Commitment and artistic expression. (Community connections).

Commitment and artistic expression. (Community connections). "When the school introduces and trains each child of societyinto membership within such a little community, saturating him with thespirit of service, and providing him with the instruments of effectiveself direction, we shall have the deepest and best guaranty As a verb, to agree to be responsible for the payment of another's debt or the performance of another's duty, liability, or obligation if that person does not perform as he or she is legally obligated to do; to assume the responsibility of a guarantor; to warrant. of a largersociety which is worthy, lovely, and harmonious." --John Dewey In the wake of the events of Sept. 11, the opportunity to teach therewards of citizenship and an understanding of the world has availeditself more than anytime in the history of education. Our children needto experience for themselves the satisfaction received through givingand volunteering in their community. They also need to learn about thedifferences and, more importantly, the commonalities they share withothers. "Middfest," a community organization in Middletown, Ohio Middletown is an All-American City[2] located in Butler and Warren counties in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. Formerly in Lemon, Turtlecreek, and Franklin townships, Middletown was incorporated by the Ohio General Assembly on February 11, 1833, and ,has been a catalyst in providing this opportunity to my students. Inaddition, visual art, the subject I teach, has proven to be an exemplarydiscipline for presenting these concepts along with other educationaspects to children. Each year Middfest honors a different country. Greece was theselected country for this year's celebration. The festival is agreat way to learn about the culture, foods, inventions, politics,historical time lines, artists, customs and traditions. The festival hasalso lent itself to the classroom setting as an instructional resourcefor discovering and appreciating different cultures. Imagine learning about the country Greece and its contribution ofancient philosophy while painting philosophers that are 10 feet inheight. The art students at Madison Junior/Senior High School, from theseventh and eighth grade, did just that in preparation for the Middfestfestival this year. The students painted seven wooden characters in alland contributed them to the science exhibit. The Greek figures were ondisplay for the community to see during the three days of the annualfestival. While painting the Greek figures, our class discussed the art ofancient Greece The term ancient Greece refers to the periods of Greek history in Classical Antiquity, lasting ca. 750 BC[1] (the archaic period) to 146 BC (the Roman conquest). It is generally considered to be the seminal culture which provided the foundation of Western Civilization. and the Greek climate, medicine, beliefs, dress, gods,traditions, symbols and architecture. Our class also constructed votives(used by the ancient Greeks This an alphabetical list of ancient Greeks. These include ethnic Greeks and Greek language speakers from Greece and the Mediterranean world up to about 200 AD.: Top - 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Related articlesA as tokens to thank the god, Asclepius, forhealing their ailments). In addition, we created clay vessels much likethose of Greek tradition. The students were able to forge connectionsbetween what they were learning and the history behind it much betterthan by merely reading about the subject. In the book, Unit Teaching in the Elementary School elementary school:see school. (Holt,Rinehart, and Winston, Inc., 1963), the authors recommend havingchildren use the medium of art to present information because visual artmakes a more lasting impression on the viewer than verbal reports. Thisis especially true for what the authors refer to as the "nonverbal non��ver��bal?adj.1. Being other than verbal; not involving words: nonverbal communication.2. Involving little use of language: a nonverbal intelligence test. child," who finds it difficult to listen attentively. In addition to learning about the country Greece, the studentsexperienced satisfaction when they presented their work to others intheir community. This year was the fifth consecutive year my studentshave contributed projects for the festival. The class has fun creatingthe displays, but more importantly, the students learn what it takes tomake a community into their home. The students are proud of both theirindividual and joint efforts when each project is complete. Volunteeringour talents has been an exciting opportunity for students to appreciatemore fully the responsibilities and the rewards of citizenship. Creating artworks for the festival also serves as an occasion forstudent recognition as artists. Many students in the class shared theirexcitement after viewing the exhibit at the festival. They were proud tobe involved in creating the artwork. They also revealed that theirparents and relatives were amazed a��maze?v. a��mazed, a��maz��ing, a��maz��esv.tr.1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise.2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex.v.intr. and proud of their accomplishments.John Dewey (1900) supported a community-based curriculum. He suggestedthat school curriculum be more relevant to the actual lives of thestudents. When students contribute their artwork to a communityfunction, the experience they have at school ties into their home lifeand family events. Through these activities, the students have benefited in a numberof other ways. Some of these benefits include: fostering an atmosphereof teamwork, providing leadership skills, and empowering students to becritical thinkers and problem solvers. Through projects such as this,the arts are developing skills needed for the 21st-century workplace. Students are better prepared for the work force because they learnto work together as a team. The students learn they need to compromisewith other members of the group. If there is a conflict within a team,the members can usually work it out together. It is rare that studentsasked for supervisory intervention. In addition to cooperation skills, another invaluable workplaceattribute emerges. Inevitably, leadership roles develop within thegroups. While the groups are forming, some students take charge asself-appointed leaders. This usually occurs due to personality strengthsof an individual student. However, I have also witnessed new leadersemerge when members of the group appoint them based on artistic ability.These appointed students (rare to take on a leadership role) arecomfortable with their new position as leader because they are confidentof their ability in art. Therefore, students who would be reluctant totake charge of a group in other settings, find themselves successful inthis new role. Most of the school year, my students work on individual artprojects. These projects, graded individually, encompass a number ofobjectives. For our class, group projects are a welcome change and offergreat learning experiences for the students. Finally, students are prepared for work and life because thestudents become empowered to trust their own aesthetic decisions andmake choices. This involves both critical thinking skills and problemsolving problem solvingProcess involved in finding a solution to a problem. Many animals routinely solve problems of locomotion, food finding, and shelter through trial and error. skills. The students must plan, develop ideas as new issuesarise, and make informed judgments about their art work and about howthe display will ultimately look. Because of the complexity and scale ofthe project, students cannot rely on my supervision to make all thedecisions for each group. Therefore, students learn to rely on their ownexperience, artistic development and domain of skill and knowledge. From a teaching standpoint, one can appreciate that theteacher's role, as a project supervisor, becomes less significant.The new role of being teacher is to give direction only to each of thegroups, which in turn forces the students to take an assertive role indeciding the detailed tasks needing completion. The classroom can be a place where children learn about theirneighbors in the world. Postmodern art Postmodern art is a term used to describe art which is thought to be in contradiction to some aspect of modernism, or to have emerged or developed in its aftermath. In general movements such as Intermedia, Installation art, Conceptual Art and Multimedia, particularly involving educators have responded to theneed of educating our youth about the world through curriculum changes,which employ multiculturalism. According to according toprep.1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians.2. In keeping with: according to instructions.3. the book, Postmodern Art Education: An Approach toCurriculum (The National Art Education Association, 1996), the humanrelations' approach to teaching multiculturalism emphasizes thesociocultural similarities rather than the differences. Using thisapproach promotes positive feelings, a sense of unity, reduces stereotypes, and works to eliminate prejudice and biases. Its authors state,"Tomorrows children need the arts to enable them to understandtheir social world so they might have a future in it!" (p. 73). The artworks my students create each year for Middfest have manyeducational opportunities linked to them. While my students are havingfun painting the displays, they are learning so much more. They areexpanding their knowledge of the world, preparing for the work force,participating in citizenship, and producing wonderful art. MATERIALS * Containers for mixing paints * Latex outdoor paint * Brushes (1/2" to 1") * Water cups * Sharpie[R] permanent markers * Jigsaw A Web server from the W3C that incorporates advanced features and uses a modular design similar to the Apache Web server. Jigsaw supports HTTP 1.1 and provided an experimental platform for HTTP-NG. See HTTP-NG and Amaya. * Plywood plywood,manufactured board composed of an odd number of thin sheets of wood glued together under pressure with grains of the successive layers at right angles. Laminated wood differs from plywood in that the grains of its sheets are parallel. * Street-sign posts for display * 1 1/2" screws * Plastic aprons to protect clothing LEARNING OBJECTIVES Students will ... * construct a display of Greek philosophers and scientists forMiddfest. * become familiar with the culture, myths, clothing, symbols,architecture, pottery and classical art of Greece. * work cooperatively to paint each figure after discussing thecontributions associated with each of the Greek philosophers andscientists. * include values in clothing folds and shadows in their artworks. BIBLIOGRAPHY * Dewey, John Dewey, John,1859–1952, American philosopher and educator, b. Burlington, Vt., grad. Univ. of Vermont, 1879, Ph.D. Johns Hopkins, 1884. He taught at the universities of Minnesota (1888–89), Michigan (1884–88, 1889–94), and Chicago . The School and Society (p. 29). University ofChicago Press The University of Chicago Press is the largest university press in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including The Chicago Manual of Style, dozens of academic journals, including , 1900. * Efland, A., Freedman, K. and Stuhr, P. Postmodern Art Education:An Approach to Curriculum. National Art Education Association, 1996. * Hanna, Potter and Hagaman. Unit Teaching in the ElementarySchool. Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, Inc., 1963. * Lowenfeld, V. and Brittain, W.L. Creative and Mental Growth.Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1975. Lori Scherer teaches art at Madison Junior/Senior High School inMiddletown, Ohio.