Curiouser and curiouser

I like to tell my new Year 7 students that artists know stuff. This, of course, extends to teachers of art, art critics and historians. We know stuff. And that is why being an artist/art student/critic/historian/art teacher is so fascinating.

I love art theory. Art tells us about the world in so many ways. However, I'm yet to work out the exact equation that will make my students love theory as much as I do. For the time being I try to make my content and examples as interesting and current as possible. Art theory is not easy for students, I know. I love the following quote by Stuart Hall from Cultural Studies and Its Theoretical Legacies (1992). The quote begins Anne D'Alleva's Methods & Theories of Art History (2005).

I want to suggest a different metaphor for theoretical work: the metaphor of struggle, of wrestling with the angels. The only theory worth having is that which you have to fight off, not that which you speak with profound fluency.

A reassuring quote also, as it indicates that having my head in the books during christmas break in anticipation of teaching HSC art historical and critical studies for 2013 is OK. I do feel I am wrestling at the moment - I'm not sure it is with angels, however. I'll keep you informed.

Glossary of Key Words from the Board of Studies

A Glossary of Key Words

Account
Account for: state reasons for, report on. Give an account of: narrate a series of events or transactions

Analyse
Identify components and the relationship between them; draw out and relate implications

Apply
Use, utilise, employ in a particular situation

Appreciate
Make a judgement about the value of

Assess
Make a judgement of value, quality, outcomes, results or size

Calculate
Ascertain/determine from given facts, figures or information

Clarify
Make clear or plain

Classify
Arrange or include in classes/categories

Compare
Show how things are similar or different

Construct
Make; build; put together items or arguments

Contrast
Show how things are different or opposite

Critically (analyse/evaluate)
Add a degree or level of accuracy depth, knowledge and understanding, logic, questioning, reflection and quality to (analyse/evaluate)

Deduce
Draw conclusions

Define
State meaning and identify essential qualities

Demonstrate
Show by example

Describe
Provide characteristics and features

Discuss
Identify issues and provide points for and/or against

Distinguish
Recognise or note/indicate as being distinct or different from; to note differences between

Evaluate
Make a judgement based on criteria; determine the value of

Examine
Inquire into

Explain
Relate cause and effect; make the relationships between things evident; provide why and/or how

Extract
Choose relevant and/or appropriate details

Extrapolate
Infer from what is known

Identify
Recognise and name

Interpret
Draw meaning from

Investigate
Plan, inquire into and draw conclusions about

Justify
Support an argument or conclusion

Outline
Sketch in general terms; indicate the main features of

Predict
Suggest what may happen based on available information

Propose
Put forward (for example a point of view, idea, argument, suggestion) for consideration or action

Recall
Present remembered ideas, facts or experiences

Recommend
Provide reasons in favour

Recount
Retell a series of events

Summarise
Express, concisely, the relevant details

Synthesise
Putting together various elements to make a whole

Inspiration

I believe a little 'teacher therapy' goes a long way!

In the leadup to examinations, reports and marking, sometimes I need to pull out a little gratitude, and to get a little help with positive thinking.

"Students need a classroom where they feel welcomed, safe, respected, challenged. Make your classroom that space".

I love this book that I found at a new age bookstore in the city. Today the quote above will be my focus for the day :-)   Have a great day fellow teachers.

The Pre-Service Teacher

It's definitely been a bittersweet couple of weeks at school. While the stresses of exams, reporting and marking have been significant, being in a really great faculty has made all the difference. I'm lucky to work with a great bunch of really smart, friendly, energetic people. I've also been lucky to have a great prac student on board. I've been really lucky all round really.

I remember being in Uni and ringing around schools asking if they would take me for a prac. God I remember. It was a hard thing to do, and I am so grateful to the wonderful teachers who took me on. It's why I always try to say yes to having a prac student. My first prac student has become my best friend and my closest colleague. I love telling the kids how I went to her wedding. Another prac student regularly emails me to let me know how she is going. She always tells me how much she enjoyed being at our school. My current prac student has kept me sane in the last two weeks. She's as new as can be and only 19 but very enthusiastic and very good. She will be a great teacher. She has helped me no end - not by doing my work for me but by doing what I do with me. That includes co-marking, playground duty, team teaching. She even joined us for end of term faculty dinner tonight. It never crossed my mind that this time of year might be too busy to have a prac student and thank goodness it didn't. I have enjoyed every minute of it.

Having a prac student helps me as much as I think it helps them. I gain a realisation of how far I have come in my own teaching - I guide them with confidence (mostly) and I become a mentor and a friend. I gain an awareness that I have actually come a long way as a teacher.

I also learn from the prac student. I gain new ideas -I take more risks, I implement new content and teaching approaches.

And I always have more to learn.

Images: my own photos from the Lego forest in Martin Place, Sydney as part of the 2012 Lego Festival of Play http://www.legofestival.com.au/m/#/news/article.php?id=135

The Archibald Prize 2012 in the classroom

I am excited about the announcement of this year's Archibald Prize winner. Completely.

The 2012 Archibald Prize Winner
Tim Storrier's 'The Histrionic Wayfarer (After Bosch)'

There is just so much to say in the classroom about this work. On hearing that Tim Storrier had won the $75,000 prize I immediately Googled the announcement. Ah yes, I knew this work from showing my year 7s a sideshow from the Art Gallery of NSW a week or so before. Oh yes, I think this is a great choice for the winner! I remember Storrier's entry from last year. It was a key work for discussion with Year 10 - discussing how an absence of the physical figure can say so much. Most of the Year 10s really liked Storrier's magical treatment of landscape, of his whimsical explorations of memory and the self.

Like other years before, this year's winner had not been announced at the time that John McDonald had written his article on the prize (SMH March 32-Apr 1, Spectrum). I always enjoy reading his work however I almost feel sorry for someone who has to critique the entries (and possible winners) before they are announced. It must be awful to be in the position of writing so much that could be so wrong. And yet, what a fun game - to predict (from the informed point of view of the expert critic of course) the winners and losers, the 'good' and the 'bad' and then to see the outcome.

Next year I might play this game with my kids. What a great classroom exercise - look thought the slides of entries from the AGNSW website, discuss, critique, judge, then wait...

So, back to the announcement of the winner. John McDonald stated that 'Tim Storrier's The Histrionic Wayfarer (After Bosch) continues a series of self portraits as the invisible man, identifiable only by his clothes and possessions...One suspects even the trustees of the AGNSW would hesitate to give the prize to an invisible subject...'

I would have loved to know reasons why McDonald thought the absent figure would not win. Is it because, as one immediately assumes from his writing, that there is no face and is therefore a controversial choice and too unpredictable, even for the trustees who are open to the 'controversial choice'. Or is it because well, there is no face and of course, many of us know this approach to portraiture has been done numerous times before, and is a little 'old hat' and predictable?

And, back to the announcement (there are just so many diversions from the subject at hand when blogging). The day of the announcement, Tim Storrier's work made me feel an immediate excitement.

Rarely do I teach art theory on a Friday last period. The kids are just not in the headspace to retain in-depth information on the artworld. And who could blame them? Their heads are in the play they will have in only 50 minutes time! And yet, Friday afternoon's class was one of the best I have had with this group.

We discussed the winner - why this work could be seen as controversial due to the fact the man has no face. We looked at all the clothes and objects and the gestures that make up the figure, and how these say so much about the type of man Storrier is. Of course, we couldn't ignore the artist's dog who looks directly towards a floating piece of paper with a drawing of the artist's portrait.

We then looked at Bosch's work and compared the two. We looked at Storrier's entry from last year and compared the work to this year's winner.

              Tim Storrier's 2011 entry

Then we looked at Brett Whiteley's 1977 'Self Portrait in the Studio' - how could we not? The comparisons are lovely for Year 7s, particularly with Storrier's actual portrait on a piece of paper, and Whiteley's actual portrait in the small mirror, and all the objects and belongings that tell us so much about the artists themselves. Combined with previous investigations, students were able to gain a good understanding of the history of the prize and how approaches to portraiture have changed.

Brett Whiteley's 'Self-Portrait in the Studio (1977)

Finally, we looked at Brett Whiteley' self portrait 'Art, Life and The Other Thing' (1978) which includes a drawing of the artist drawing Dobell's painting of Joshua Smith - Dobell's work being a controversy students have investigated in-depth during a previous lesson.

Brett Whiteley's 'Art, Life and the Other Thing' (1978)

Therefore, during this lesson students gained an understanding of how artists have an informed knowledge of the artworld and how their artworks are often informed by this knowledge (we may also talk about appropriation here).

Links such as these lead me to the conclusion that this year's winner is an obvious choice, and a very strategic choice at that! John McDonald, surely you would agree! What a great catalogue discussion this would make.

Back again to the lesson: This may sound like a lot of content however it fit perfectly within the 50 minute allocation. I usually encourage note taking however during this lesson we just sat and talked. The responses I got from the kids were outstanding, and yes, our classes are graded, and yes, this was a 'less advanced' class. I often find the 'lower' classes have an outstanding ability to talk about the artworld during class discussion, even if their reading and writing skills are considered to be less advanced than the other kids.

What I also enjoyed about this lesson is that I 'Googled' all the content as I taught it. It means I have to be fairly fast and make sure (the Googling being projected on the Smart Board for all the see) that nothing inappropriate is included in the search, however this approach can be good modelling for how to look at relevant websites and content. It is also of use when there is no time to create a PowerPoint, worksheets, etc.

If anyone has any ideas or tales of teaching the Archibald Prize to students I would love to know here.

Links:
http://m.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/tim-storrier-wins-2012-archibald-prize/story-e6frf7jx-1226314415481

http://m.smh.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/face-the-facts-20120329-1vz9v.html
Images:
Storrier images: artgalleryofnsw.gov.au

Whiteley: (Self Portrait in the Studio, 1977): artquotes.net
Detail: abc.net.au

Whiteley (Art, Life and the Other Thing, 1978):

http://blogs.cofa.unsw.edu.au/artwrite/?tag=brett-whiteley

Robert Hammond: Building a park in the sky | Video on TED.com

With the increased interest in making the city a more habital place aesthetically, socially and environmentally, the New York High Line project is one example of an astounding trasformation witin the urban landscape. This 6 minute TED talk provides that lovely feelgood that you often get when experiencing an artform that resonates. Who doesn't love a garden in the sky?

"New York was planning to tear down the High Line, an abandoned elevated railroad in Manhattan, when Robert Hammond and a few friends suggested: Why not make it a park? He shares how it happened in this tale of local cultural activism" (From TED.com).

Robert Hammond: Building a park in the sky Video on TED.com

I have to do what???

Accreditation.

Is its completion really a wicked festering monster in the true sense of the word or just one of those make-believe childhood fantasies hiding under the bed brought to life via vivid imagination and a whole lotta fear?

For me, it has been a little bit of both. We all know that sometimes the thinking is often worse than the actual doing, and whilst I've tried to stave off the thoughts of 'am I doing this right?' it has been a little bit of a hill (not a mountain) to climb.

I'm almost done. I already have some of those retrospective powers goin' on about what processes have worked and what haven't. I've both loved and hated the process yet the hate only comes from the fear and the frustration of and with the process. The love for me has been about the wow factor when annotating my evidence - 'yea, i've done some awesome things in my teaching', 'hey, that lesson was great', and 'gee that kid kicked goals in that unit'.

Tips:

Give yourself some time. Doing this process last minute would possibly remove some of the drawn out indecisiveness as to which element each piece of evidence covers however I wouldn't be able to deal with the panic of having to get it in within a very short timeframe. I've set myself a goal to get it done by the end of these holidays and heck, I'm almost done with a whole week and a half up my sleeve.

Get yourself a mentor. Make sure there is one in the school. Make sure this person knows the process. Our school has had a couple of mentors yet there is no one at the moment which is not a great situation. My head teacher has been great for observations and guidance but I really think a person assigned as a new scheme teacher mentor is essential. Luckily my school brought in a couple of teacher mentors from another school for a one-day workshop which clarified every detail. I am also able to send my evidence and annotations to them for checking. I did however tell my principal and DP that whilst it was an excelled session, what is needed is a similar session with head teachers, etc to ensure the new schemers have the support needed.

Read-up. There is a whole lot to read - other teachers who have walked the road to accreditation will be more than happy to hand over their examples. There is the standards themselves to get to know, there is information from the Institute and the Federation. I read all I could, wrote my annotations, re-read, then edited. Don't forget to read info on the quality teaching model...

Incorporate the Quality Teaching Model into your annotations. How do the Quality Teaching dimensions and element inform and help you develop your teaching? The DET's document 'Quality Teaching to support the NSW Professional Teaching Standards - Part A: Linking the NSW Professional Teaching Standards and the NSW Quality Teaching Model' has been an excellent document to assist me in writing my annotations.

Ask questions. Any questions. I was a little embarrassed at our workshop because I had so many of those niggly little questions, yet I was so glad I asked them.

Be a nerd and share your knowledge with other new-schemers. Where are you at? What element are you on? What evidence have you got? What fabulous documents have you found to help the process? Talk about it and share it with others - it will help them and you.

Sell yourself. Use buzzwords such as 'engaged', 'effective', 'successful', 'implemented' and 'I have shown/I have demonstrated'. Remember, the evidence has been chosen because it is evidence of how you ensure quality student learning in the classroom. There is really not a lot of room for understatement here.

Follow the rules. Don't submit originals, submit only that which can fit in an A4 sleeve, sign in the right spot, etc. I sure as hell don't want mine sent back for a silly error!

So why am I posting these suggestions when I haven't even submitted the document? I am no expert and there is every chance my work could be sent back. As I write this post, I continue to edit. I've almost finished that last element. The blog is acting as a means for me to make sure I address what I need to address and why.

I also seek feedback from others who have completed the process, and will add or amend my content of this post accordingly. Can you contribute to this discussion to assist others in their accreditation?