Are most public school students
...I have been teaching art for over 30 years in Chicago and know
that most students are "exposed" to the arts in school. They discard it
quickly in favor of IPods, drugs, Hip Hop, real estate, food, and
other
items sold by way of slick and powerful advertisements. By comparison
most art and artists are too boring to hold their attention or
fascination. ...
Comment from Turtel Onli
How did you react to the statement above? My reaction was strong and immediate. I
teach non-art majors all the time who went through public education
systems. I teach majors in Nursing, Criminal Justice, Biology,
Chemistry, Sociology, etc., and Art. Most say they had very little
or no art in high school. That could support Turtel's argument; do they just
forget? Were they so bored they didn't pay attention? My
two children went to public schools. They had better stuff at home,
too: TV's, computers, movies, games, etc., but they still learned from
art classes in their high schools, special magnet schools that teach materials some other schools don't. They went to Whitney Young and Walter Payton. I saw their artwork hanging up in their
classrooms at school when I volunteered and went for open house or
report card pick up They brought their portfolios home. They knew that much was expected of them in all classes. I
was also a student in public schools in Philadelphia and I know that
all teachers are not equally invested in their students or interesting as teachers. I had an art
teacher who did not teach me much of anything, but I
did not know that until got to college and realized what I did not
know! I do remember the lessons taught by the really good art teachers,
sometimes word-for-word.Those were the ones who treated each student as
an individual and tried to figure out your individual strengths and
weaknesses and worked with you on both. Here
is what I know about my students who are attending a public university
in Chicago; most of my students come from Chicago public schools.
Yes, they come with phones, and Ipods. It is my job to engage them, to
encourage them and to be an excellent teacher and to demand excellence
from them. Turtel is right. The
competition with personal technology is tough! But we have to compete!
The parents and guardians of students have to be invested in the
education of their students and understand that art, music and
performance should be included in a well-rounded education. I
have had too many students who have been told by their families NOT to
major in art because "you won't be able to support yourself". I have had
far too many students who think making art means an easy "A". I have
had far too many students who think making art means you can make anything, without thought, without criticism, without any guidelines for what is "good" or "bad". But then, they come to teachers to be educated and good teachers can change this kind of thinking. So I still get the impression that many of the students I teach were not taught well, or not taught art and music at all. We can't blame the students until we make sure teachers are doing our jobs to the best of our ability.And that schools offer curriculum that includes the arts! If my student's fail, then I have failed. Drawing by my son, Kyle F. Anderson
Painting-in-progress by my student, Carey McClarin "1st self portrait"
