Main Question: Is there a relationship between the community, art, and the public schools?
Sub-Questions:
-Do the arts play an important role in education?
-Is art integrated into classroom curriculum? How?
-How are the arts related to the community?
-What are the forms of Pop Art (popular art, art for the people) in the community?
Data Collection:
Map/Description of the city
-Walk/drive around the ten-block radius in Newark: (www.googlemaps.com)
-Observation: Field notes and photography
-10 blocks include: Carter Hwy (runs along the Passaic River), Central Ave, Martin Luther King Blvd, Mercer St., Market St., Broad St.
-10 sites include: Arts High School, Newark Public School, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Rutgers State University Art and Design Program, North Star Academy Charter School of Newark, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Newark Museum, Seed Gallary, Central Business District, Passaic River.
-Walking tour of the sites including field notes, photography, collecting physical data (i.e. pamphlets, flyers, brochures, visiting websites online), and interview questions (if possible).
Research questions to be answered:
-Are youth’s involved in these sites?
-What kind of art do these sites support?
-What kind of art is on the street? (i.e. graffiti, music, formal sculptures)
-Are youth participating in art activity on the street?
Semi-formal interviews with community members (Audio recorded):
-Is art an important part of the community? The culture?
-What is your opinion of public art in the area?
-In your opinion, is there a connection between art, education, and public art in the community?
-Is there anything else you want to add regarding community art or education?
Geographical information: http://www.citytowninfo.com/places/new-jersey/newark
-History and Culture of Newark
-Area Demographics and population statistics
Newark Public Schools:
-District information http://www.nps.k12.nj.us/districtinformation.html
-History of the Newark Public Schools
-Mission Statement
-General information http://www.answers.com/topic/newark-public-schools
-Newark Public School, Located on 2 Cedar St. #1
-Arts High School, located on 550 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
-Website: http://www.nps.k12.nj.us/arts/default.htm (Includes school history and profile)
Data collection methods:
-Walking tour of the schools
-Observation: Field notes and photography
-Semi-formal interviews(audio recorded)
Teacher/Faculty interview questions:
-What art are students making? Is there a common theme?
-What involves classroom curriculum in general?
-In your opinion, what do the arts bring to student learning and development?
-Can you give me an example of a lesson that integrates the arts with classroom curriculum that you or another faculty member has used?
-Do you see a relationship between student artwork and public art in the community?
-What is special or different about the Arts High School compared to the neighboring public school(s)?
Student interview questions:
-What are you making in art class?
-Do you enjoy art?
-Do you see art in public? (i.e. graffiti, music, dance, sculpture, painting)
-Local News in Newark involving the arts, community, and education that may affect the ten-block radius in the city.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Annotated Bibliography
1.) Buffington, Melanie. (July 2007). Art to Bring About Change: The Work of Tyree Guyton. National Art Education Association: Reston, VA.
URL: http://www.NAEA-Reston.org/index.html
Tyree Guyton is an African-American artist who created the Heidelberg Project, a body of work that consists of public artwork such as painted abandoned houses, outdoor sculptures, and pieces made of found objects. Guyton’s work focuses on issues of racism, politics, religion, and homelessness. Buffington discusses specific works of art from the Heidelberg Project and integrates suggested lesson plans, including questions for discussion, art-making activities, and assessments, which parallel each public artwork. This article is intended for urban teachers looking to make connections between their students and the community by analyzing public artwork and its functions. The article also provides seven color images of Guyton’s work, which helps the reader visualize the content.
2.) Long, Trisha Wies. (March 2008). The Full Circling Process: Leaping into the Ethics of History Using Critical Visual Literacy and Arts-Based Activism. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
URL: http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.montclair.edu:2048/10.1598/JAAL.51.6.6
In an effort to change current classroom curriculum of teaching to the test, the author describes a multi-layered learning process called “full circling” that uses visual media as a text to be critically read and interpreted by all types of learners. Long thoroughly describes her four-step process of combining visual media (i.e. paintings, drawings, and photographs) with more traditional texts (i.e. reading and writing), and providing example images that compliment the full circle teaching method. The author works with urban adolescents, teachers, and university interns, describes how a teacher would begin the full circling process, and where the process is heading. This article is informative, clear, and is a good source for urban teaching methods combined with the arts. Integrating the arts into classroom curriculum stimulates creativity and critical thinking.
3.) Mishlove, Robert, Strange, Wayne. (October 2008). Knowing Neighborhoods: Students and Teachers as Artistic Colleague. Routledge: London.
URL: http://www.informaworld.com.ezproxy.montclair.edu:2048/openurl?genre=article&id=doi:10.1080/15411790802344272
Bob Mishlove is an art teacher at Nathan R. Goldblatt Elementary School in Area 7 on Chicago’s west side, and is a member of a city curriculum (CAPE). CAPE offered six teachers to work with visiting artists and to exhibit their work at one of Chicago’s highest art galleries. Bob chose to collaborate with one of his students, Wayne Strange, to create a photo instillation exploring the community surrounding Goldblatt Elementary School. The article is a conversation between Bob and Wayne about their experiences working together, including a collaborative artist statement, images of the installation, and the ways in which this experience has affected Bob’s curriculum. This article is important because it ties urban art education pedagogy with the surrounding community. It it crucial that students create their own learning experiences, and that art instructors facilitate these learning possibilities.
4.) Ross, Jerrold. (Jan-Feb 2005). Arts Education and the Newer Public Good. Heldref Publications: Washington DC, MD.
The federal financial support of the arts is declining, and the public’s knowledge of the importance of the arts is diminishing even faster. Ross argues that our anti-arts society has a direct influence on “teaching to the test” in current education, which is directly cutting imagination and creativity in learning and teaching. Moreover, Ross points out that schools’ “immagineless” curricula are hindering learning for the urban, “disadvantaged” youth. The article is very one-sided, but provides a lot of supporting arguments and facts. This article would hopefully make more school administrators, educators, and parents more aware of the affects “teaching to the test.” Educators would likely consider changing their curricula to incorporate the arts, imagination, and creativity.
5.) Hutzel, Karen. (2007). Reconstructing a Community, Reclaiming a Playground: A Participatory Action Research Study. National Art Education Association: Reston, VA.
URL: http://www.naea-reston.org/index.html
There are some art instructors who are heavily involved with the communities where they teach and provide methods of teaching that cater to the needs of the community, which broadens students’ perspectives on local art and culture. Hutzel conducts a study in her own community that examines participant’s perceptions the community of the West End neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio. The author is interested in how these perceptions shape community, art curriculum, and social change.
In the beginning of the study, participants were reluctant to work with an “outsider” of the African-American-based community, because in the past many had experienced white, middle class researchers making false promises and creating artificial hope in the community. Hutzel’s relationship to the West End community provided interesting tension in the beginning of the article.
Hutzel chose to focus on improving the community’s quality of life by creating an asset-based community art curriculum, as opposed to need-based approaches, which is important because it relies on the positive aspects of the community. The author held a service-learning pedagogy while working with adolescents of the community to create two public murals. Adolescents were required to dig into their personal experiences and perceptions to design their own portion of the mural. There are a few photographs of the mural in the article. Results from the study indicate that participants from the West End believe that their community has strong social bonds despite local violence and crime.
The article touches on important issues regarding art education, curriculum, community, and public art. It is necessary for art educators to examine the identities of urban youth and to create a curriculum that reaches students that live in low-income, minority, and violent communities. Urban art education should incorporate these realities into the curriculum as a way to make real connections between reality and education. Public art projects can give students the opportunity to change their existing environment in a positive way through art-making and community development. This article is a useful and inspirational tool for urban art teachers motivated to make a difference in the lives of their students.
URL: http://www.NAEA-Reston.org/index.html
Tyree Guyton is an African-American artist who created the Heidelberg Project, a body of work that consists of public artwork such as painted abandoned houses, outdoor sculptures, and pieces made of found objects. Guyton’s work focuses on issues of racism, politics, religion, and homelessness. Buffington discusses specific works of art from the Heidelberg Project and integrates suggested lesson plans, including questions for discussion, art-making activities, and assessments, which parallel each public artwork. This article is intended for urban teachers looking to make connections between their students and the community by analyzing public artwork and its functions. The article also provides seven color images of Guyton’s work, which helps the reader visualize the content.
2.) Long, Trisha Wies. (March 2008). The Full Circling Process: Leaping into the Ethics of History Using Critical Visual Literacy and Arts-Based Activism. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
URL: http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.montclair.edu:2048/10.1598/JAAL.51.6.6
In an effort to change current classroom curriculum of teaching to the test, the author describes a multi-layered learning process called “full circling” that uses visual media as a text to be critically read and interpreted by all types of learners. Long thoroughly describes her four-step process of combining visual media (i.e. paintings, drawings, and photographs) with more traditional texts (i.e. reading and writing), and providing example images that compliment the full circle teaching method. The author works with urban adolescents, teachers, and university interns, describes how a teacher would begin the full circling process, and where the process is heading. This article is informative, clear, and is a good source for urban teaching methods combined with the arts. Integrating the arts into classroom curriculum stimulates creativity and critical thinking.
3.) Mishlove, Robert, Strange, Wayne. (October 2008). Knowing Neighborhoods: Students and Teachers as Artistic Colleague. Routledge: London.
URL: http://www.informaworld.com.ezproxy.montclair.edu:2048/openurl?genre=article&id=doi:10.1080/15411790802344272
Bob Mishlove is an art teacher at Nathan R. Goldblatt Elementary School in Area 7 on Chicago’s west side, and is a member of a city curriculum (CAPE). CAPE offered six teachers to work with visiting artists and to exhibit their work at one of Chicago’s highest art galleries. Bob chose to collaborate with one of his students, Wayne Strange, to create a photo instillation exploring the community surrounding Goldblatt Elementary School. The article is a conversation between Bob and Wayne about their experiences working together, including a collaborative artist statement, images of the installation, and the ways in which this experience has affected Bob’s curriculum. This article is important because it ties urban art education pedagogy with the surrounding community. It it crucial that students create their own learning experiences, and that art instructors facilitate these learning possibilities.
4.) Ross, Jerrold. (Jan-Feb 2005). Arts Education and the Newer Public Good. Heldref Publications: Washington DC, MD.
The federal financial support of the arts is declining, and the public’s knowledge of the importance of the arts is diminishing even faster. Ross argues that our anti-arts society has a direct influence on “teaching to the test” in current education, which is directly cutting imagination and creativity in learning and teaching. Moreover, Ross points out that schools’ “immagineless” curricula are hindering learning for the urban, “disadvantaged” youth. The article is very one-sided, but provides a lot of supporting arguments and facts. This article would hopefully make more school administrators, educators, and parents more aware of the affects “teaching to the test.” Educators would likely consider changing their curricula to incorporate the arts, imagination, and creativity.
5.) Hutzel, Karen. (2007). Reconstructing a Community, Reclaiming a Playground: A Participatory Action Research Study. National Art Education Association: Reston, VA.
URL: http://www.naea-reston.org/index.html
There are some art instructors who are heavily involved with the communities where they teach and provide methods of teaching that cater to the needs of the community, which broadens students’ perspectives on local art and culture. Hutzel conducts a study in her own community that examines participant’s perceptions the community of the West End neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio. The author is interested in how these perceptions shape community, art curriculum, and social change.
In the beginning of the study, participants were reluctant to work with an “outsider” of the African-American-based community, because in the past many had experienced white, middle class researchers making false promises and creating artificial hope in the community. Hutzel’s relationship to the West End community provided interesting tension in the beginning of the article.
Hutzel chose to focus on improving the community’s quality of life by creating an asset-based community art curriculum, as opposed to need-based approaches, which is important because it relies on the positive aspects of the community. The author held a service-learning pedagogy while working with adolescents of the community to create two public murals. Adolescents were required to dig into their personal experiences and perceptions to design their own portion of the mural. There are a few photographs of the mural in the article. Results from the study indicate that participants from the West End believe that their community has strong social bonds despite local violence and crime.
The article touches on important issues regarding art education, curriculum, community, and public art. It is necessary for art educators to examine the identities of urban youth and to create a curriculum that reaches students that live in low-income, minority, and violent communities. Urban art education should incorporate these realities into the curriculum as a way to make real connections between reality and education. Public art projects can give students the opportunity to change their existing environment in a positive way through art-making and community development. This article is a useful and inspirational tool for urban art teachers motivated to make a difference in the lives of their students.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
My Culture, My Pedagogy
When I begin to think about my culture I start by breaking down my heritage and family values. I come from a large, Catholic, Irish-American, English speaking family with six people in my immediate family including myself, my mom and dad, two sisters, and brother. My mom is the oldest of six, my dad is one of eight, and we are very close to all of my aunts, uncles, cousins, and second cousins. Family is a huge part of my culture because they are my foundation, my rock, and for my entire life both immediate and extended family gatherings and parties have been a top priority. My family and childhood is the largest part of my culture, which will affect my methods and beliefs of teaching.
For the past twenty years I have grown up in a suburban town that consists of mostly white, middle-upper class, Catholic people. I had everything as a child; many toys, TVs, video games, computers, plenty of art-making supplies, a nice yard with a swing set and a pool, a dog and a cat, and two-week summer vacations. Life was good. I grew up watching and owning many Disney movies, where there is always a happy ending. My plentiful supply of luxuries and optimistic outlook on life was not much different than the majority of the children my age growing up in Flemington, NJ.
In pre-school through kindergarten I loved to wear all my beautiful dresses, but when I reached the first grade I was “one of the boys.” I wore jeans and over-sized t-shirts and was very active. I loved to play sports, and was one of the few girls who would play kickball at recess instead of chatting with the girls on the playground. I grew out of that phase when I reached middle school as I became more interested in boys, but I continued to be actively involved in sports playing on the school’s competitive sports teams through high school.
Fortunately, the public school system in Flemington was strong, had many great teachers, a lot of school funding, and a positive learning environment. Because of my strong public school system I have received a great education, have always been successful in school, and have gone onto college to get a higher education. However, my “perfect” childhood and predominately white-peer education background left me accustomed to little diversity. Socially, this resulted in having mostly white friends, and rarely coming into contact with peers from a different culture and religion. My suburban, sheltered life has given me a blind eye to surrounding Americans and their ways of life. For example, I never thought about how the ESL students must feel growing up in Flemington full of rich, white kids. I did not consider the challenges students coming from poverty must face every day, and I could not imagine struggling schools with under funded programs, bad teachers, and students who come from poor families. My life has always been fairly easy when I compare it to some lives others have.
My parents always said that I could be anything that I wanted to be. I have always held high expectations for myself, especially in school, because I come from a highly educated family. I was taught to never be racist towards people of different cultures, but, to be honest, I have held stereotypes towards the uneducated. I believed that education holds power and a higher-class statue, and, in the past, I have viewed others who are not educated as unequal. While I still believe people with an education have a leg up on others who do not, I believe that the uneducated can still do well if given a chance. My partner of six years, Carl, did not attend college similar to his parents. Despite not having an education, he and his parents lead happy lives and hold steady jobs. Carl is in a local trade program to become an electrician, which is the best road for him to travel because he is following his passions and talents of working with his hands and with people. With the help of a positive role model, I believe that regardless of class, race, religion, and gender one can find a positive direction in life and succeed.
I am fortunate to have had positive role models to guide me through my life thus far. I am unsure where religion fits into my life as far as its influences on me. As a child, my family attended mass most Sunday’s, my siblings and I went to CCD after school, and we have all been baptized, received our first communion, and have been confirmed. I would not consider myself to be a religious person, and in fact the only time I attend church is during some holidays with my family. However, I do appreciate faith and the people who regularly attend mass. My grandmother, Nanny, went to church every day after my grandfather passed away and while she was fighting cancer. When I spent weekends with Nanny I looked forward to going to mass with her because I felt that I was a part of her life that gave her hope and made her strong enough to fight the evil disease. Nanny was a hero in my life who encouraged my artistic talents and inspired me to be a kind person like she was. Currently, religion is not a large part of my life, but I appreciate and accept people who make it part of theirs. I am open-minded to many different kinds of beliefs and faiths, and I do not judge people with religions different than the one I was raised in.
I plan to connect with my students by sharing my culture and personal experiences with them, and asking them to use their culture and interests to create meaningful art. For example, I would share with my students that a big part of my culture and my artwork is music. Since I can remember, all family parties had music playing in the background, and on many occasions we had sing-alongs, karaoke, and instrument playing. Into my college years I became more fascinated with music; I attended many music concerts and road tripped to festivals with cousins, family members, and Carl, and I brought the positive feeling of music into my art. The body of work that I produced over my senior year of undergraduate school was the theme of “painting the music.” I believe that my students will find something positive that they can connect to in their lives and bring it into their art.
From my learning experience, I understand that the process is as important if not more important than the final product in all subjects, but especially in art. For example, as a student, play and experimentation combined with teacher guidance helped me learn the different consistencies of clay, how to manipulate it, and what to do so that my piece would survive the kiln. I was fortunate to attend elementary and secondary schools that had the equipment to make clay art and fire them in a kiln. Teachers from other cultures may use different strategies to motivate students in the art room. For example, an African American teacher who grew up in the same urban community as she/he is teaching will use his/her personal experiences of growing up in the city to relate to the students. This teacher will make immediate connections with the students because she/he understands what it is like to be in the students’ shoes. Perhaps the African American teacher would use examples of artwork and history from the city that both the urban students and teacher are familiar with. It is important to keep in mind that one’s own culture will affect their teaching and students differently, but teachers with different backgrounds can achieve the same common goal.
My existing beliefs of open-mindedness and individuality will carry into my art classroom. Because I grew up with people from similar cultures, I am interested in learning about the different cultures in an urban classroom and gearing my lessons toward my students’ variety of backgrounds and beliefs. Art is a language where my students will be free to express and explore their culture, identity, beliefs, and emotions.
For the past twenty years I have grown up in a suburban town that consists of mostly white, middle-upper class, Catholic people. I had everything as a child; many toys, TVs, video games, computers, plenty of art-making supplies, a nice yard with a swing set and a pool, a dog and a cat, and two-week summer vacations. Life was good. I grew up watching and owning many Disney movies, where there is always a happy ending. My plentiful supply of luxuries and optimistic outlook on life was not much different than the majority of the children my age growing up in Flemington, NJ.
In pre-school through kindergarten I loved to wear all my beautiful dresses, but when I reached the first grade I was “one of the boys.” I wore jeans and over-sized t-shirts and was very active. I loved to play sports, and was one of the few girls who would play kickball at recess instead of chatting with the girls on the playground. I grew out of that phase when I reached middle school as I became more interested in boys, but I continued to be actively involved in sports playing on the school’s competitive sports teams through high school.
Fortunately, the public school system in Flemington was strong, had many great teachers, a lot of school funding, and a positive learning environment. Because of my strong public school system I have received a great education, have always been successful in school, and have gone onto college to get a higher education. However, my “perfect” childhood and predominately white-peer education background left me accustomed to little diversity. Socially, this resulted in having mostly white friends, and rarely coming into contact with peers from a different culture and religion. My suburban, sheltered life has given me a blind eye to surrounding Americans and their ways of life. For example, I never thought about how the ESL students must feel growing up in Flemington full of rich, white kids. I did not consider the challenges students coming from poverty must face every day, and I could not imagine struggling schools with under funded programs, bad teachers, and students who come from poor families. My life has always been fairly easy when I compare it to some lives others have.
My parents always said that I could be anything that I wanted to be. I have always held high expectations for myself, especially in school, because I come from a highly educated family. I was taught to never be racist towards people of different cultures, but, to be honest, I have held stereotypes towards the uneducated. I believed that education holds power and a higher-class statue, and, in the past, I have viewed others who are not educated as unequal. While I still believe people with an education have a leg up on others who do not, I believe that the uneducated can still do well if given a chance. My partner of six years, Carl, did not attend college similar to his parents. Despite not having an education, he and his parents lead happy lives and hold steady jobs. Carl is in a local trade program to become an electrician, which is the best road for him to travel because he is following his passions and talents of working with his hands and with people. With the help of a positive role model, I believe that regardless of class, race, religion, and gender one can find a positive direction in life and succeed.
I am fortunate to have had positive role models to guide me through my life thus far. I am unsure where religion fits into my life as far as its influences on me. As a child, my family attended mass most Sunday’s, my siblings and I went to CCD after school, and we have all been baptized, received our first communion, and have been confirmed. I would not consider myself to be a religious person, and in fact the only time I attend church is during some holidays with my family. However, I do appreciate faith and the people who regularly attend mass. My grandmother, Nanny, went to church every day after my grandfather passed away and while she was fighting cancer. When I spent weekends with Nanny I looked forward to going to mass with her because I felt that I was a part of her life that gave her hope and made her strong enough to fight the evil disease. Nanny was a hero in my life who encouraged my artistic talents and inspired me to be a kind person like she was. Currently, religion is not a large part of my life, but I appreciate and accept people who make it part of theirs. I am open-minded to many different kinds of beliefs and faiths, and I do not judge people with religions different than the one I was raised in.
I plan to connect with my students by sharing my culture and personal experiences with them, and asking them to use their culture and interests to create meaningful art. For example, I would share with my students that a big part of my culture and my artwork is music. Since I can remember, all family parties had music playing in the background, and on many occasions we had sing-alongs, karaoke, and instrument playing. Into my college years I became more fascinated with music; I attended many music concerts and road tripped to festivals with cousins, family members, and Carl, and I brought the positive feeling of music into my art. The body of work that I produced over my senior year of undergraduate school was the theme of “painting the music.” I believe that my students will find something positive that they can connect to in their lives and bring it into their art.
From my learning experience, I understand that the process is as important if not more important than the final product in all subjects, but especially in art. For example, as a student, play and experimentation combined with teacher guidance helped me learn the different consistencies of clay, how to manipulate it, and what to do so that my piece would survive the kiln. I was fortunate to attend elementary and secondary schools that had the equipment to make clay art and fire them in a kiln. Teachers from other cultures may use different strategies to motivate students in the art room. For example, an African American teacher who grew up in the same urban community as she/he is teaching will use his/her personal experiences of growing up in the city to relate to the students. This teacher will make immediate connections with the students because she/he understands what it is like to be in the students’ shoes. Perhaps the African American teacher would use examples of artwork and history from the city that both the urban students and teacher are familiar with. It is important to keep in mind that one’s own culture will affect their teaching and students differently, but teachers with different backgrounds can achieve the same common goal.
My existing beliefs of open-mindedness and individuality will carry into my art classroom. Because I grew up with people from similar cultures, I am interested in learning about the different cultures in an urban classroom and gearing my lessons toward my students’ variety of backgrounds and beliefs. Art is a language where my students will be free to express and explore their culture, identity, beliefs, and emotions.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)