The purpose of education is to improve the quality of life for the individual and society. Education should provide solid communication skills; broadening of accepted norms; and development of personal strengths. The primary aim of education should be to provide the basic knowledgeneeded to communicate. Students need to be proficient in speaking, reading, writing and mathematics. Secondly, the educational system expresses directly or implies the accepted norms of society, through a process called Socialization. These norms or values should stress tolerance and respect and not be limited to the dominate culture’s opinions. The schools have the responsibility to teach respect (defined as consideration for others) and tolerance (defined as being free of prejudice). Lastly, the focus of education should be on the individual student and developing that individual’s potential and strengths. When a student recognizes their strengths, their awareness is called self actualization. Educated individuals create an educated society.
The purpose of art education is to create art that enhances the quality of life for the individual and society. Art Education should provide the means to create art; acknowledgement of the values of art; and acknowledgement of the individual artists. Art is visual communication. Our ancestors used drawings to record information before the development of written word. Today, artists design everything from worldly possessions to the environments that house them. But, artists are not the only people that design, every person designs their own personal style. From the clothing one wears to the decoration of one’s personal space, the drive to communicate by design is a fundamental part of being human. Art teaches the values of a society. One can determine what is important to any culture by looking at their art. One will find art in politics, religion, ceremonies, and everyday objects. The magic of art, however, lies within the creativity of the individual artist. Each person on this planet is unique and has a slightly different point of view to offer to the world. Art education celebrates our differences and validates the creative artist residing inside each of us.
My purpose is to expose the students to how to use art to enhance and improve their lives. I will teach the language of art; the values of multi-cultural art; and the strengths of my students. I will provide materials and techniques that express the language of art. For example, using pencil and paper to draw a jagged line, the students will see the hardness and abruptness that the mark communicates. I will teach values associated with multi-cultural art and focus on respect and tolerance. We live in a diverse world and should not limit our selves to the Western values toward art. The classroom will be diverse and that is grounds for exploring other cultures, especially that of the student’s. One must not forget the goal is to build the strengths of the individual student. I will give positive feedback to the students to help them identify their strengths and acknowledge their accomplishments. My deepest hope is that tolerance and respect will stay with them throughout their lives and that they will make our world a better place.
I believe that DBAE (dicipline based art education) is a good structure to follow in teaching art. Talking about art is central to art education. By exploring their artwork through art criticism the students can recognize the values of our society. Students need to recognize what meaning they are assigning to what they are creating. It could be Formalistic ideas about color and shape or Conceptualistic ideas refering to things outside the art work. Art history is an important component and is more accessable now through technology and the internet. Speaking of computers, creating art on the computer is an exciting new medium similar to printmaking that should also be explored. With my new knowledge of how to build websites and electronic portfolios I hope to give my students the opporitunity to develope these items as well.
Layla Day, September 13, 2003
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