Reading Reflection and Reaction 2

Eisner Chapters 3&4
Today's Eisner readings focused a lot on the qualities of good teachers and the skills that those art teachers transfer to their students.  As a first year teacher, this past school year, as lovely as it was, was challenging for me in regard to these ideas.  Eisner says that, "Two of the most important factors affecting students' experiences in the classroom are the quality of teaching they encounter and the quality of the curriculum provided (46)."  While I do not doubt my ability to create fabulous and juicy lesson plans, I know that I have struggled this year with being an effective teacher as far as classroom management issues go.  I think that this is natural as a first year teacher, and I am sure that I will continue to improve my skills with time.  Reading these chapters verified, once again, how important it really is to be creating projects that are relevant and full of ideas to explore for students.  To this end, Eisner says, "The teacher is someone who designs situations that build upon what students value or know.  'Situations' are qualitatively related conditions that students experience and within which they act (47)."  I was also really drawn to the passages on the importance of improv in the classroom, which I think is something that is often overlooked and undervalued.  The ability to react, in certain situations, quickly and efficiently is something to be revered.  My favorite quotes from Eisner on this were: "When working with students, surprise is always present to some degree.  Therefore, the need for improvisation by the teacher is always necessary (48)."  As one of my absolute favorite fortune cookies once said, "the only certainty is that nothing is certain."

Freedman Chapter 2
This chapter was much less dense and easier to read than yesterday's.  In the chapter, Freedman talks about the role of aesthetics in art education and then spends the majority of the chapter discussing meaning and why it is important for students to be able to connect with the art that they create.  In one quote that I really liked, Freedman relates back to the Eisner chapters for today when he states that, "As educators, we should continually hope for surprising crossings of aesthetic levels in the creation of knowledge, and for the unexpected outcome that surpasses planned objectives (25)."  I am really enjoying the notion that art can be improvisational, that sometimes happy accidents can enhance the meaning of a piece, and that is something I am constantly trying to convey to my students.  I also liked that Freedman makes note of the audience's perception of artworks and how that, as a collective, is important to the meaning of a work.  He says, "Contemporary art, media, and literacy theory tends to focus more on the suggestiveness of signs and the ways in which meaning is constructed by audiences than on only formal qualities per se or artist personal self-expression (35)."  Yeah, that's right...the meaning that you take away from a piece is JUST, if not MORE, important than the aesthetic appeal or artist's intent.  I just love that idea.