3rd post

In Lorrie Blair's article, she claims that "tattoos reflect hopes, values, or beliefs and acts as vehicles to communicate those beliefs to others". Everyone who gets a tattoo gets it to make themselves stand out from others around them. What is somewhat unwise about getting tattoos is that many of these people getting tattoos (to represent their individuality) are teenagers. And, later on in life, they may not want all of their qualities listed on their sleeves (literally). The article states that "the average age for the first tattoo is 14, with the majority of [the kids] obtaining them during grades seven and nine". I am almost positive that had I gotten a tattoo at age fourteen, even now I would not want the name of my past boyfriend, best friend, favorite animal of the time tattooed on my arm or elsewhere.

However, being Jewish I have had many discussions about the taboos of tattoos. My religion says that tattoos are forbidden, and also as the article mentioned tattoos were used to keep track of Jews in Nazi concentration camps. Many of the Jews that I know that are my parents age stayed completely away from them, but I find that many Jews my age have not just gotten one but multiple tattoos. Many get it for a purpose of resisting their parents wishes, but many of my friends get tattoos of Hebrew words or sayings. Also, many of my friends in Israel are big believers in tattoos.

2nd post

After reading Temple Grandin's  Autism- The Way I See It, I must say that I strongly agree with what she has to say. Firstly, Grandin relates the concept of multiple intelligences by relating it to one of her own life experiences. By giving her example ability to "test-run" machines in her mind (while her co-workers are unable to do so), she shows a true understanding that not everyone is programed to think and work like she does. Gradin goes on to mention in depth two other types of thinking, music/mathematical and verbal logic.

I also agree when Gradin says "parents and teachers should work on building the child's strengths and teach in a manner that is aligned". However, I do not believe that this solely applies to individuals with ASD. I think all students would benefit from having a teacher that purposely reaches out to inspire multiple intelligences. Creating a comfortable environment for students will make them more eager to learn and possibly even share their ideas. A perfect example of this was rooted in the film we watched in class today on Visual Thinking Strategies. The majority of the students were open and talked about the art with not just their peers but their teacher because the visual image stimulated questions. 

Question: how can you regularly test a student for understanding in a classroom if they clearly excel in visual imagery, rather than, say, logical think problems?

1st blog (January 18, 2009)

I have to admit that art did not play a significant role in most of my life. I has only been in the last year that I have thought about the importance of art (for more than one reason). Last semester of high school I had to take an art class in order to graduate. Since I always thought of myself as untalented, I was upset about my predicament. However, when I got the class it soon became my favorite due to the endless supply of materials our teacher gave us. We were allowed to create whatever we wanted as long as the assemblage included light. I soon found this class a calm, relaxing break from my otherwise hectic day. The end product amazed even me. I had always loved mosaics, so I tried to think of a similar way to include that concept into my project. My light fixture (pictured here) was an assemblage of different colored glass I cut and attached to the wire mesh. When a candle is placed inside and lit, the different colored glass refracts different colored light all over the room.

Another way art has influenced my life is that it has forever changed my perception of what young children are capable of. On my first day of working at SU Day Care, I was amazed to hear that the intricate mosaic on the front door was in fact created by the pre-schoolers there. I had no idea that with a little bit of guidance such young children were capable of sculpting, glazing, and assembling.