take care of it. It's called learning. I compliment when I see students helping others or stepping up to do something that "isn't their responsibility." If someone is modeling poor behavior I address it with them and rethink other choices more suitable for a sharing work environment. It takes more patience on my part to operate this way, but I hold in my mind that these students need to take on their own skills and knowledge so they can use what they acquire in my room in other disciplines and further on in their lives.
I find humor to be a powerful teaching tool. We laugh over mistakes instead of angrily blaming someone else. I create silly rhymes or songs to help important art rules stick in their minds. Learning should be exciting, and dare I say, fun. If learning should be fun, than art learning should be beyond amazing. It makes my day to have students tell me that my class is their favorite out of their whole day. It's not an ego thing (entirely). I know that art is opening them up to be more engaged in their other disciplines--science, reading, math. I always tell them, "look for the art in math. Look for the art in science. It's there. It's the patterns. It's in the designs." Creative thinking is easiest with creative tools like paints and clay. What is so great about our job is we can form the ease of creative thought in our room and watch it spread into other classes.
I suppose though that we won't ever be rid of educators that teach in environments of fear or negativity. Just as we won't be rid of people that use critique time as "bash the artist" time. An individual's own personal fears and weaknesses probably drive those outward behaviors. What we can do is model a better teaching style and work actively in our learning environments to set up relationships of positivity and trust.
I think having humor in your classroom is very important at times and agree it can be very powerful. I think it relaxes the stressed and easies the ones intimidated and can bring everyone closer. Learning should be fun indeed!
DeleteThank you all for your comments. I feel we are finally getting to a very powerful aspect of learning, re-thinking. Not much different than the new information we found in "Makers".
ReplyDeleteA couple of observations:
1. We teach to various ages in various situations.
2. Our past educational experiences haunt us, both good and bad.
One of the most amazing ways I have seen a class turn around is by simply asking the three questions I ask for " Makers" each week when doing a critic of a work created by a student. The concept that the authority on any work is within the creator is often overlooked in a classroom (of any age group). If you add the forth question " what would you like feed back on?" you have a great conversation. I may look at a work and want to take about the embellishments but you may want help with mixing a blue color.
Gail, I love that your teacher became a friend. I believe that his willingness to continue working with you separates him from the teachers and/ or professors that simply dismissed or shunned a student(s).
I continue to work on being present in the classroom, not just "there-going-through-the- motions". Laughter helps, tears are there too, but mainly it is never assuming I know what will happen or come from an assignment.
Just like any other ethical lesson we teach our students, sometimes teachers or professors need to know that their behavior affects their students. Sometimes as teachers we tend to be dismissive of our students’ talents because we want things to be done a certain way. I know that is one of my weaknesses as an artist and as a teacher. I find it better, sometimes, to just do it myself because I already have a picture in my mind of how I want it to look. It’s a struggle as a teacher to let go of my own assumptions and let my students’ minds run free. My idea of how I deal with this is to encourage my students to look up artwork they like, research artists, and sketch their own designs or ideas. By doing this, I feel like my students have a greater freedom of what they want to create and how instead of me telling them how to do it or how it should look. Some of my professors in my Undergrad tried to teach us by instilling in us the methods they had learned at their respective universities. I remember a specific professor who was very adamant about us painting the way he wanted us to because he would tell us, “This is the correct way because this is how I learned it.” The way I always saw it was: if this is how you learned it then who say’s I can’t paint my way because this is how I learned it? As artists, I feel that we give in to these thoughts or ideas because we respect their authority and expertise in the field. I speak for myself when I say that I am a little intimidated by a professor or someone who has been in the field for longer than I have. I respect their knowledge and years in the field enough to follow their teachings and advice. What this book and Makers has taught me is that everyone is an artist, a maker, and a craftsman. The hard part is to keep encouraging our children and young students to keep creating despite the obstacles and hard times. Some of my students get discouraged after they “can’t” create something or when their project “doesn’t look beautiful.” I try to encourage them by asking, “What is beautiful?” and “Does art always have to be ‘beautiful’?” Their responses sometimes surprise me and they feel more empowered to keep trying or to add more to their idea.
ReplyDeletenice...beauty is a perception that is charged with heritage and history.
DeleteI find myself telling students when they worry that their art isn't beautiful/pretty, "why does art have to be pretty?" I find when art contrasts beauty with raw imagery or very "ugly" work, it can be a very powerful moment. I also am constantly drawn back to one of my favorite fictional characters, Asher Lev. His mother wanted him to paint beauty, but what he was drawn to paint wasn't beautiful. In fact it was very painful for him, his family, and his Jewish community. In the end though...it was painfully beautiful.
DeleteI also understand learning a process as it is intended...there is one correct way to aquatint a copper plate. There is a correct way to fire a kiln. Yet, working within those parameters to then break the rules--that's when originality happens. That's when spontaneous new processes are formed. So, yes, learn a process how it "should be" learned, but then make it your own. So...underfiring a glaze for a specific look. Or breaking the "fat over lean" rule in painting to watch acrylic crack over oils. Could be fun. (might check achivality if you're concerned with your work's longevity).
I couldn’t agree more with you. Well said! I like that you asked your students “what is beautiful”. Who defines beauty? I like what Emily said too, I also think something people consider ugly can be just as powerful.
Delete