This I believe (and image to follow!)

This I believe about art education…

In his book “The Arts & the Creation of Mind,” Elliott Eisner wisely cautioned that “the surest road to hell in a classroom is to stick to the lesson plan, no matter what” (p. 48). When I first read his quote last summer, it gave me a chuckle. Rereading it this summer gave me pause. As I continue to examine art education through a 21^st century post-modern lens, I can’t help but see the applicability of Eisner’s basic wisdom to the broadening content and pedagogy that is unfolding as we move forward in our discipline. I can’t help but take up Eisner’s proclamation, albeit slightly changed, as a rallying cry.

In the post-modern age, the surest way to hell in art education, is to stick to what we’ve been teaching the way we’ve been teaching it, no matter what. Synthesizing this idea with Shea Hembrey’s criteria for art, this is what I believe about art education in the 21^st century.

Through art education, I believe we must first engage our students’ heads; teaching them not what to see, but how to look; not what to think, but how to reason; to ask not “what,” but “what if?”  Engaging them rigorously in authentic discussions about art and visual culture with questions that invite many answers and ways of perceiving, we can make visual imagery accessible, intriguing, and relevant to our students’ lives. Asking them to respond to elegant problems through art making we can enhance synthesis, imagination, creativity, and innovation as we prepare critical and creative thinkers for the global community they will soon inherit.

Through art education, I believe we must also engage our students’ hearts. With emphasis on both meaning in their own art making and social justice as they deconstruct the imagery that bombards them daily, I believe we can (and have the responsibility) to model respectful and ethical work in the art room and beyond.

Finally, through art education, I believe we must continue to engage students’ hands in rich and exciting art making, helping them to discover the intense satisfaction of producing work that is meaningful to the artist and that speaks to others. “Pride of place” for our content must be celebrated and protected to ensure that students learn the lessons only art can teach.