Final Reflection

This class has been an amazing experience and has provided me with so many valuable opportunities to grow in my understanding of the arts and how to create art in an elementary classroom.  I was a theatre major and music student in university, so I have no problem thinking of ways to incorporate the performing arts into my classroom.  Fine art, however, was something I struggled with.  I knew I did not want my classroom art lessons to be “craft” lessons.  I wanted students to be able to explore and really engage in true artistic experiences.  However, until this course I was unsure of how to even begin to approach that.

            The one thing I have most connected with is the idea of using art as the gateway for inquiry.  I see the cross curricular nature of the arts and their ability to open students minds to think of things they wouldn’t otherwise have explored.  The article, “Growing a Culture of Inquiry Through Art” really stuck with me and I hope to use a lot of the ideas brought up in that in my classroom as well.  The experiences you, Jan, shared working with students with disabilities was also so encouraging.  I will be going into an inner-city school in September and already know two of the children I will have in my class.  They are extremely challenging but I hope to engage them through art.  In the primary classroom you can usually start every lesson with a story, I would like to challenge myself to use art as lesson entry points.  I see opportunities in math, science/nature, and community building. 

            I also really enjoyed the movie “King Gimp”.  This was again likely a personal connection as I had a student in my 401/402 class who had spina bifida.  I was encouraged to not overly adapt things for him, and in one lesson we actually worked on movement for a play we were creating.  He participated in all the things we did in the gymnasium, and it really forced me to begin to question my philosophies behind inclusion vs. exclusion.  There are benefits on both sides, and I still struggle with what I believe about it.  Either way, I know art will be the first thing I turn to when I struggle to reach a student.

            One thing I really want to do in my 405 semester is create portfolios for my students.  I was really encouraged when we got to view the preschool portfolios that were available for us in class one day.  I think this is very in line with building art-based inquiry.  Portfolios like this also provide clear instances of growth and questioning.  They allow students to chart their own learning and see all the wonderful and insightful things they are capable of doing/saying.  Portfolios are also a good way to stay on track with students’ growth as a teacher.  Allowing students to add things they are proud of, as well as adding things you have noticed as their teacher is a good way to build the student-teacher relationship.  I can only imagine how valuable for parents it is as well to see their children growing and learning.

            Aside from those big discoveries I made about myself, and the teacher I hope to be, I takeaway so many activities and ideas from this class.  The main one is a result of the Reggio Emilia presentation.  The presenter stated that students were given real art materials to use when creating art.  I plan on doing everything I can to make this a reality in my classroom.  I would much rather invest in a classroom set of chalk pastels and clay bucket than fancy technology or a smart board.  The experience children have with these real materials must be so amazing.  Being trusted with real materials and being able to create art beyond crayons must foster an environment of creativity.  I have also decided I would like to do clay play afternoons every 2 weeks.  Being in a Grade 1 classroom and dealing with multiple students with challenges, I hope this will be a positive experience for all students and an opportunity to reach those who have a difficult time with more traditional learning environments. 

            Finally, I want to create an environment of inspiration.  I found it so helpful to come to class with a piece of art that I found inspiring or beautiful or interesting.  While I didn’t always create from that piece, I knew that if I was stuck or feeling discouraged, I had something to fall back on.  I would like to have students find art works or photographs that they connect with and find places in the room to display them.  This feels far more valuable to the students than just putting up cookie cutter craft pieces, or popular works of art that I am imposing on them.  This would be a really great beginning of the year, community-building activity.  It would hopefully release students who feel pressure when creating art to know they will always be able to look around the classroom for inspiration when they are stuck on a work.

            The textbook has been an amazing resource as well.  And while I haven’t had the chance yet to use all the things I have underlined or bookmarked, I do not feel overwhelmed about teaching art in the coming months.  In fact, I feel more overwhelmed with narrowing down everything I want to do!  I am so excited to introduce all the things I have experienced over the past few months to my students.  I hope my excitement and my love for exploring through the arts will be an encouragement and contagious experience for my students.

Christy Gage