Reflect on the contrasting articles written by Winner and Hetland and Burchenal et all.
Which perspective do you find most persuasive?
How does it support your own beliefs about the role/strengths of art education?
The two articles I read both offer valid points about what happens in an art classroom. I believe there are many reasons we teach art to our students. It is my passion and I have loved it for a very long time. It is great to see the students faces light as us I pass back what they have created this year to choose our pieces for the art show. They talk about what they made and why they used this color and drew this shape. It is a joy to watch their conversations unfold. It may look like utter chaos to anyone walking by but the richness of their conversations is great to hear. If you take the time to actually listen to them...we have a lot to learn. I feel that some of the reasons we teach art have shifted over time. We are really focus on the 21st century students...as the 7th and 8th graders are being surveyed over it this week
and adjust our teaching strategies and curriculum to help prepare them for what they will see when they enter the 'real world'. The art room is just one of many places that can help them with this and reinforce the skills they will need to succeed in life. We want to provide "innovative leaders who improve the work they inherit" as Winner and Hetland state in their article. Is art taught to help improve test scores? That would not be at the top of my list as an art educator but many of the skills that would be on my list would definitely help students succeed on these tests the students are required to take in school. I'm not sure if I found either of these article persuasive, however they made a few good points in each. VTS does help build skills such as observation, interpretation and supplying evidence when used on a regular basis, and all these skills are needed for a student to be successful on standardized tests as mentioned in "Why Do We Teach Arts in Schools?". I fall back to the real question. Is this why we teach art? For students to be successful on tests. In my opinion, I guess if this is something they need to be successful than it is one of the many reasons.
Were you a politician in your previous life? =0) I do agree with you that both articles had valid points. I believe Burchenal et al. were trying to communicate that we should be embarrassed by the fact that art education teaches skills that will help kids on tests and to insist that there is empirical evidence that it does. They may have swung further in the opposite direction than we art educators are comfortable with. I HOPE we never get to the point that the only reason art is in schools is because of those damned tests! We know they offer our students and their futures so much more!
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