Room 315, The NEW Art Room

made with Photosynth app on iphone...

Art and the New Evaluation Tool for Teachers

Yep, I predict a worse education system in this country and stupider kids, yep I said stupider. All decent careing teachers will quit, all new teachers will not pursue the profession, and who knows what will teach our kids. We teach because we want kids to learn, we are excited and get pumped about kids learning. NOT about paperwork, forced lessons by rote or reading and writing in Art. Art class is for ...um...ART.

This is an excellent read:
http://artwithmre.blogspot.com/2011/09/tn-new-evaluation-system-one-size-does.html

WHY TEACH ART?

WARNING:  Soap Box is placed and I am standing on it!
    
  With all the "evaluation" crud coming down upon teachers, I am yet again agast at the idiotic ways the "government" thinks we should teach and be measured for our teaching. The new evaluation model, without exception, stifles creative teaching, adds more stress to teachers and therefore students, and asks for teachers to teach in 55 minutes what in all reality would take days. With all this is the "testing" issue. My subject is not tested by standardized tests, and note here- IT SHOULD NOT BE!

       But then how can the "state" evaluate me?  So now, I am evaluated upon what other teachers do or do not teach as reflected on how a student scores on their test. Need I even mention here the kid who sits and in the last five minutes of the test creates a sailboat in their bubbled in circles. Yep, that's fair.

I found this website www.whyteachart.com and I highly recommend it as a good read. If only I could get the government and the powers that be to read it and believe it! Here is a small excerp....

"WHY TEACH ART? I am certain there are more answers than one can conceive, and much has been written about this question, which seems to be as big as the infamous daunting one, ”What is art?” But the question that truly interests me is, “Why teach art in the 21st century?” Why teach art in an age in which so little importance is given to the subject in a school curriculum? The answer is so simple that it is almost absurd. We live in a global economy, in an age in which infrastructure is the key word to explain economic dynamism, and mobility is the requirement that insures one is ahead of the game. In a post-modern world there is an increasing demand for creativity, seen as the competitive key to innovative ideas and the continuous development of the marketplace. The search is constantly scrutinizing candidates who are attentive, problem solver, and who can make decisions without hesitation. Those three elements are the answer to my question. To teach art first means to learn about art, and then to make art. Learning art requires attention, and develops the analytical skill to dissect and interpret a situation (a work of art) by focusing on each component and being alert of unexpected paradigms. Art students not only make works of art, they also make decisions, and must take full responsibility for choices that are wholly theirs. They learn the skills to address unknown situations and all issues that rise from it; whether it is a technical problem, a conceptual issue or an unforeseen logistic wrinkle. We teach art in the 21st century because the 21st century needs creative minds that can face the complexities of a multilayered reality, offer solutions, and follow through their completion and successful outcomes. Art teaches abstract principles that fully prepare the young mind for adult life. Once acquired, they can be applied to any subject and any aspect of life." Thank you