Reflection Week #2 - Visual Arts

What? 

This week I learned about the different aspects of visual art: shape, space, color, value, line and texture. In class I was able to experiment with all of the aspects, and experience them first hand through various mediums.  In the textbook one of the things covered was ten building blocks of art integration, and how they related to visual arts. The first two building blocks focused on why it is important to integrate and discussed the skills I would need to teach it. The rest of the blocks provided ways for me as a teacher to integrate it into the classroom. One specific part of the reading that really fascinated me was the snapshot that talked about how a teacher introduced a unit on fantasy. I loved how he slowly revealed the painting and had the students discuss the painting with each other. As I read through chapters it amazes me how many various ways there are to integrate art into the classroom, and it makes me wonder why it isn't done more often.

So What?

As a future teacher, learning about visual arts and how simple it is to integrate them into everyday learning has made me want to continually search for ways they can be used in conjunction with the curriculum. The things that I remember most from elementary school are the times we did art projects. There are only a few however that I recall going along with what we were learning. 

I never thought that I was "good" at art, and that is probably because I was taught to imitate not create. There was always a sample of what I was supposed to produce, and mine never looked just right. I loved the suggestion in the book to encourage students to try. I am sure that in the classroom I will hear the saying "I'm not good at art," especially since I even heard it in our class while we were completing the various elements of art projects.

Now What?

In order to effectively prepare to teach my students in the future I will keep all of the ideas that I am discovering in an area that is easily accessed like a Google Doc or an art journal. I don't want the time I spend in this course, and the things I learn to be forgotten. I never realized how easy it is to integrate art into the classroom until I read the textbook. It amazed me how many places there were that art could be used as an aid. I had not considered it an effective tool for assessment until I realized that both drawing a picture and writing a paragraph were just different ways of showing what you know. Our students are brilliant, but they are smart in different ways. Art is one of those areas that students may excel in if we let them.

When I teach art something I will make sure to stress is that it shouldn't look the same. Art is a form of expression and no two people express things in the same way. There is no "good" art and "bad" art, just art. I want my students to feel free expressing themselves through the medium of art. I know what it felt like to feel like my art had to be perfect, and I don't want my students feeling those same pressures.