UCSD Field Trip

Sammi, Nichole, Byn and I went to the UCSD but had difficulty finding parking and the Sun God statue.  We were not able to get into contact with the class so we were not able to meet up, but here is a picture of us visiting the statue together!! So sorry we were not able to all meet up.

Week of 4/5 Post

I volunteer as a leader, or teacher, at my church’s Vacation Bible School every summer.  I have one or two younger helpers (usually in middle school) that assist me in teaching the students and with whatever help I may need.  I usually have kindergarten and first grade students in my group and being in a team-teach setting really aids in the learning process for the students and makes the entire VBS experience more enjoyable for us all.  Being part of a suburban map group has enhanced my learning experience greatly and exposed me to scenarios and lessons I would have otherwise not had access to.  I could easily use collaboration in the classroom to teach citizenship to my students by demonstrating how to effectively work with others in a group setting while demonstrating respect, communication skills and positive group techniques.  By showing students positive group-work techniques they will be much more likely to avoid or know how to deal with difficult social situations they encounter in the future.  

Week of 3/22 Assignment

I was extremely impressed with the way that the New Children’s Museum integrated new media into every art piece in their museum.  From the second you walk into the museum you are entering art (the animal sounds you hear walking through the entry door) that is the perfect attention-catcher for kids.  The museum goes way beyond pure entertainment because every exhibit and piece has a specific educational purpose.  The educational aspect of the piece could often be found on individual cards to be passed around, in a blurb on the wall, or in one of the many videos constantly being played throughout the museum.  Any one of the museum guides could also help explain anything in the museum extensively, and with excellent ability to tailor the information to a younger crowd.  I very much enjoyed our time at the New Children’s Museum and will keep it in mind if I ever need a fabulous field trip to show my classroom how art is not only connected to all other aspects of life, but also extremely fun and cool!

Week of 3/8 Assignment

Like every other aspect of human life and culture, it was absolutely inevitable that art would be impacted by technology as well.  We are very much in the digital age and I feel that the various developments in art with a technological flare are not only valid art forms, but innovative, unique, and beautiful.  Photography is the art form that stands out to me the most because I feel that all students are capable of learning how to take incredible pictures.  The example of the September 11^th commemoration “Tribute in Light” stands out to me especially.  These two beams of light are an artistic statement in real life as well as in the photograph.  The capacity of photography is that it can capture live art and preserve it for people to enjoy and appreciate long after it is gone.  The beauty of photography is that it can be personalized to each individual photographer and reflect what they personally see as art not according to anyone else’s rules or ideas.  I think that this has the ability to be an extremely powerful art form that can reach students of all ages and backgrounds.           

            I was so intrigued by Luz Chung’s presentation on social justice and got a great deal out of her visit.  This was the first time I was presented with Paulo Freire’s radical idea of critical pedagogy and I must say I feel that I might be a convert!  I absolutely agree that as teachers it is vital to engage and encourage every individual student in our classroom as well as establishing a relationship with the parents.  I feel a way I could create a common ground for all students would be to encourage them to create and start an organization or group working to help a social justice issue, such as protecting the environment.  I believe that the best way for any two people to form a close and authentic bond is by working and serving together.  Therefore, I feel that by encouraging students to do this would forge an all-inclusive curriculum for students.  

Week of 3/1 assignment

Our visit to SDMA has been a highlight of the course so far for many reasons.  I absolutely love seeing all that San Diego has to offer; it is always refreshing to get off of campus and enjoy the city.  I was extremely impressed with the modern art museum and thought that it had remarkable collection of pieces from all over the world.  I think what made the experience unforgettable was our personal curator.  He was so knowledgeable of every piece of art we viewed and his passion for the subject matter oozed through his tour, consequently inspiring me as well. 

            With the realities of the present day social and economic limitations, not all students will ever realistically have equal access to resources such as this wonderful museum.  I feel that museums, SDMA being a perfect example, do everything in their power to be available and accessible to the greatest amount of people possible.  The specialized tour that our curator created specifically for us as future elementary teachers goes to show how willing they were to accommodate our needs.  It is so refreshing to have such an incredibly positive experience that truly excites you about the subject matter.  This feeling of passion and encouragement is exactly how I felt during and after our trip to SDMA and I am confident that this museum will yield similar results in every student that is fortunate enough to visit it.  

Week of 2/22 Assignment

This week we created our own original headdresses in response to the two different versions of the “Cinderella”” fairytale.  We first heard the classic version with the glass slipper, two evil stepsisters, stepmother, fairy-god mother, and Prince Charming.  And then we heard the more obscure Native American take on the tale called “The Rough Face Girl”.  Both versions told the same basic story, yet in two completely different ways.

            The project for the week was to create our own headdress with any version of Cinderella in mind.  I brought yellow, green, and purple feathers with me to class for my headdress.  With the feathers teamed with cupcake liners and tissue paper of the same color, I created a New Orleans Mardi Gras-themed Cinderella headdress.  I first wrapped four pieces of thicker white tissue paper to create the basic shape.  Then I attached the yellow, purple, and green large pieces of tissue paper to the back of the headdress, and added the feather arrangement to the middle front and the cupcake liners to the front bottom.  I did everything in groups of three, signifying the two evil stepsisters and Cinderella.  I used staples to keep everything together on the headdress.

            This would be a fabulous project for a second grade class because you could first introduce what a fairy tale is, read examples of fairy tales, and then have children create their own unique headdresses in response to their interpretations of a particular fairytale.  This is basically the process we took.  You could even take it a step further for the kids and have them create a headdress and then write their own fairytales based off of what they created.  This would be an excellent arts integration project with English and creative writing.

            The Content Standards that are addressed or related to this project are, for grade two students:

·      Key Ideas and Details #2

·      Craft and Structure #5, #6

·      Integration of Knowledge and Ideas #7, #9 (especially #9)

Week of 2/15 Assignment

Visual Thinking Strategies, in my opinion, seems to be the absolute best way for teachers to facilitate a conversation amongst students about a visual image.  It creates a comfortable and safe atmosphere that allows even the most timid of students to feel confident to voice their opinion about a piece.  This is so important because it removes fear from the classroom, which I believe is a chief preventer of creative thought and learning.  If done well, like in the video we watched, I believe that it can break down any barriers a student may put up toward the arts or school at large. 

It is so vital that students learn how to examine and discuss works of art because, quite simply, art is all around us.  This ability allows one to foster their imaginations, be creative, and experience the world through a more colorful and cultured lens.  And to be able to feel secure enough to talk about these personal findings is the icing on the cake!

I chose Van Gogh’s “Night Café” to use for my VTS discussion.  I talked with my roommate and my neighbor and the conversation was very colorful and much more exciting than I ever anticipated!  Both girls saw the piece as very colorful, lively, and recognized the Van Gogh style surrounding the lights in the café that is famously seen in his “Starry Night”.  I thought this was impressive and showed both their academic and cultural knowledge and awareness.  And what is more is that neither girl was afraid of being wrong when making this connection.  When I asked how they interpreted the piece their individual personalities and backgrounds came out.

When describing the picture, one girl described it has a hip club scene, posh, the bar and pool table suggest that this is a hang out for middle class, yet the people in the back corner are dressed well so maybe it is a more up-scale bar/restaurant.  The other girl felt similarly about all her observations, but noticed that the colors of the painting were primarily red, green, white, and yellow.  She speculated about Van Gogh’s country of origin and was interested if he was from Spain, because red and yellow are the colors of their flag.  I thought this was an excellent observation.  When researching afterwards I found that Van Gogh was actually born in Holland (the flag is red, white, and blue) so that was probably not the inspiration for the colors.  I also found that Van Gogh was chiefly concerned with colors in his paintings, which leads me to believe that the colors must have significance.  Had I not talked with these girls I probably never would have even pondered this idea.  This is just another prime example of how teachers learn just as much from their students as students do from their teachers.  What an incredible and rewarding process for everyone!!

            

Week of 2/8 Assignment

I fully believe that art is all around us, surrounding and enhancing every aspect of our lives.  My elementary school was no exception to this belief.  Every wall in the classrooms was always decorated with colorful posters of positive pictures and encouraging words, construction paper murals, art projects we had completed, and so much more.  The use of color was definitely an outstanding factor in the rooms.  This made the learning environment more exciting, welcoming, non-threatening, and fun, and thus created a higher level of learning and memory for us. 

            At my elementary school we had a specific art teacher, Mrs. Lamour, who I can still remember to this day.  Each grade (kindergarten through eighth) and class visited her once a week for our hour-long art lesson.  Largely because of the high-energy and electric vibe of our teacher and her passion for the subject, I always looked forward to art and seeing what we were creating that day.  My comfort level was never sacrificed because we were commonly told that there are no wrong answers with art.  This was always a source of comfort for me, a self-described artistically challenged individual.  Having a teacher that was so passionate about art made us, the students, want to find that excitement and show it in the form of our unique creations.

            Morgan Appel made a clear case for the undeniable relationship between art and learning.  Mr. Appel began by giving an overview of the brain and how the various parts of the brain function in relation to our humanely actions.  For instance, how the frontal lobe is the most “human” part of the brain, dealing with impulse control, judgment, language, working memory, motor function, sexual behavior, socialization, and spontaneity.  He plainly explained the copious amounts of benefits of integrated the arts into general education.

 Arts integration allows for a safe environment for English learners, provides unique opportunities to move from concrete to application and abstraction, allows for socially constructed learning that can connect to the real world, challenges students of all levels, and provides unique opportunities to involve willing parents in a very positive way.  All of these benefits can be achieved when integrated the arts into a curriculum. 

            The point that I connected most with was Mr. Appel’s discussion that you do not have to be an artist in order to integrate the arts into the curriculum; you just have to have an artistic spirit.  I loved this idea and felt convicted because, I am sorry to admit, my initial reaction to the idea of arts integration was that I could not do it because I am not quote “artistic”.  I now have hope and the encouragement I needed to let my inner-child’s imagination and creativity run wild!  I must take what Mr. Appel explained to heart and remember that I would be doing a child a much greater disservice by cheating him of all artistic exposure because I was embarrassed myself, than putting my own pride on the line and showing children that anyone, even me, can create beautiful art.  

Week of 2/1 Responses

Chapter 3: p. 66 #8

I was actually very impressed with all three pictures that the three people drew.  I asked three of my girlfriends to draw the people and they all were resistant at first due to embarrassment, but the results were not that bad! 

This first photo ("a boy jumping and waving") was drawn by a girl and she said that she learned how to draw in while she was in pre-school at St. Luke's and that she probably stopped drawing around 14.  It is a pretty basic level of drawing complete with hands, feet and details of the face, but does not have much in way of the body.  It is a step up from stick figures!

The next photo is a bit more complex in terms of the developmental level of the drawing because you can see the face is more detailed, there is a neckline, detailed hands, ankles and shows.  This girl said that she has been drawing since she can remember but stopped around 12.  She said she draws rarely now but still enjoys it very much.

This last drawing another one of my girlfriends did and although it has an elementary developmental level, the arms are twisted and the face is pretty lifelike.  She said that she started drawing in elementary school and learned in kindergarten in art class.  She said that she stopped drawing because she felt discouraged and felt she was bad at it and also because she did not take art in high school.  In all three cases, it seemed that a feeling of inferiority left the girls feeling that they should not pursue drawing and that is the reason they stopped.  This was very disheartening to me but also rang very true to home being that it is the exact reason I myself stopped drawing.  I am very much looking forward to ARTV 350 to remind me that anyone can create art and be artistic in their own unique way!

Week of 2/1: Responses

Chapter 2:
p. 39, #4

Ethnic Folk Dancing: Hungary and Romania Lesson Plan

http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Social_Studies/Multicultural_Education/MUL0201.html

Multicultural Fair Lesson Plan

http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Social_Studies/Multicultural_Education/MUL0009.html

Our Musical Festival Lesson Plan

http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Social_Studies/Multicultural_Education/MUL0002.html

Assessing Women's Past Through Art Lesson Plan

http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/art-act-08.html

Women's Suffrage Art Project

http://www.teachervision.fen.com/suffrage/printable/26720.html?detoured=1

I was very impressed with the copious amounts of resources for lesson plans on multicultural and women's art that I could access on the internet.  This was very encouraging because I would not consider myself particularly artistic and it showed me that regardless of my innate talents, there are so many resources that can allow me to still incorporate art and creativity into my classroom and lessons.

Everyday Art Pictures

I took this photo of a window display of a wedding dress and tuxedo at a local"JCREW" clothing store.  It caught my eye because I was immediately impressed with the clever set up making the display have a strikingly life-like quality to it.  This piece of art was created with mannequins, clothing, and a few strategic props.  The two mannequins and the wedding cake under the "male" create a realistic wedding setting that display the clothing in a very favorable manner that leaves the viewer/customer very satisfied.  I am definitely not in the market for wedding dress shopping but even passing by this display and seeing the context it was in left me with a very upbeat and joyous feeling, a response I am sure many felt and that was aimed for by the marketers.  People that are not fond of weddings/relationships/love or that do not place much emphasis on weddings would definitely not have such a positive response to the piece.  

 I noticed this impressive sign that is advertising for the "Hard Rock Cafe" restaurant while I was driving.   It is probably comprised of lights/electricity, construction materials and sturdy materials being that it is both large and I am sure very heavy.  Upon noticing it I noticed I immediately became happier because it triggered several happy memories eating and visiting different Hard Rock Cafe's and the amazing artifacts they house around the world with my family.  These have all been very fond experiences so I was very positively effected by the piece.  People of other cultures that do not value music, or rock and roll in particular, would definitely not have the same type of  reaction because these restaurants would not be impressive or important to them.  

I noticed this Beatles version of the classic board game "Monoply" in Target and had to take a picture.  I am a HUGE Beatles fan and therefore had a very strong, excited reaction upon seeing this.  It is clearly a marketing tool used to catch people's attention and to sell their product to the masses. (It clearly worked on me!).  To create this piece the photo was scanned and the addition tagline and Monopoly title would have to be electronically scanned on to the cover.  This is a totally digital piece of art but I feel that the manufacturers were successful in combining the old with the new in this piece.  This piece would not even catch the eye of someone who has not been exposed to the Beatles and their music or legacy or someone who is not a fan and just does not care.  It also would not effect someone who does not play games or Monopoly in particular.  Therefore, people that do not have families or children would not be interested in this piece, nor would someone of a lower economic status because a board game is not how they would be spending the little money they did have.  

 This display caught my eye as I was walking by a street restaurant because it was so adorable and understated.  It was an interesting juxtaposition of the "It's Summer" sign while we are actually in winter and reminded me of my favorite season and therefore filled with with great happiness and longing for the long and relaxing days of summer.  It was also a very calming piece for me with the combination of the light and gentle colors of the flowers, sign and wagon.  In other cultures, summer could mean 100+ degree weather and no break from school so it would not have such a relaxing connotation to it that it has for me. 

I absolutely love this piece of art because it is so forward and does not sugar coat its message whatsoever.  I saw this on my winter break when I visited my sister in Eugene, Oregon and fell in love with it.  I am personally a Christian believer so it gave me great joy to see this and know that it would hopefully be touching other people.  For someone that is not of this faith it could possibly arise negative or hostile feelings, but hopefully when taking the messages it portrays into account, they would put those initial reservations aside.  The piece is made on a bike with signs and flowers just attached right onto it.   I thought it was so clever, artistic and a perfect reminder of Christianity in your daily normal life.  

 I took this picture of my sorority letters, Kappa Kappa Gamma, here at USD.  They were cut from ply wood and are painted light blue.  We use these letter cut outs very often when we do events and activities for our sorority and this time in particular was for recruitment this past week.  Seeing them always brings me great joy and reminds me of so many fond memories and all the friends that I have made because of Kappa.  Seeing these letters would be virtually meaningless for anyone who is not a part of Greek life or is not even aware of what it is.  Most notably people outside of America that do not attend college and obviously are not in the Greek life would not have any response to these pieces.  They could also be construed poorly if someone could not attend college for financial reasons or for some reason has a negative opinion of college or sororities.  

I took this last photo of my mom on our break when we drove to Park  City, Utah to go skiing.  We stopped to take a picture of the Wyoming state sign here.  It is another example of a digitalized piece of art and gives the viewer an idea of the state of Wyoming; with the tagline "Forever West" and the cowboy and mountain range it is clear that the state has an emphasis on the outdoors.  The context of the sign marked our entrance to the sate and therefor I had a feeling of excitement and relief upon seeing it.  For someone that is not fond of the West or Wyoming for whatever reason, this piece of art could be viewed very negatively and even with dread.  I have always found state signs to be very intriguing and so unique so I like this particular piece.