Do your students throw out their art?
There are two main reasons I think student artwork may end up in the trash and both have solutions!
Reason #1. There may be a culture among students that art isn't "cool." Perhaps they don't really understand how important art is, and THIS blog post can help with that. If staff belittles art, they might need to be educated as well, and THIS blog post will help you with that.
Solutions:
A: Take some time to review the importance of art education. Explain the benefits, and how art teaches us to solve problems in a way no other class does.
B: Create a parent email list, and when a project is complete, send a bulk notification of how proud you are of your student's work and hope that the parents can post their artwork in a space of honor, be that the refrigerator or elsewhere. Share your excitement with students about their artwork and let them know an email went home to every parent and mom/dad are excited to see it too.
C: Offer an extra point for the first 5 students who's parents email you a photo of their mom/dad holding their artwork at home. You can make this even easier if you have a place for students to upload images, like a Google doc.
D: Artwork found in the trash gets 10 points deducted from the grade. I have used this on a couple occasions in my 30 years. Or I joke that the art room is the birthplace of art, not the morgue. (Personally I prefer positive reinforcement, but this may be a consequence in difficult situations)
Reason #2. The lessons or explorations are not tied to student interests so they don't have a reason to "care" about their work. A symptom of such lessons are those were every student needs a name on the project to identify their own work because the images are so very similar. We have all seen hallways lined with Monet Bridges... THIS video will explain why this approach, at all levels, is pedagogically unsound and offers some alternatives too.
Solutions:
A: Open the class with a survey of student interests, and base some of your lessons on these ideas.
B: Create lessons that offer the opportunity for individual interpretation. My blog features ONLY these kinds of lessons. Some are more "controlled," while others are more free-form.
C: If most of your lessons are convergent (All end up with the same or similar thing) try adding in just one lesson that allows for more individual choice like those on my blog. TAB (Teaching artistic behavior) is another approach but takes many years to do well. HERE is how I design choice-based lessons. Start with one and add more lessons as you become comfortable with that style of teaching.
D: Join an art teacher's Facebook group, and ask for ideas for engaging lessons for your particular age group. My private group is HERE, but you'll have to answer 3 questions to be approved in. (It is only for Certified Art Teachers)
If you need teaching resources, see all my books HERE.
THIS book offers simple choice-based lessons for grades K-12.
(The economy black and white version is HERE.)
Reason #1. There may be a culture among students that art isn't "cool." Perhaps they don't really understand how important art is, and THIS blog post can help with that. If staff belittles art, they might need to be educated as well, and THIS blog post will help you with that.
Solutions:
A: Take some time to review the importance of art education. Explain the benefits, and how art teaches us to solve problems in a way no other class does.
B: Create a parent email list, and when a project is complete, send a bulk notification of how proud you are of your student's work and hope that the parents can post their artwork in a space of honor, be that the refrigerator or elsewhere. Share your excitement with students about their artwork and let them know an email went home to every parent and mom/dad are excited to see it too.
C: Offer an extra point for the first 5 students who's parents email you a photo of their mom/dad holding their artwork at home. You can make this even easier if you have a place for students to upload images, like a Google doc.
D: Artwork found in the trash gets 10 points deducted from the grade. I have used this on a couple occasions in my 30 years. Or I joke that the art room is the birthplace of art, not the morgue. (Personally I prefer positive reinforcement, but this may be a consequence in difficult situations)
Reason #2. The lessons or explorations are not tied to student interests so they don't have a reason to "care" about their work. A symptom of such lessons are those were every student needs a name on the project to identify their own work because the images are so very similar. We have all seen hallways lined with Monet Bridges... THIS video will explain why this approach, at all levels, is pedagogically unsound and offers some alternatives too.
Solutions:
A: Open the class with a survey of student interests, and base some of your lessons on these ideas.
B: Create lessons that offer the opportunity for individual interpretation. My blog features ONLY these kinds of lessons. Some are more "controlled," while others are more free-form.
C: If most of your lessons are convergent (All end up with the same or similar thing) try adding in just one lesson that allows for more individual choice like those on my blog. TAB (Teaching artistic behavior) is another approach but takes many years to do well. HERE is how I design choice-based lessons. Start with one and add more lessons as you become comfortable with that style of teaching.
D: Join an art teacher's Facebook group, and ask for ideas for engaging lessons for your particular age group. My private group is HERE, but you'll have to answer 3 questions to be approved in. (It is only for Certified Art Teachers)
If you need teaching resources, see all my books HERE.
THIS book offers simple choice-based lessons for grades K-12.
(The economy black and white version is HERE.)
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