reading Assignment 10

Award winning neurologist, psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl said “people have enough to live, but nothing to live for; they have the means but no meaning.” We can have the basic necessities to live but without happiness life has no meaning. We all have well-being imprinted on our genes, but factors determine which side of the spectrum we live with. “Among the things that contribute to happiness are engaging in satisfying work, avoiding negative events and emotions, being married, and having a rich social network. Also important are gratitude, forgiveness and optimism.” (Pink). These factors can help us live a happy satisfied life. A person can ensure they have a good life if they establish their “calling”; choosing a career that is not just work but also gratifying. “There’s a third form of happiness that is ineluctably pursued by humans, and that’s the pursuit of meaning… knowing what your highest strengths are and deploying them in the service of something larger than you are” (Pink).

Reading assignment 9

Empathy is the ability to imagine yourself in someone else’s position and to intuit what that person is feeling. “Empathy is related to symphony because empathic people understand the importance of context” (Pink). Put into context, the patients and loved ones who share their horrific stories of hospitals, we can empathize with them; take in those stories and experiences to create a massive out cry for a change in the design of the hospital. “Empathy is an essential part of design, because good designers put themselves in the mind of whoever is going to experience the product or service they’re designing” “Empathy makes us human. Empathy brings joy” (Pink). We can empathize with bad experiences as well as good experiences.

Reading Assignment 7

“Story grammar that helps him understand the world not as a set of logical propositions but as a pattern of experiences” (Pink). Story telling is human nature. It is how we establish a problem.Stories help shape the design process. How do we know we have a bad design? It is through stories. A person’s bad experiences in/with these bad designs are established through story. “Stories are easier to remember- because in many ways, stories are how we remember” “he explained himself and connected to others through stories” (Pink). Patients and loved ones tell horrific stories of hospitals. Students and teachers tell shocking stories of classrooms and schools. This creates an out cry for a change and a new design is purposed.

I have been listening to A Whole New Mind on audio now, and I have picked up on things I over look while reading. In the profile section on story Pink talked about opening lines this reminded me of the show Whose Line is it Anyway?. It was a fantastic show! All about improvisation. This comedic geniuses have to do very short skits on the spot. Here is an example of how it relates to story- 3 comics stand up are give a prompt and character descriptions to start off with. Two men have disguised themselves as women in an all girl band to hid from the other comic who is a hit man working for the mob. They start to tell the story then...Buzzer now same story but in the style of a western! They continue the story then...Buzzer now same story but in the style of Sesame street! They continue the story then...Buzzer now same story but in the style of Shakespeare! They continue the story again then...Buzzer now same story but in the style of Shaft! They continue the story then...Buzzer now same story but in the style of Opera!There are so many example in that show of story and they are very good. Its a great game to play as well Whose Line is it Anyway?

Reading Assignment 8

Pink's use of the word Symphony is very interesting. It is a more aesthetic word to describe the grand schema, the big picture, the finished puzzle, etc. I love that he set out to learn to draw. " I'm not drawing what I'm seeing. I'm drawing remembered symbols from childhood." Isn't this exactly what we as art teachers have to over come when teaching realistic drawing? I myself still struggle when working on my own drawings. All the problems he had with it where the same problems I see my own students face. I like how he talked about tricking the left side of your brain but turning a picture upside down before drawing it. I have several tricks I use when teaching realistic drawings, and I even use the words tricking your brain, but I didn't realize it was the left side of the brain we are tricking. I have students (4th grade) start a self portrait with a gridded photo of themselves and gridded a piece of drawing paper. I have them cover the photo so they can only see the squares they are working on at that time. I also have students (5th or 6th) do hand drawings, we start with blind contour and modified contour exercises over and over to look for details in their hands.  I have sometimes thought this was cheating, but now I feel justified in teaching this way. It has students look for relationships and at the end the result is the symphony, everything coming together to make their drawings.

These people who already see these relationships in the world are awesome! I would like to count myself in there sometimes. The boundary crossers are really cool. I feel I need to be more multi in my life. "Sometimes the most powerful ideas come from simply combining two existing ideas nobody else ever thought to unite." I think food is a great example of this. I love hoppin' john which is rice, black eyed peas and bacon. Or bacon on a cupcake has anyone tried that is so good! " lend me your ears" "the boss doesn't really want you to pull a Van Gogh." Love that I laughed. It's a over used joke but is still funny.

I feel it is so uplifting to read want Pink said about Dyslexics! I have been fighting the world on the idea that learning "disability" means someone can't do thing. Someone with a learning "disability" learn and view the world in ways different then the majority. Which if most defiantly not a bad thing! 

Reading Assignment 6

Defining design is difficult and can be interpreted by many view point. Each person’s experiences and interaction with design changes that person’s definition of the word. Many people think of design as being fashion, interior design, advertising, etc. But as Daniel Pink says “Design in its simplest form is the activity of creating solutions. Design is something that everyone does every day.” Yes design is fashion but it can also be room layouts, silverware, landscaping, SAT test packets, etc. We see design in our day to day lives. “Design is the only thing that differentiates one product from another in the marketplace” (Pink). We as consumers want a product that is not just functional but is also visually appealing. In the market today we now have those options. For example when deciding on which toothbrush to buy at the store I now have I wide range designs to consider. Not just the question of do I choose manual brush vs. electronic brush but also consider bristle placement, tough scrubber, flexibility, color, feel, music, etc. All of these designs still have the basic function to clean your teeth but with so much more potentials. Design is in everyday things, but are people using design everyday to solve their problems? If you are a right-brainer you do. Design takes a creative and imaginative approach to a problem vs. logical conclusion. If design uses creativity and imagination is it art?

Determining if design is art can be just if not more difficult as defining it. Each person’s experiences and interaction with design changes that person’s opinion of design as an art. More often design is being displayed and viewed as art, but is every form of design also art? A designer’s initial aim is not to have the design viewed as art, but to solve a problem. A viewer can view a design as art under the right circumstances. “Good art sends a different message to everyone; good design sends the same message to everyone” (Pink). A designer’s aim is to send the same message to everyone, but in addition to that message the viewer can interpret a different message which turns a design into art. Design is everywhere and it can be art, but what does design mean in the grand schema? What about the big picture?

"Good design can change our world (and so, alas can bad design)” (Pink). Some of the most initiative designs have helped shape our world. Take the wheel it just wouldn’t work the same if the designer decided to use a different shape. We can’t reinvent the wheel but can redesign it to be more visually appealing. Most world changing designs come out of poor designs like hospitals and schools. Well designed Hospital room can speed up the healing process. If a patent is in a more aesthetic and comfortable room they in turn will be more comforted. If you are comfortable your stress level will be decreased which will allow your body to focus on other health problems. A school's physical environment can improve test scores. If students have an aesthetic and inviting classroom students will be more engaged. Before we could design better hospitals and schools we had to address the problems with the previous design.

Reading assignment 5

I love the idea of play that Pink talks about. Dr. Kataria’s laughing club sounds amazing! I tried some of the laughing exercise Pink mentions in the chapter with my 3 year old daughter which just made me laugh harder. I tried to look for a laughing club in Columbia and found one that meet every Thursday, I may go and laugh. I found it interesting that the US army uses video games to train their soldiers. I do enjoy playing Wii with my family and sims every once in a while, but I believe video games can become a serious addiction. I have a cousin who has a very serious problem with it, so I tend to avoid most video games on a regular base. But play in its self is amazing. I always felt I stopped playing with barbies to early in my childhood even though I was almost 13 year old and told myself this is it put them away I really didn’t want to. Why has society dictated that play should end when childhood ends? I often catch myself so engrossed in playing with my daughter’s toys I haven’t even noticed she has moved on to something else. While reading this I could not help but think of all the time we as adults demonstrate to child that adults don’t play. Example: my mother was leading Vacation bible school at her church last week and I sent my daughter. On Sunday at church my mother had the children and teenage helpers lead the congregation in the songs and dances they learned. It was sad to see all those adults just standing there. It was even sadder to see my sister (13years old) and her friend up there embarrassed when they had had so much fun this week. I danced and sang and enjoyed it!

Reading Assignment 4

Again I like the topic of how young children think, learn and develop, so I like Eisner's chapter 5. I like the ideas of communities of learners working together to problem solve and create. As we our selves begin to work together in groups. This past school year I had my 3rd graders working as a class on a piece of public sculpture. There where problems that occurred during planning, design, and construction. We had to stop and have conversations about how to continue but those conversations were a learning experience for all of us. 

If you would like to see our sculptures and other artworks by CPS students go see TRYPS production of The Little Mermaid at Rock Bridge High School on JULY 19,20 at 7pm or July 21 at 2:30 

Another quote by Eisner I like is "But learning is seldom significant when it is limited to a onetime affair. The teacher who gives students clay one week, water-colors the next, wire for sculpture the third week, and linoleum printmaking the next, all in the name of providing a rich art curriculum, does those students no favor. What are needed are sequential opportunities to work on problems with one material, time to get a feel for that material, and time to learn how to cope with problems engendered by the material so that mastery is secured.” I believe this is what is wrong with the curriculum I had to deal with this past year. I am all about using new materials and letting students explore but let it resonate.

“Time on task is not only an index of students’ attention; it is also an index of the opportunity provided to learn how to deal with the problems they wish to address.” This is fantastic! I once had a 2 year old boy in my daycare class who was the most amazing artist problem solver i have ever see that young. he was your average 2 year old in most other regards, but if he had any kind of drawing instrument he would make many different kinds of circles and swirls over and over. different sizes and colors. he would often stop and study his work for a few seconds before continuing. he liked to try different drawing instruments as well; paintbrushes, crayon,pen,markers, etc. Once I timed how long he would sit and do this... longest was 43 mins! He is now 4 and still problem solving with his art, he will draw the same subject over and over until he gets it the way he wants it.

Richard Serra!

I have seen this art 21 episode before and I have seen some of Serra's work. When I was first was introduced to his work i wasn't too sure about it but it does give you a sense of space and the feelings start to conflicted.  like the idea of confining space mixed with open space which makes me feel uncomfortable. I like that aspect of his work. His work reminds me of work by Bob Cassilly. he created the City museum in STL, when I climb through his works of art I get some of the same feelings.

Reading assignment 3

So I realize I read the wrong chapter in Freedmen on Tuesday night! Instead of reading chapter 2 I had read chapter 3. After feeling stupid for a while I said "oh well" and read chapter 2 & 4.

This is what I blogged about on chapter 3 on Tuesday night. If students (artist) are going to be creating a work of art they need to know why, when, who, and what has been created in the past. This way ideas can be remade. Example if an artist had never heard of pointillism or Georges Seurat they may try to purpose an idea for creating a painting using small dots instead of strokes. We can’t reinvent the wheel but we can make a more awesome wheel or wheel like thing. As I read this chapter I thought of the spark in Imagination first rewriting history. What if a current artwork was never created or art movement never started? What would be the ramifications? Or would some other artist create that art or start that art movement further on in time?

Freedmen's chapter 4 was very interesting. Before I started teaching art I was a daycare teacher in a 2 & 3 year old class. I am currently working at the same daycare in the afternoons this summer. I have always found very young children' imagination fascinating. It was interesting to read research on behaviors that I myself have observed. I also loved what Freedman said about how we react to color depends on not just the way our eye sees it with relation to the brain, but also depends on social conditions. His examples where great but I thought about how we have define colors as "boy colors" and "girl colors"

On the subject of young children... I decided I was going to VTS with my 2 &3 year old daycare kids this afternoon! It was very interesting and funny. I did video it but I need one more parent permission before i can show everyone. I choose this painting by John Constable. I choose it because it is of a family with several children which I thought they could recognize as a family. The conversation speaks for its self!


me: What do we see in this picture?
boy 1: um... Princessesss!
boy 2: Pencils!
boy3: Princess
boy4: Princess
me: What make you say they are princesses?
boy 1: They dance around
me: what in this picture make you say that?
boy 1: boobies. (I think he was saying they are princesses because they have boobs)
boy 4: they dance with their haots (hats)
me: what more can we find?
boy2: pictures...cheeseees! (I think he meant it is a photo of them)
boy1: Cheese Monfh, cheese monfh!
*brake to get back focus - 30 secs
me: what can we see in this picture?
boy5: mermaids swimmin underwater
me: what in this picture make you say that?
boy5: humm...just their all inside
boy 1: their in the house and go spinnin around
me: what else can we find?
boy 1: spinning around and fall down then bump your head.

I thought it was fairly successful considering it was the first time and they are 2 and 3.

Reading Assignment 2

As I read these two Eisner chapters I thought this is information we as teacher have heard and read about my times, but it is always good to review. I hear once in a psychology class that an adult must receive information 8 times in context before it is retained into long term memory. There where two main points Eisner discussed that made me think on my teaching skills.

One was “Art teachers need to know when to back off and to allow the student to find out for him or herself.” I feel I do hover over students too much. One reason I think I do this is my need for control. The other is because this past school year I have been teaching on a cart and have not felt completely comfortable in someone else’s classroom. This has caused me literally stand over students as they work. Regardless of the reasons for hovering, the result has been student feel they have to justify every aspect of their work with me before continuing, which is not only frustrating but extremely limiting to their creativity. This is one area of teaching I am determined to improve upon.

The other point Eisner makes that has me reflecting on how I teach is “Students should know not only what they are being asked to do, but why.” This past school year (my first year teaching) has made me realized how thankful I am that I am now in a district/school where I can write MY OWN CURRICULUM. Not to say that the curriculum set in CPS is bad, I just focused too much at achieving all its aims. This caused me to create some crap lessons to fit those aims instead of focusing on more thought provoking, meaningful lessons. Example: 4^th grade GLE PP3A4; VA1; FA1 Create an abstract portrait and still life by exaggerating, distorting, or simplifying the subject. So my brilliant idea- lets pull random objects out of a bag and create still-lifes and the draw them. Stupidest lesson ever! And big shock my students hated that lesson. This is an instance when the student and I didn’t know why we where creating this. So I have learned if a lesson is not going well scrap it or change it.

Sorry for my rant.

Freedman’s second chapter was a little bit easier to read then chapter 1. If students (artist) are going to be creating a work of art they need to know why, when, who, and what has been created in the past. This way ideas can be remade. Example if an artist had never heard of pointillism or Georges Seurat they may try to purpose an idea for creating a painting using small dots instead of strokes. We can’t reinvent the wheel but we can make a more awesome wheel or wheel like thing. As I read this chapter I thought of the spark in Imagination first rewriting history. What if a current artwork was never created or art movement never started? What would be the ramifications? Or would some other artist create that art or start that art movement further on in time?

Reading Assignment 1

Reading Assignment 1- I enjoyed reading Eisner, his ideas where extremely insightful and thought provoking. Although his chapters are long he provides so much information and presents it in several different ways. My favorite quote of his was in his introduction “Efficiency is largely a virtue for the tasks we don’t like to do; few of us like to eat a great meal efficiency or to participate in a wonderful conversation efficiency, or indeed to make love efficiency. What we enjoy the most we linger over… Children, like the rest of us, seldom voluntarily pursue activities for which they receive little or no satisfaction. Experiencing the aesthetic in the context of intellectual and artistic work is a source of pleasure that predicts best what students are likely to do when they can do whatever they would like to do.” Getting to know your students; their likes and dislikes is so extremely important. But how you use the information you gather can define your curriculum. Why not teach what student’s enjoy? I see one problem in this idea. When students only learn what they already like how will they ever branch out into other areas of life? For example, when I child my mother would ask my brother and I what extra-curricular classes we want to sign up for (outside of school). I would only ever take art classes despite my mother’s attempts to get me to try other things (girl scouts, sports, etc). People tend to find their niche and stick with it. So in my opinion not only do we need to teach what students enjoy but also implement other areas and experiences. For example, study comic books and have students draw their own comic books and design their own characters. Then why not make their own real costumes and act out their own comic book to an audience. Not only is it a subject matter students of all ages and genders enjoy, but they are learning drawing skills, design, fibers, problem solving, theatric concepts, etc.

I think I will really enjoy Imagination first. Unlike Eisner and Freedmen; Liu and Noppe-Brandon’s book reads a lot easier. The introduction was empowering but also makes me hate the world a little bit. I can easily recall a time my imagination was killed and many more after. I don’t think it is always one instinct, one event that kills imagination. It’s over time, and all the little things people say or do that wears you down. I don’t think it is a conscious choice we make to give up but progression over time. I hope I never kill my student’s, Daughter’s or anyone’s imagination. I am interested to read more.