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.