12th post

Paula Kluth's article "It Was Always the Pictures" is an article describing how students with learning disabilities and autism can benefit from visual representations. In past studies, it has shown that visual representations can help reinforce difficult subject material or can help students who are struggling to learn the material to begin with. In my opinion, all students could benefit from visual representations, not just students who appear to be struggling.

In the article, five types of visual representations are discussed: graphic organizers, picture books, fascination-focused materials, graphic notes, and story kits. Not only will this help reinforce student's learning, but it will making learning much more enjoyable. Back in elementary and high school my favorite classes were the ones that were not just reading or text-book based. One example of visual learning that took place in one of my college classes this year was taking the time in and out of class to read children's picture books to better understand how different races and persons with disabilities are represented to children.

10th post

Growing up, I was in what was called a "multiaged" school, which means it was a school where students have teachers for two years. The classes were divided in to K-1, 2-3, and 4-5. The first grading that appeared in my elementary school was in the 4-5 classes, but individual letter grades were not given; instead, all the teachers used rubrics. The articles for this reading reminded me that these rubrics were used not just to measure achievement, but also the accumulated knowledge and thought process that went along with it.

However, what the articles mention that I never experienced was the suggestion that teachers should ask their students what the objectives of the lesson should be. That way, both teacher and students have an understanding of what is supposed to be gotten out of the lesson. I think this would have been especially helpful in my science lessons, because I often found that I was given a large mass of knowledge and couldn't always pick out what was the purpose of it all. Obviously, this can be applied to all subjects of a child's learning, not just art and science.

Extra Credit Post

For my extra credit in this class, Angie and I went last weekend to the Schafer Art Building. Once inside, we found a bunch of student-generated artwork. It lined an entire wall of the building. What was so interesting about the student's work was that there didn't seem to be any theme in the sense that some of the work was much more abstract than others.

I took some pictures at the building, one of which was a painting of a woman by Kristin Lubsen. I liked this painting because the woman had a crazy expression on her face, but I also liked the stark contrast of colors used in the choice of paint. The other painting that I liked was an abstract painting by Matthew Relyea. This painting I simply liked because it seemed to have a cheerful presence. I attached both pictures.

9th post

Having looked at the Romare Bearden website, I would like to start out by saying that I am not very technologically savey, and I had some difficulty navigating this website in particular. Anyway, I had never heard of Bearden before I saw this website. What I find so fascinating about his artwork is that it incorporates photographs with intricate and colorful pictures. I think it takes average everyday objects and people and turn it into unique assemblages.

Something that I think is great about the website is that it has interactive activities for children. For example, they have one of Bearden's work of art displayed, and it has an activity attached where they ask young children to pick out the shapes in the artwork. Another activity online is the "artwork timeline", where students and young children can view a timeline of when famous works of art were created. I think this is a great idea for a website because it introduces kids into art that otherwise might not have been that interested in it.

8th post

Even before I read this blog, I was familiar with who Gene Yang was. This semester I am taking ETS 182, which is Asian American Literature. On one of the first days my professor showed us one of Gene Yang's graphic novels call "American Born Chinese" (pictured on right). I loved reading the graphic novel in class because everyone in the class got to act out a different character, but at the same time we were learning about outright as well as subliminal racism.

"American Born Chinese" is about a Euro-American boy named Danny who has his Chinese cousin come to live with him. The story is very funny, incorporating Chinese stereotypes like knowledge of kung-foo, cat eating, and incorrect usage of l's and r's cover every page. In my opinion, Yang incorporated these stereotypes to draw direct attention to the problems and misconceptions many Americans have about Asians. I think he accomplishes his goal very well because he addresses a pressing issue in a fun and educational way that can be read by all ages

7th post

I have never had a real introduction into Islamic art because no one has ever taught it to me. I agree when the article says that since September 11, 2001, our country has had a complete fear of Islam without really knowing anything about it. I believe it is for this reason that most schools do no incorporate Islamic art into their curriculum (even though it is based off of many geometric shapes and could be useful for teaching). Having read the articles, one of the most interesting aspects of Islamic art in my opinion is their use of intricate calligraphy to express words like love and honesty which are strong values in their religion.

In the first  article they mention that learning about cultural forms of art can "be starting points for interdisiplinary investigations leading students to exploration of history, social studies, geography, and culture". This is what every teacher should strive for with their students, a more holistic education. Giving these students a more holistic education will allow them to make connections and potentially learn material easier and more in depth.

6th post

I really liked this article because this style of drawing did not represent a romantic style, but rather a comical purpose of drawing. When I looked at Rube Goldberg's website, I loved his style because they were like concise comics. What I thought was interesting about Thomas Oakley's article was that it was almost the opposite of what regular teachers do when it comes to art. Most teachers only do art when they use it to solidify other subjects being taught in class, those deemed to be "more important" like math or science. However, Oakley is using regular subjects to have students perfect their methods of drawing.

Of all of the examples online, my favorite drawing by Goldberg is "Safety Device for Walking on Icy Pavements" (its the picture that I included on this blog). I think it is so funny because it has so many random aspects to it. The dog seems quite content while the man slipping is clearly in a state of distress. Also, I think it is quite comical that the pillow being dropped will clearly not be sufficient for the man because he is going to land on his butt way in front of the pillow.