How not to alienate 98% of your students...
Generated by ChatGPT based on this article.
We, as art teachers, love art. We love to dig deep, seek nuance, strive to build our skills. The act of creation is its own reward. THIS IS NOT NORMAL, we are NOT NORMAL, we are part of 2% of the population.
Likewise, less than 2% of our students will go on to an art-related career so an academic approach to art will only resonate with 2% of our students and turn off the other 98% in a public-school setting. Instead of focusing solely on skills and the ability to draw accurately, my advice to this teacher is to design projects that will connect with students, allowing them to express themselves and learn something (elements/principles/techniques/history) along the way. This is the focus of my entire blog and detailed in my book. I also have a detailed post HERE on how I plan my year.
An advanced class, where students have chosen to pursue art, is vastly different from a general class fulfilling a school requirement. In the latter, rigorous homework and daily sketchbook assignments risk alienating 98% of students. Instead, I recommend teaching to the majority while providing enrichment opportunities for the 2% of high flyers. (Like a free sketchbook, ideas for extra at-home projects, hidden supplies you quietly provide.)
I have many FREE sketchbook ideas on my blog HERE, but I actually don’t assign them unless a student finishes a project early… My students know they need to be actively engaged in art making 100% of the time in my room, and in return, I do not assign homework. I have an “I’m Done” bin for those who finish early, but it’s rare based on the way I design my lessons. (Every lesson has 3 things they must do to earn a 90%, and 3 more things they can do to push that up to 100%, THIS is the form I created for that.)
The art room is the "oasis" of our school, a "safe and creative space, or a "haven" within the school environment, where students can express themselves and find freedom from the rest of the school. With this in mind, I don’t assign homework, and I don’t do weekly or daily sketchbook assignments.
HOWEVER, there are important exceptions to my practice… Every project requires a thumbnail and a sketch, and once in a while I may ask students to “bring in a rock” or “bring in a stick” etc. That I do grade as homework. You got a stick = 100% on homework. ALSO, if a student was ON TASK the whole time but is still not finished with a project because their work is amazing or highly detailed, I will grade it as a % complete (like if it’s half done I’ll record a 50%) they photograph it as evidence of what it looked like before they took it out of my room, and they can take supplies home over a weekend to complete it. I will raise the grade to whatever it should have been without a penalty for lateness.
Likewise, less than 2% of our students will go on to an art-related career so an academic approach to art will only resonate with 2% of our students and turn off the other 98% in a public-school setting. Instead of focusing solely on skills and the ability to draw accurately, my advice to this teacher is to design projects that will connect with students, allowing them to express themselves and learn something (elements/principles/techniques/history) along the way. This is the focus of my entire blog and detailed in my book. I also have a detailed post HERE on how I plan my year.
An advanced class, where students have chosen to pursue art, is vastly different from a general class fulfilling a school requirement. In the latter, rigorous homework and daily sketchbook assignments risk alienating 98% of students. Instead, I recommend teaching to the majority while providing enrichment opportunities for the 2% of high flyers. (Like a free sketchbook, ideas for extra at-home projects, hidden supplies you quietly provide.)
I have many FREE sketchbook ideas on my blog HERE, but I actually don’t assign them unless a student finishes a project early… My students know they need to be actively engaged in art making 100% of the time in my room, and in return, I do not assign homework. I have an “I’m Done” bin for those who finish early, but it’s rare based on the way I design my lessons. (Every lesson has 3 things they must do to earn a 90%, and 3 more things they can do to push that up to 100%, THIS is the form I created for that.)
The art room is the "oasis" of our school, a "safe and creative space, or a "haven" within the school environment, where students can express themselves and find freedom from the rest of the school. With this in mind, I don’t assign homework, and I don’t do weekly or daily sketchbook assignments.
HOWEVER, there are important exceptions to my practice… Every project requires a thumbnail and a sketch, and once in a while I may ask students to “bring in a rock” or “bring in a stick” etc. That I do grade as homework. You got a stick = 100% on homework. ALSO, if a student was ON TASK the whole time but is still not finished with a project because their work is amazing or highly detailed, I will grade it as a % complete (like if it’s half done I’ll record a 50%) they photograph it as evidence of what it looked like before they took it out of my room, and they can take supplies home over a weekend to complete it. I will raise the grade to whatever it should have been without a penalty for lateness.
RSS Feed