Advocacy for the Arts
One of our first days at Rocky we were invited to observe some of the classrooms. My classmate Ben and I had the opportunity to step into an art room. The students were interpreting works of art. They had to observe and then they were supposed to create stories for the images they saw. The first person I talked to had an image of Muhammad Ali. I talked about the decisive moment, capturing a moment in time so it can live forever. The image of Alii standing over his opponent was only a fleeting moment in time, but it was a decisvie moment. And because of the magic of photography we are able to turn a moment into an icon. The students eyes lit up and his pencil began to fly across the page so we moved on.
The next ladies were looking at a peice by MC Escher. It was of a puddle of mud with trees reflected in the water. There are foot prints and tire tracks that disrupt the earth. I suggested that the piece was about mans role on nature and the toll he takes on the land. I asked, "What do you think about the fact that the artist is only showing a reflection of the trees? Is it as if they are not really there? What could this mean?" As I walked away I smiled because I heard one of the girls say, "I didn't expect to talk about that."
The last person we met was Joe. Joe had an Impressionest landscape. A figure was barely recongnizable walking down a trail into the forrest. Joe told me that this man was searching for salvation. The man had looked for it in organized religion but hadn't found it there. The man found his slavation when he returned to nature. Needless to say I was stunned with his response. I was also amazed at his response. The painting we were looking at was very loose and painterly,so it made me wonder how much of himself this young man was putting into his interpretation. "That is very Holistic of you." I responded, "It is very similar to the thoughts of native americans." He told me that he was in fact a Nez Pierce. I found it very interesting that the previous group was talking about mans destructive role on nature while Joe brought the conversation full circle and discussed mans return to nature.
I left the class feeling inspired. Of all the classes we visited on the first day it is as clear to me as ever why I have to be an advocate for the arts. Learning is all about the transfer. The ultimate goal of school is to take what we learn in class and apply it to all other aspects of our daily lives. It is not neccesarily about the end result but the lessons learned along the way. Today in art class we discussed repairing mans impact on the environment and noticing decisive moments in time. Talk about two very important lessons to transfer to daily life! This observation was definitly a decisive moment in my teaching career. And all of this happened in just one day. A few lessons learned in a few short moments in the chaotic stream of time. I am glad I had the opportunity to learn these lessons and took a moment to focus on the important things I learned.
The next ladies were looking at a peice by MC Escher. It was of a puddle of mud with trees reflected in the water. There are foot prints and tire tracks that disrupt the earth. I suggested that the piece was about mans role on nature and the toll he takes on the land. I asked, "What do you think about the fact that the artist is only showing a reflection of the trees? Is it as if they are not really there? What could this mean?" As I walked away I smiled because I heard one of the girls say, "I didn't expect to talk about that."
The last person we met was Joe. Joe had an Impressionest landscape. A figure was barely recongnizable walking down a trail into the forrest. Joe told me that this man was searching for salvation. The man had looked for it in organized religion but hadn't found it there. The man found his slavation when he returned to nature. Needless to say I was stunned with his response. I was also amazed at his response. The painting we were looking at was very loose and painterly,so it made me wonder how much of himself this young man was putting into his interpretation. "That is very Holistic of you." I responded, "It is very similar to the thoughts of native americans." He told me that he was in fact a Nez Pierce. I found it very interesting that the previous group was talking about mans destructive role on nature while Joe brought the conversation full circle and discussed mans return to nature.
I left the class feeling inspired. Of all the classes we visited on the first day it is as clear to me as ever why I have to be an advocate for the arts. Learning is all about the transfer. The ultimate goal of school is to take what we learn in class and apply it to all other aspects of our daily lives. It is not neccesarily about the end result but the lessons learned along the way. Today in art class we discussed repairing mans impact on the environment and noticing decisive moments in time. Talk about two very important lessons to transfer to daily life! This observation was definitly a decisive moment in my teaching career. And all of this happened in just one day. A few lessons learned in a few short moments in the chaotic stream of time. I am glad I had the opportunity to learn these lessons and took a moment to focus on the important things I learned.