8740: Blog 1

Sorry for being late to the party again!
After an overwhelming night of reading and taking notes, I was exhausted and couldn't imagine opening the computer to write my Blog post. SO here it is.... fashionably late, right?

Imagination first:

I found this book to be inspirational and full of great ideas that I will use in my classroom for projects. The introduction gave examples of how the imagination and ideas of possibility were murdered. It  gave me the opportunity to think back on ideas I have had in the past and purposed that were shot down. How does that happen? and Why? In my teaching, when I ask if I can
have permission to do something and the answer was "no"; What difference could I have made in a student, my teaching style, or in the school community? Oh the possibilities!!!
Practice 12: Make a Gap: Obscure part of the picture.
I was drawn to this practice do to the fact that it reminded me of my students. They are fascinated by Op Art. I have some Optical Illusion art books in my classroom and the student pick them up all the time. They seem to like to be tricked and to look at something that may have a different illusion to it. In this practice, it referenced the four pack man shapes, positioned so that their open mouths form the illusion of a rectangle. Positive and Negative space- something that I am required to teach. I would have student draw an image and leave out a section of the image. This would leave room for the viewers imagination to fill the space. For example, If I was drawing a portrait of a person; I might leave out the inside of the eyes. What would it do to this image?! Would someone view it as evil and imagine red eye coloring?

Eisner, Learning in a Visual Age, and Freedman all mush together in my brain. Here is a short summery of what I thought to be important and highlighted while I was reading.
The one quote by Eisner, that I highlighted and put stars next to was on page 13. "The curriculum is a mind-altering device. We design educational programs not merely to improve schools, but also to improve the ways in which students think." What we do in the visual classroom is important. What we teach them in our classroom will effect their future. I went into teaching thinking about making a difference in my students lives. I never really thought about how much of a difference what I am teaching them can alter everything about their future. PLEASE don't get me wrong.... I know I make a difference in everyone of my students lives. I can sometimes see the difference. I can feel the difference. And I live the life as a teacher for that experience.
Imagination seemed to be a big theme in these chapters. I have struggled in the past to get students to use their imagination to come up with project themes. Because I have student, at the high school level!!!!, step into the art classroom for the first time in their educational experience.... they do not know how to think creatively and take chances. (Some private schools do not have an art teacher!)  This just shows how important an art experience is for everyone in the development process of thinking.
The idea of what art can bring to a students learning experience that other subjects can not bring was another theme in the chapters. Although I know how important Visual Art Education is in a students curriculum, others sometimes do not believe in it as much. Its always nice to have articles and books that supports how visual art makes a difference in a students educational process on the back burner, just in case I need backup to support what I am doing in my classroom.