Fostering a Positive Self-Identity

There are so many avenues of finding a positive sense of self-identity. As a teacher, it is important to always listen and pay attention to students. By doing these two things, a teacher will be more in tune with students and can make better decisions on how to work with them. Creating lessons that help students take a look at their idea of self-identity is also important. Most students like to create artwork that is connected to them or is about them.



It is so hard to find yourself, especially in middle and high school. Creating a positive environment for students is very important. The teachers that I confided in and trusted during these years were the ones that always listened and had an open classroom. By this I mean that they were there before and after school, truly cared about their students, and took the time to listen. They also took extra time to help students whom didn’t understand material. My point is that they were willing to go the extra mile to foster a positive self identity in their students. I believe that having an open classroom is very important. This to me means that it is controlled as well as laid back. It enables students to feel comfortable and more open to positive influences in their life and in the classroom. When students feel comfortable in their environment, they will be much more likely to succeed and develop a positive sense of self-identity.
Conducting your classroom in a way that enables students to feel good about their work and themselves is another key point. One cannot be happy if they are not happy with themselves. Acknowledging differences in students and viewing them as positive aspects of students is a way to do this. When students take pride in the things they do, they develop a positive sense of worth, which is part of their self-identity. There are many ways to help students foster a positive sense of self-identity, but it can be very specific to a particular student. Listening, paying attention, providing a comfortable and positive environment, and creating lesson plans that make students look at their identity can help students form positive self-identities.

Collaborate Art

I really like the idea of including the community in a project or creating artwork that will enhance the community's awareness of art. There are many different ideas that come to mind when I think of community collaboration and the arts. I would love to do at least one community wide project with my students per year.
One idea that I think would be great for the community is to have students create a sign that welcomes people to the town or to the school (depending on the size of a town). I had the opportunity to grow up in a small town that was very community oriented. We have a welcome sign to state the name of our town. For this project I would include other teachers and community members. Not all schools have a shop class, but if there was one at the school I was teaching in, I would collaborate with the teacher to work with students in building a sign. The sign could be made of metal or wood, depending on the resources and equipment. I would then have my students work together to create a sign that would be used at the entryway of the town/city. If this was not possible, I would strive to place it at the entrance to the school. This project would allow students to feel pleasure and pride in their community or school. It would also ensure that many people see the artwork and enhance their awareness of the art program at the school.

Another idea is to have students create stepping stones (with stained glass) that could be used in various areas around the town. I would like the stepping stones to be places in a park, but this would vary depending on what the community offers. My mother works with stained glass and I have done a few stepping stones. I could have my mother come in as a guest speaker and talk with students about stained glass. The materials would be hard to come by, especially with budget cuts, but I know many places that would donate broken glass. Companies would also be much more likely to donate to a community project for students. Cement can be mixed easily and I have all the other materials needed for this project, so it wouldn't be too hard to execute. I would invite members of the community to come help with the project and would have a sign posted by the stones in the park to let viewers know that students made the stones for the community.

27a

This photograph taken by Van Der Zee shows the Alpha Phi Alpha Basketball Team in 1926. Their motto was "Manly deeds, scholarship and love for all mankind." It shows the basketball players of the first intercollegiate African American fraternity. Although in uniform, the players are all clean cut and well dressed. The three men in the back, which I presume to be coaches, are also well dressed.






In opposition to the first photograph, the second shows a Native American Basketball team in 1909. The swastika on their jersey's evokes strong emotions, especially because of the Holocaust. The swastika, in reality, has a long history before the German's claimed it as their symbol. The swastika played as the mascot of the school. Despite the symbol, the boys in the photograph are not as well dressed as the boys in Van Der Zee's photograph. They also just have one coach, as opposed to the 3 shown in the other. The team is not all in unison and are not shown as prestigious.

Art Advocacy

To advocate arts in my school district I will collaborate with other teachers, make connections in the community with artists and others whom want to be involved and support the arts, display student work throughout the school, display student art throughout the community, encourage students to enter contests are participate in art fairs, hold an art show at my school, collaborate with other art teachers in my area, and simply encourage students to do their best, while watching them enjoy creating art. There are always going to be risks. With advocacy in a school district, a teacher should be careful not to be too overbearing and push students to the point of not enjoying art. A teacher should also strive to make good connections and work with others in a positive way, making sure that the arts are not looked down upon due to an argument or disapproving outsider.
Balancing the art of being an advocate and not over doing it is going to be smoother if one is careful and open to others. An art teacher needs to understand that not all people are going to want to be involved or support the arts. In this case, it should not be pushed further and the teacher should move on to a different way of reaching their goal. Making good, positive connections will be key to gaining support and advocating the arts to others. Having a positive attitude and a "can do" attitude will also be needed.

Art and the Community

Having a community based art curriculum would be good, but can be overdone if the entire curriculum is based around it. To have students create artwork that will be seen by the community is a great way to promote art, give students pride in their work, and allow the community to support the art department in a school. Having the community involved can be hard because some may think it is a waste of money, time, and effort. In any community, there will be those for and those against community based art. It would be the job of the teacher to find those who are interested in being involved in the curriculum. Many places would volunteer space to create art work. There are many ways to develop a community based art curriculum. Handling it the right way, making the right connections, and making learning first will enhance the success of community based artwork projects.

Experience that will help my future class

During my level II, I was working in an elementary setting. There was a student that could not walk without the aid of a walker. The student was accepted by his peers, but was not welcome to move around the room as the other students could. The classroom was not set up in a way that he could get to all supplies or simply just walk. As he tried to get to his assigned seat, he could not fit his walker between the two tables and I had to move one of the tables in order for him to sit down. While talking with him, it did not seem as though this issue upset him and he didn't talk about it. For him, he might have been used to it or he may have just learned to accept the obstacles he comes into contact with, but I was definitely upset about it.
The fact that this student could not even sit in his own seat, let alone move around the classroom seems ridiculous to me. This experience made me think about how I will set up my classroom. I will make sure that all students can move around the room, whether they have a walker, crutches, or anything else. I believe that the setup of a classroom can be easily overlooked, but this experience made me aware before I become a teacher and I will make sure that I make changes for all students and their mobilities.

Self and alter ego

My alter ego:
As family member is:
Not concerned, selfish, cautious, distant, dependent, secretive, anxious, deceptive, and lying.
I am not concerned about my family and I do what I want, regardless of what others want. I am not connected and keep secrets from my family. I do not care if I cause others pain.

As a student:
Inconsistent, secure, lazy, calm, self-centered, unmotivated, and nonchalant.
I do not care about my education or the effort which it entails. I remain calm, yet unmotivated.

As a teacher is:
Timid, shy, lazy, heartless, arrogant, serious, dull, selfish, and unmotivated, deceptive.
I am not concerned about my students and am not motivated to start to care. I deceive to get ahead and am not concerned about how I obtain my goals, as long as I reach them.

As an artist is:
Deceitful, has a strong faith, arrogant, passive, progressive, not enthusiastic, quiet, selfish, self conscious, and egotistical. I do not care about what others think of me and am very confident with my art work. I have a strong faith and base my art around it.

Sexal Identity

I am very open and excepting of GLBT individuals. Some of my closest friends are homosexual. If a student approached me to “come out” I would support him/her and their information would be confidential. I feel that I will be a teacher that students can talk to in order to sort things out in their own minds. I might suggest that the student talk with someone else, such as a guidance counselor, if I felt the student would benefit from talking about it further. I would especially do this if the student was continuously negatively affected by freshly “coming out”. I would not talk to the student’s family or friends unless the student wanted me to.

In order to have my classroom be a safe space for students, I will create an atmosphere that does not allow discrimination. This idea ties into the discussion on discrimination, but no group will be discriminated against in my classroom. I know this is easier said than done, but art classrooms are usually laid back. In my experience, art classrooms are a safe place where students feel comfortable. My art room will be a safe zone and I will strive to have my students feel comfortable and free to talk about anything as long as respect is continuous. I will also discuss homosexual artists, based on content. I believe this is important because by not discussing the sexual identity of some artists, I would be depriving students of information that may be vital to their understanding of art. I also believe that incorporating this into my classroom will allow for acceptance, comfort, and support of homosexuals.

Discrimination

I had a difficult time thinking about a time when I was discriminated against. I'm sure there are times that I do not remember or that I blocked out, but nothing is predominately sticking out. One thing that I find I get discriminated against is the fact that I am going to be an art teacher. Many individuals do not understand or believe in the importance of art. This happens many times, especially in my education classes. I have been shoved aside on more than one occasion and told that the material taught does not pertain to me because I am an art teacher. I hear words such as, "You won't use this, you're just an art teacher" and "Oh, you art people don't have to worry about assessment". This really infuriates me! It links brain to many other thoughts, especially how people view art in schools. This could pertain to parents, other teachers, administration, and students. When we are looked down on by all of the above and people already have the mentality that we are just "extras" and don't matter, it is much harder to be successful as a student and a teacher. I'm not saying that this is everyone's mentality, but it hurts to attend an education school when many professors do not care about or respect the arts and the individuals studying them.
As far as handling the situation, it depends on the circumstances. I have spoken against professors in class, in a professional way of course, about how they are addressing the art educators in the room. When one professor told me that art teachers do not use assessment, I spoke up and told the class that yes, in fact art teachers do use assessment! It developed into a discussion for the classroom. There are also classes that I do not feel I can speak up, so I just let it go or bottle it up to tell to my fellow art education classmates later. It's sad, but true.

As far as discriminating against someone else, I try not to. I'm sure that I've done it on more than one occasion, but I'd like to think that I am a relatively open individual. I remember when we'd chose a teacher we didn't like in middle school and high school and TP their home. This could be considered discrimination. I suppose I have discriminated against individuals who sit around on their butt all day while complaining about not having money. I have also discriminated against extremely religious people whom may speak in tongues on occasion. By discriminating, I mean that I do not enjoy such people and usually do not find myself hanging around them and being chummy. I'm not mean to these individuals, I simply do not take part in their lives. They could be some of the best people in the world, but by my general knowledge and my meeting of just a handful of said people, I don't care to surround myself with some individuals. You may think that I am shallow, and maybe in some ways I am, but everyone has groups or individuals whom they discriminate against, even if they have the best intentions.

In the classroom, there will be many students from all kinds of different families, histories, and backgrounds. I know that I will have students whom watch Family Guy every day and use curse words in their everyday language. I also know that I will have students whom are highly religious. Many aspects of students are developed by their parents. First and foremost, I will respect all students in my classroom, no matter what background they have. Cutting discrimination in my classroom will come from the environment and demeanor of my classroom. I will strive to have an open room, where students feel free and comfortable. It is important for students to embrace differences and I believe that this is much easier to do in an art room then in many other classrooms. Art can by an expression of the self and one's surroundings. Setting up the classroom as a safe, open, and comfortable area will be a good way to combat discrimination.

Communication in the form of Art

1.d.

Communicating to one individual:
Create a work of art that is dedicated to a specific person and utilizes a theme, materials, and a manner of expression that are so individualized that they constitute private communication.

My lesson consists of having students choose an individual that represents something important to them- someone whom has given them inspiration or has had an effect on the student’s life. After the student chooses their individual, they will brainstorm and sketch what it is about that individual that is so meaningful to them and what represents this individual. This could include things such as smells, items, memories, etc. Once the student has written down at least ten things, they can start to draw upon them for ideas.
My goal is to have students create a piece of art that is specific to the individual of his/her choice. The student can bring in objects that represent the individual, objects that the person used, etc. The final art project can be done in the form of a collage, in which the student draws from the objects important to the identity of the individual. It can also be developed into a kind of sculpture, or any form of art that is related to the individual and the student. Because I would only teach this to an upper level class, I feel that the openness of this project can be handled by the students. If students do run into problems with coming up with ideas or brainstorming, I would assist the student and have him/her work on many sketches to strike up their creativity. Skip Schukmann was my artist of choice for this project. His pieces work directly with the individuals he is making the art for. Environment and the space he works in also play a large roll. The artwork is specific to the individual, which is what I want students in my classroom to base their art from.
I chose this lesson because I feel that when a student gets to choose what their artwork is about, they become more intimate with it. When I was in high school, I really enjoyed working on things that were important to me or about someone I cared about. I hope that students will learn more about the individual of their choice, themselves, and their relationship with the individual. Students will also gain expansion of knowledge of materials, processes, and resources. One of the biggest difficulties I foresee with this project is the ability to figure out a way to deal with materials in a way that shows the relationship between themselves and the individual. Writing out ideas, experimenting with materials and processes, and looking at other artist’s work will hopefully help students better grasp the idea.

The Self

3A: What makes me feel..
1. Guilty-failing to make others happy, possessions, sleep.
2. Worthy- family, friends, grades, effort, work, acceptance from others.
3. Laugh-family, friends, tickling, people
4. Embarrasses-failing, depending on others, not being able to make decisions, letting others down.
5. Infuriates- being lied to, people chewing with their mouth open, meanness.
6. Thrills- working through problems, watching my nephews/nieces grow up; spending time with people I love, learning new things.
7. Comforts- family, friends, hugs, my cat
8. Sad- being away from people I care about.

3B: Words that describe me:
playful, joyful, truthful, courageous, constant, daring, opinionated, realist, bold, outspoken, ambitious, polite, controlling, determined, exceptional, anxious, confident, energetic.

3C: Self-Identification Transpersonal
Family- daughter, sister, grand-daughter
Gender- Female
Education- student
Sexual orientation- straight
Race- white
neighborhood- country, farm
nationhood- American
preferred leisure activity- sleeping
state of health- good to go
diet- whatever I can find in my house
preferred web sites- google
age- 22
marital status- single
taste in music- a little bit of everything. I dabble.
Taste in art- all of the above.

From high school to college

My identity as a student has not changed much in the past few years. I suppose I've learned more about the world and the people in it, but I am still largely the the same student as I was in high school. Although I have not changed much as a student, my artwork has changed. I did a lot of drawings in high school because I was semi decent at it. I also went to a small school, so I did not have some of the advantages, such as equipment, as larger schools might have had. I did not experiment or try new techniques with my art. When I became a college student, that all changed. I was given assignments that allowed me to work with material I had never worked with before. I became aware that art is everywhere and is a part of everything I do. I stopped drawing from pictures taken with a camera and started working in the moment. I worked with new mediums, experimented with materials, and learned new techniques. All of this advanced my knowledge and enabled me to create art work that was more meaningful to me.

Eve Andree Laramee
a. Eve Andree mixed fictional and non-fictional history into her art pieces. This enables the art to become a little more interesting and intriguing. It enhances the viewers’ perceptions and allows room for questions. In a way, it can be seen as a test of knowledge and contemplation for the viewer(s). Complicating experience, in this case, can make the art work more intriguing to the viewer. Since when is it unacceptable to make the audience question the content?
b. I believe that these artists want to push individuals into believing something that is not fully the truth, in order to test their gullibility. Many people are too quick to accept what they are told or what they see before they really analyze and think it through. These artists seem to test this idea.

#3

How do you think your practices, as an artist will help you in the classroom?
First off, experience and knowledge of materials will always help a teacher in the classroom. The more one knows about materials and experiments with different materials, the more they can bring into the classroom to teach students. Also, bringing in examples of your work allows students to understand that you are an artist as well as a teacher. It gives a teacher more personality and in a way invites students in to something that many individuals believe is personal. For most, our artwork is personal, so by sharing your work with students, you are opening yourself up a little to them. This can help form connections with students in a classroom setting.
What skills do artists develop that also lend them to the art of teaching?
Experience, culture, and the ability to look at art in many different ways are among the skills that artists develop. The more an artist works with materials, subject matter, and other artists, the more they will learn. Age has a lot to do with it, as it ties into wisdom and experience. Also the more one is around to experience life, the more opportunity they would have to experience culture and in turn help others with the skills they’ve learned. Appreciating art is also a skill that comes with being exposed to many different forms and aspects of art. I know that I appreciate art much more now than I did five years ago. This is due to my experience in college, viewing art around the world, and developing openness and understanding to many different forms of art. For myself in the classroom, I will share my art and my experiences with my students to aid in their art skills. If I come across something interesting or new, I will be sure to share my new findings with my students.

How will you continue to make art while you teach?
This seems to be a difficult thing for many teachers to accomplish. I believe that the continuation of making art is important and is needed in order to advance students with current knowledge in the art world. Working along with students on projects in one form of making art, but it would only be possible in high school classes where students would be working on their projects and needed little assistance. My high school art teacher used to work on some of his work, as long as he was not needed to help us. For me, making my own artwork is very calming and I like to work on projects at night. It’s like reading a book; it’s something to work with on a regular basis to keep myself motivated. This is not only important to me personally, but it is important that I practice what I preach.

How do you characterize the relationship between teaching and making art?
There are two different forms, but can become the same. There are individuals whom are teachers and there are individuals whom are artists, and then there are individuals whom are both. Speaking for myself, I get very excited with the idea of sharing what I know with others in order to help them develop their art skills. There is a form of sharing information with others in both teaching and making art.

Post #2

A quality art curriculum includes incorporating many aspects of art, including current events and current surroundings of student’s daily lives. I really related to the discussion in chaper 9 about making curriculum as enriched as possible for students. If your class was the last art class a student would have, what would you want the students to take away with them in the end? This to me is a wonderful question, because it allows a teacher to really take a look at his/her curriculum and decide if the ideas and lessons will create a life- long connection between a child and art. I believe that it is important to live everyday to the fullest, and this is putting it into play in a classroom setup.
Also, dealing with things that are current in students’ lives is important. This provides a better base for understanding and knowledge. When I was in school, I always understood things more and was happy to learn about things I was interested in.
Exploring the latest thinking in art is also important in one’s curriculum. If we strictly focus on the past and past artists, we will not have a good understanding of current art. There is always development in the world, especially within the art community. The more one explores the latest thinking, the more opportunity they will have to make meaningful art to oneself.
On the other hand, I believe that an art curriculum should not solely focus on the latest thinking or current events. There are many aspects of art in our history that are important for student’s background knowledge. The knowledge is needed to develop a well rounded understanding and appreciation of art. All in all, a well rounded curriculum, incorporating current and past events and art is needed in order to establish a quality art curriculum.

I didn't take many art classes in high school, but I did a lot of art work on my own. I was fortunate enough to participate in many activities in my school. I enjoyed many activities and never had a designated title or category for myself. In the few art classes that I did take, I had a lot of freedom. Our teacher set out requirements for each project, but it was up to us to come up with projects and execute them using the requirements. I feel this is a very usable approach to teaching, in many high school art classes. In my experience, advanced drawing was one of the classes that I learned the most from. I was given requirements, but in all actuality, I had a lot of freedom. This form of teaching worked for me because I was self-motivated and wanted to push myself in my drawing abilities. This could become difficult for students that lack self-motivation or decide to take an art class because they believe it will be an easy A. In the event that a student lacks ambition, more effort from the teacher would be needed to help students. On the other hand, there are also classes that need more direction, whether it be in the development of understanding tools, medium, or gaining an understanding of art. Beginning classes, such as pottery are among the types of classes where the directions given to students by the teacher need to be strong.

A challenge that comes to mind is students taking an art class for the wrong reasons, such as to have an 'easy' class. I have been in classrooms where this is an issue. The students do not understand that art is and can be difficult. Making sure that all students are getting the help and direction they need is also a fear. In elementary and even some middle school lessons, students tends to be working with similar materials and working towards the same idea. In high school, many students will be working with different materials and working in different directions. I hope to meet each student's needs and ensure that they are learning to work with a variety of materials, tools, and mediums. I also recognize that because they are high school students, they will be more able to solve issues in art on their own, with a little guidance from me, and talking with their peers. I hope to learn how to manage my classroom in a way that pushes productivity, experimentation, creativity, little fear of risk in artwork, and fun. I am most excited about figuring out how this balance will happen. I have heard that it takes about 1-2 years to become fully adapted to your classroom, students, school, etc. I like to solve problems and I don't stop until I am satisfied and the issues have been taken care of. In all honesty, it just means that I will constantly be thinking about and trying new things to meet my classroom management goals.