Essay on The art education
The art education began in the late 19th century and, since then, has become really important in our society. A lot of parents suggest their children to start learning art at preschool because art education becomes an inseparable part of education. People learn art at school, also outside school, no matter in which country they are. I, for example, have been at art since preschool: my parents used to send me to Art Education School every week because they thought art would train child’s attention and focus. Also, since preschool I have never given up art till the present moment. I have had lots of experience connected with art because I attended art school and I’m really interesting in art.
Due to the course of Art Education I have been acquainted with an artist called Stuart Werle, who teaches Design class in Ontario College of Art and Design. He’s a great designer of packaging design and also a good teacher to share his experience on his subject. One of his first lectures Stuart began with some funny jokes to “break the ice” between him and students. As a result, the students got relaxed and got ready for the class. Then, he started from the schedule of the day, introduction of the plan for that period. It was the following: 1) checking the attendance, 2) discussion of the assignment, 3) lecture, and, at the end, 4) one-to-one discussion.
Good organization of the timetable for the art education is important, and art educator must prepare well for the lectures before the class. Art educator, Stuart usually passes away the attendant sheet to let student sign in their names. In my opinion, passing around the attendants’ sheet allows the students to have more freedom to attend this course or not, and it is a good way to start the class. One of Stuart’s techniques in teaching is his introduction of the assignment: he discusses the assignment using a projector. He reads the assignment thoroughly by himself and explains the text of the assignment in detail, then hands out the assignment sheet making sure each student understands the content of the assignment. After discussion of the assignment, the educator has a lecture on packaging design and its correlation to business. He describes how important the interaction between packaging design and business is. He does not stand up while holding the class, he sits at the computer behind the projector. I think this position is good, as he is able to control the PowerPoint presentation, however, when he wants to share his own experience and opinion, he would stand up and use gesticulation to make the lecture more interesting and impressive. “Teaching is a performance art. Teachers do many things whose only purpose is to enable other people to learn, whether those people are physically present or otherwise. “ (Introduction, Theory, Practice, the element of teaching 23), Using body language while sharing some experience or opinion represents the art of performance. It works because the body gesture catches every student’s attention.
During his lecture time, Stuart likes to give an example to let the students think on it. He usually prepares a real study case of the brand for the packaging design. For example, he lists the brief model of the pop tart to teenagers, analyzes business peculiarities of the brand and asks students the questions related to the brand. Of course, Stuart will answer the question at the end of the discussion. At the end of the lecture, Stuart asks students to sign their names on the blackboard for the one-to-one discussion. The benefits of the one-to-one discussion are the following for the students: they have face to face contact with the teacher, express their own opinion and share their ideas with the instructor. Moreover, the instructor is able to know how much each student has learned or what has inspired this student during his lecture. Student, in his/her turn, can ask him questions during the one-to-one discussion.
The second class from the schedule which I attended that day was the Assignment Critique. The format of the Critique is very similar to my courses: the Critique is an exhibition of students’ artworks. All of the art products are displayed on the table: students stand up and look at the pieces. The format of the class was the following: he randomly chose one piece and let students talk about their impressions, and the artist of the piece had to speak out at the end of other students’ discussion. Most of the pieces were awesome; Stuart would share his opinion during the Critique because he wants his students to improve themselves. Ability to share and communication skills are the most important qualities for an art educator, because they allow the art educator and the students grow and develop together. The students feel good for their artworks because the Critique is not the place for people to criticize any artwork, but the place to share and learn from each other.
Art Education differs from other courses such as Business or Mathematic. At the class of Art Education there is no right or wrong answer, all art pieces should get people’s respect because all artworks made by the students are full of love and meaning.
In conclusion, to become a great art educator, it is necessary to learn from other educators to get more experience. Looking at Stuart Werle’s methods of work, I have learned how to prepare for the class and organize the schedule before the class, create interesting activities or prepare some jokes to “break the ice”, and teach using bright examples to inspire the learners to learn thoroughly and understand the material more deeply. A good educator should take care of each student, speak louder to make sure that students at the back of the class can hear well. Each art educator should find out his or her own way to teach his subject. Perhaps, it is necessary to spend more time in order to find out a good way, but observing other art educators I have learned a lot and have been greatly inspired by them
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