Chapter 1: Introduction to Art Education.

After reading, one of the biggest concepts I valued was the idea that art education is more than just teaching children how to draw, paint, or make things look good. When developing education in todays world, art has shifted in favor towards visual culture. In short, visual culture captures the idea of popular arts intermixing with fine arts. It is a concept that has exploded after the Covid-19 pandemic. Considering my years of coaching experience before, during, and after the Covid-19 time period, I personally got to watch this shift happen in real time. I see how students are surrounded by technology, media, advertisements, video games, and many other forms of visual communication. A lot of this technology is enforced by school districts, companies, and their effects often go completely unnoticed by the students and staff that integrate them. Taking in to consideration my plan of becoming an art educator, I not only plan to use this information to make students aware of visual arts and their effects, but use the current visual media of that time to demonstrate how they can use it to communicate a message.

A big point this chapter hit home talked about making and viewing art. The process of viewing has so much effect on a students ability to visualize. A key principal of learning that I have discovered comes from the power of observable relevance. Students tend to learn and apply things quicker when you are able to associate things they have already experienced or observed. Though this is great, the issue is not so much the creative ideas they come up with, its the transition into making it. This is a much more complicated process for students as they have to analyze, reflect, make decisions, and problem solve. These skills are often stumped by a multitude of internal and external distractions. In my own personal experience as an art student in a home that didn’t support much autonomy, I found things like reflections especially difficult. Students connection between artistic development and identity can help take situations similar my own experience and bring a sense of control to a student’s life. Developing their identities through their visual experiences and the things they choose to create, wear, watch, and interact with allows them to contribute even more to their visualization process. Because of this connection, every student brings different experiences, cultures, interests, and perspectives into the classroom. Instead of trying to make every student produce the exact same outcome, encouraging them to implement something personal to them, whether it be something they like, don’t like, or wish to try can sustain a much more proactive thought process and support students that may feel under represented in their environments.

The chapter also discusses the importance of teaching students in ways that work best for them. Students are more likely to learn when they have some responsibility for their own education and when the content feels relevant to their lives. This made me think about how easy it would be for an art classroom to become repetitive if every student is expected to follow the exact same instructions and create the exact same project. Although structure and progression is necessary, allowing students to make personal decisions can allow for a more inviting and safe environment leading to more . The teacher still provides guidance and establishes the problem, but students have room to determine how they will approach it.

A more relevant topic discussed in this chapter involved media, technology, and context. The chapter explains that the materials and technologies artists use can influence the way their ideas are expressed. This is especially relevant today because students interact with digital images and technology constantly. The authors also emphasize that images cannot always be understood without considering their context. Where, when, why, and by whom something was created can completely change the way it is interpreted. This means students should not simply be taught to look at an artwork and decide whether they like it. They should be encouraged to ask questions about its purpose, meaning, cultural background, and influence.

Arguably, the most important information provided from this chapter was critical reflection. Students should begin developing critical thinking skills at an early age . This is important due to its relation with understanding. You can teach someone all day long, but if they don’t understand, you are likely hurting them more than helping. Visual images can communicate powerful ideas and influence behavior; especially in classroom settings. I personally want students to understand that they have control over how they respond to the images around them. Having that level of autonomy can allow students to have a much stronger voice in topics or situations that involve them.

Overall, Chapter 1 reinforced the way I think about the purpose of elementary art education. Art class is just as important along with other subjects. there is a reason it was called STEAM before STEM. It can be a place where students learn how to think, analyze, communicate, and understand themselves and the world around them. Focus on visual culture and how it can affect one’s decisions also makes it clear that art education needs to change alongside the students it serves. As technology, culture, and visual media continue to evolve, teachers have to be willing to evolve with them. I believe this approach could help me create a classroom where students are not only learning how to make art, but also learning how to understand and question the visual world they are growing up in.