Writing Reflection: Teaching Philosophy Brainstorm

1. 3 specific ways that the arts help to engage learning:

1. Learning to have an exploratory mind (being able to grasp artistic and understand)
2. Taking things out of context and putting it in a new context (generating new ideas)
3. Execution ( making ideas come to life)

2. Best purpose for education (structured institution)

The best purpose for education is for personal enrichment and self-enlightenment by gaining new knowledge. Education helps the individual know how the world around him works, learn multiple subjects, and to be able to function well in society. Individuals experience different environments and opportunities; they learn how to interact with a diverse community and expand their minds. Education provides people with a well rounded understanding of a global society and how they can successfully contribute.

3. Best purpose for art education

The best purpose for art education is to strengthen their observation skills to understand the world around them. Those who have an art education are more willing to take risks and solve problems from different perspectives. Being creative is not only for the visual arts but also applies to the work force and the world. Individuals that have strong critical thinking and imaginative skills are more likely to envision the answers to future dilemmas that will occur in our global society.

4. Three authors/ scholars

1. Maxine Greene author of “Releasing the Imagination: Essays on Education, the Arts and Social Change”
2. Abraham Harold Maslow. American Psychologist. “Hierarchy of Human Needs”
3. Elliot Eisner. “ The Studio Thinking Framework: Three Structures”

Research Paper Continued

Works Cited

 

Eisner, Elliot. The Studio Thinking Framework: Three Structures. The President            

            and Fellows of Harvard College on Behalf of Project Zero: (2004) 97.

“Girls Incorporated of Alameda County.” 30 March 2009.

            alameda.org/>.

Glazer, Nathan. We are all Multiculturalists Now. The President and Fellows of

            Harvard College (1997): 8-11.

Gollnick, Donna M. and Chinn, Philip C. “Multicultural Education for

            Exceptional Children. ERIC Digest #E498.” Nameorg.org. 2003-

            2005. 30 March 2009.

            htm>.

Greene, Maxine. Releasing the Imagination: Essays on Education, the Arts, and

            Social Change. John Wiley & Sons, Inc (1995) 13.

“Oakland Unified Test Scores.” Zillow.com. 2007. 30 March 2009.

.

Thompson, Susan. Telephone Interview. Retired art instructor from Merced High

            School. 29 March 2009.

Winner, Ellen. “Art for our Sake: School arts classes matter more than ever but

            not for the reasons you think.” Boston.com. 2 September 2007. 30 March

            2009  art_for_our_sake/>.

 

Research Paper Continued

            There are many programs that support the call for help in elementary schools in East Oakland, I will explore an after school program that I have been hired to teach art and build literacy skills this spring semester.

 

The Girls Incorporated of Alameda County is a nonprofit organization with a mission to inspire all girls to be strong smart and bold. Girls Inc. offers academic enrichment activities, skill building programs, and counseling services to girls and their families. Most importantly, Girls Inc. encourages girls to attend college and build future careers (Girls Incorporated of Alameda County).

 

I am involved in their GIRLStart daily after school literacy program that teaches girls from first to third grade. Girls are specifically chosen to be in this program due to having weak reading and writing skills or have a below reading grade level. Many girls that attend GIRLStart speak another language, live with parents with a high school degree or lower, or come from low-income families.

My job is to build confidence, spark their imagination, and invent self-identity

through written language and craft. The arts and multicultural education go hand in hand in many projects and assignments that they have done. For black history month, the girls created African masks and performed an African tale on stage for their parents. To celebrate Cesar Chavez’s birthday, the girls traveled in three classrooms that each had an activity. The first classroom had a read aloud, in which an instructor read the history of Cesar Chavez. In the second classroom, the girls learned about Mexican culture and food. Last, the girls participated in a collaborative mural project (they painted a scene of Cesar Chavez). Overall, the girls had a broad understanding and experience of teamwork, diversity, culture, celebrating achievements, and the creative process.

 The significance of the role and impact that educators have one their students is remarkable. Knowledge is not the only element that longs to be practiced and discovered; relationships among teachers and students are profound. There should be a learning mechanism in the classroom where knowledge bounces off from the instructor to the students and visa versa. I interviewed my retired high school art instructor and asked about her views and experiences of art playing an important role in multicultural education.

 

            “I had the most wonderful experience as an after school program Art instructor. I had to teach a Hmong (Southeast Asian) class. Even though they couldn’t speak English, I realized that art is a universal language and that teaching this class was very possible. They valued education and wanted to improve their English. Instead of making fun of each other, they were into peer support. They didn’t know their alphabet, so I would teach them something in addition to art in their assignments. For example, we would talk about shapes, draw the shapes, and then have an art project around that. I would set up the ABC’s in capital, lowercase, and cursive letters. They would do a calligraphy project around that. Some are graduating this year and are big success stories, as they will continue their education in public and state universities.

In my regular classrooms, I teach art with historical references. I expose my students to Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, European painters, Japanese printmaking, African masks, and texture assignments for Hmong kids. I love it when I am able to connect my students to these artists because of culture similarities and backgrounds. Every nine weeks I change the seating arrangements, in case a student has never befriended another student of a different culture or background.

Whenever I make an assignment about them, they enjoy it more. The world is all about them. If you hook kids with what they are familiar with, you can inspire them and explore that” (Susan Thompson, retired art educator).

 

Sue Thompson is an excellent example of a teacher that is “being asked to treat their students as potential active learners who can best learn if they are faced with real tasks and if they discover models of craftsmanship and honest work” (13). Students thrive when they feel safe and loved, that is why the importance of attentiveness and sensitivity to their culture and family background is needed from their educators.              

Multicultural education is the answer to the questions of, who am I and where do I belong? The objective is finding self-awareness and understanding the nature of other human beings from all over the globe. Teaching students from a global perspective will enrich their education and lives. As they are exposed to more cultural differences, pupils are prone to be more open and have a broad understanding of the world around them. “For students living in a rapidly changing world, the arts teach vital modes of seeing, imagining, inventing and thinking. [They] are the ones likely to come up with the novel answers needed most for the future” (Winner). Art as an active tool in multicultural education is seeing the world as a whole instead of broken pieces of puzzle; the future is waiting for a society cultivated with multiculturalists.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Research Paper Continued

            There are many programs that support the call for help in elementary schools in East Oakland, I will explore an after school program that I have been hired to teach art and build literacy skills this spring semester.

 

The Girls Incorporated of Alameda County is a nonprofit organization with a mission to inspire all girls to be strong smart and bold. Girls Inc. offers academic enrichment activities, skill building programs, and counseling services to girls and their families. Most importantly, Girls Inc. encourages girls to attend college and build future careers (Girls Incorporated of Alameda County).

 

I am involved in their GIRLStart daily after school literacy program that teaches girls from first to third grade. Girls are specifically chosen to be in this program due to having weak reading and writing skills or have a below reading grade level. Many girls that attend GIRLStart speak another language, live with parents with a high school degree or lower, or come from low-income families.

My job is to build confidence, spark their imagination, and invent self-identity

through written language and craft. The arts and multicultural education go hand in hand in many projects and assignments that they have done. For black history month, the girls created African masks and performed an African tale on stage for their parents. To celebrate Cesar Chavez’s birthday, the girls traveled in three classrooms that each had an activity. The first classroom had a read aloud, in which an instructor read the history of Cesar Chavez. In the second classroom, the girls learned about Mexican culture and food. Last, the girls participated in a collaborative mural project (they painted a scene of Cesar Chavez). Overall, the girls had a broad understanding and experience of teamwork, diversity, culture, celebrating achievements, and the creative process.

 The significance of the role and impact that educators have one their students is remarkable. Knowledge is not the only element that longs to be practiced and discovered; relationships among teachers and students are profound. There should be a learning mechanism in the classroom where knowledge bounces off from the instructor to the students and visa versa. I interviewed my retired high school art instructor and asked about her views and experiences of art playing an important role in multicultural education.

 

            “I had the most wonderful experience as an after school program Art instructor. I had to teach a Hmong (Southeast Asian) class. Even though they couldn’t speak English, I realized that art is a universal language and that teaching this class was very possible. They valued education and wanted to improve their English. Instead of making fun of each other, they were into peer support. They didn’t know their alphabet, so I would teach them something in addition to art in their assignments. For example, we would talk about shapes, draw the shapes, and then have an art project around that. I would set up the ABC’s in capital, lowercase, and cursive letters. They would do a calligraphy project around that. Some are graduating this year and are big success stories, as they will continue their education in public and state universities.

In my regular classrooms, I teach art with historical references. I expose my students to Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, European painters, Japanese printmaking, African masks, and texture assignments for Hmong kids. I love it when I am able to connect my students to these artists because of culture similarities and backgrounds. Every nine weeks I change the seating arrangements, in case a student has never befriended another student of a different culture or background.

Whenever I make an assignment about them, they enjoy it more. The world is all about them. If you hook kids with what they are familiar with, you can inspire them and explore that” (Susan Thompson, retired art educator).

 

Sue Thompson is an excellent example of a teacher that is “being asked to treat their students as potential active learners who can best learn if they are faced with real tasks and if they discover models of craftsmanship and honest work” (13). Students thrive when they feel safe and loved, that is why the importance of attentiveness and sensitivity to their culture and family background is needed from their educators.              

Multicultural education is the answer to the questions of, who am I and where do I belong? The objective is finding self-awareness and understanding the nature of other human beings from all over the globe. Teaching students from a global perspective will enrich their education and lives. As they are exposed to more cultural differences, pupils are prone to be more open and have a broad understanding of the world around them. “For students living in a rapidly changing world, the arts teach vital modes of seeing, imagining, inventing and thinking. [They] are the ones likely to come up with the novel answers needed most for the future” (Winner). Art as an active tool in multicultural education is seeing the world as a whole instead of broken pieces of puzzle; the future is waiting for a society cultivated with multiculturalists.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Research Paper Continued

Art can be implemented in a multicultural curriculum as an essential tool. How does art function as an educational tool? Art making is a new way of thinking, to have an exploratory mind. Learners take things out of context and put it in a new context. Educators cannot simply explain to their students how the world around them is in black and white (that the memorization of text is the initial goal in their education). As students undergo the creative process, they begin to develop their own understanding of their surroundings by strengthening their observation skills. Educators encourage their pupils to take risks, make mistakes, and problem solve by experimenting and frequently asking questions.  What happens when I draw this line? What colors shall I apply? Are there any shapes to add? Should I add another material? What is my purpose? How does this reflect the world and I?

The teachings and the process of creating art can be broken down into categories.

Elliot Eisner identifies eight different aims for art education such as: creative problem solving, arts education as preparation for the world of work, using the arts to promote academic performance, and integrated arts. Creative problem solving encourages students to think outside the box and approach problems in a nontraditional manner. Arts education as preparation for the world of work is the idea that the arts develop skills, attitudes, help students how to collaborate, communicate, and plan in a workplace. Using the arts to promote academic performance is enhancing one’s performance in traditionally valued disciplines such as reading, writing, and arithmetic. Researchers recognize rewarding connections between students’ academic achievements and the art classes they attend. Integrated-arts are the educational experience by viewing a subject through an artistic lens and include a multidisciplinary approach to education that helps students to leverage understanding across disciplines (97). By even applying a few of Eisner’s aims to multicultural education, the results of well-rounded students in cognitive and social development will be discovered.

            There is a call for help regarding the education in the urban community of East Oakland. Known as the largest part of Oakland, East Oakland is dominated by African American, Latino, and Southeast Asian communities consumed with high crime, violence, and drug activity. The socioeconomics have been in decline as families fall out of their jobs and suffer poverty. According to the Oakland Unified test scores, students from 2^nd through 5^th grade scored less than 71 (below the elementary level) on the CAT/6 and CST in 2007. For example, the CST results of the 5^th grade scored: 35.0 in Oakland Unified English Language Arts, 44.0 in CA English Language Arts, 41.0 in Oakland Unified Math, and 49 in CA Math in 2007 (Oakland Unified Test Scores). The portrait of the elementary schools in East Oakland is yearning for attention and restructure. There is a need for change in their education system. The role of art in a multicultural education is the plan of action.

            Why begin with elementary schools? Youth is the ultimate target because children absorb the most information in their adolescence. If children do not develop a good foundation of knowledge in literary, mathematical, and creative skills in the prime of their youth, how will these children carry on as young adults while they progress to higher levels of education? How is success guaranteed in the future, if a child has stumbled on every subject from the past? The urgency to help the future of America is educating the youth with art as an active tool in a multicultural education; a seed needs to be well nourished in order for the seed to bloom beautifully.

            

 

Research Paper

The Hunger for Art and Multiculturalism in Classrooms

 

What is being seen as society observes the majority of classrooms today? Colors. The variations of colors that permeate through the skin. From satin, peach pearl, to different values of earth tones, and rich chocolate coat these human beings with potential. These human beings are titled students, who are active participants in education and successful future contributors of society.

            Students that dominate the classrooms reflect their own culture and background. Each face is a mirror image of their heritage. As these students savor their history, they feed society with cultural knowledge to have a better understanding of the world. What better way to assert cultural knowledge and human understanding than in a classroom? This is the practice of multicultural education, an aim to create equal educational opportunities from diverse social, economic, and racial backgrounds. Therefore, educators have responsibilities to attain and execute historical studies, concepts, and challenges to their students. This is an immense task to follow through in an urban community as they suffer social economics and the decline of test scores. How do educators trigger their students’ imagination and teach problem solving? The answer is though the creative process. In essence, the arts are a vital tool in a multicultural education practiced in elementary schools.

            Multicultural education has been redefined throughout the decades and is reaching a new light. According to James Banks, the most prolific writer of textbooks for teachers on multiculturalism used the term “multiethnic” education until 1986. Earlier there was “cultural pluralism” and “intercultural education” in which cultures of immigrant and minority groups was treated (8). The mission of a multicultural education is to have students acquire the knowledge and skills in interacting with a diverse and ever changing community. Even today, lesbian, gay, and women studies are making a big impact. Multicultural education promotes America as a melting pot instead of a salad bowl, in which minorities maintain their own characteristics.

           

The term multiculturalism becomes a new image of a better America, without prejudice and discrimination, in which no cultural theme linked to any racial or ethnic and complex intermingling of themes from every minority ethnic and racial group, and from indeed the whole world (11).

           

Gollnick and Chinn addresses the proposes of a multicultural education and how it is essential to learning through self-concept by understanding a low degree of stereotypical thinking (including cultural groups from all over the world), the ability to perceive cultural and national interpretations perspectives on events, values, behaviors, taking pride in oneself, and respecting all people (Gollnick and Chinn). There is a hunger for self-identity though self-discovery in multicultural education. The question of how the methodology of multiculturalism is going to be successfully practiced is in a new category of its own.

Art as Experience, The Live Creature

As I was reading this article these words stood out to me:

COMMUNITY

CULTURE

THE PRACTICE OF LIVING

Quote from the article:

"Direct experience comes from nature and man interacting with each other. In this interaction, human energy gathers, is released, dammed up, frustrated and victorious. There are rhythmic beats of want and fulfillment, pulses of doing and being withheld from doing."

This quote explains how experience is essential to our creative practice. Experience with our environment and other human beings makes our work vital and practical to the world.

This quote pertains to how I think of my creative practice through community arts. As a community arts major, I have learned that my work is produced by the community that I am working with. There is no question of what can be produced by 'the self' but by 'the whole.' Before working with a community, I must investigate their culture and history.

As a community artist, my goal is to inspire and teach the community. Therefore, the experience and interaction with others is art itself. The art lives though the connectivity of learning and teaching among the community.

FOOD AS A COMMUNITY ART

A human being (like many other living beings), food is the essential source of survival. When I think of a man interacting with nature, I think of man satisfying his stomach. From a single dish, we can learn the history, culture, and place of origin of that particular dish. Food and community can be art through the experience of taste, learning, and teaching.