Why I teach What
I teach (teaching philosophy)
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All our lives, the things we are interested in--sex and self-knowledge and work and death--are made shameful for us. At every stage of our lives, we are taught not to be what we are, and we end up by not allowing ourselves to be concerned in the things which most concern us. We live stupid lives, we live with blinders on, and we die the way we have lived--in ignorance of what is happening to us. In schools and on jobs we are screened from the knowledge of our lives. In old age homes and terminal wards, we are screened from the knowledge of our deaths. (Marc Kaminsky, 1974, p. 21)
Theoretically embedded in feminism and the profeminist men's movement, I use autobiography--in the sense of testimony (Felman & Laub, 1992; Felstiner, 1988)--as both a motivation and a theoretical framework in research and teaching. Testimonials recount what we have witnessed in our lives, in our art and in our work as students and educators. Such stories, I believe, not only offer insight into context, content and meaning, but have implications and applications for art and education. My socio-political perspective emphasizes historical and personal connections, social responsibility, and coming to a better understanding of privilege: who speaks, who gets heard, what gets talked about, and what gets seen. Conventional pedagogies do not address the social and political issues related to the production and consumption of art, and continue to marginalize groups and art. My research interests in examining the relationships of sexual identity, gender, art and education have grown out of my personal experiences as a gay male, artist and educator. Living in a culture that still largely denies death, sex, poverty, gender inequity and race, what Jonathan Silin (1995) terms our "passion for ignorance," school curricula often reflect the societal denial and perpetuate the cultural amnesia around social and aesthetic issues. I believe art education is that space where we come to know more about ourselves, the culture in which we live, and our relationship to that culture and its art. A multicultural understanding is crucial for anyone interested in teaching about the arts. Such an art education requires critical questioning, a willingness to learn from failure, and the ability to confront fear and stereotype.
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I am keenly aware how important imagination, play, openness and critical questioning are to the process of learning, making art and the production of meaning. Dan Nadaner (1990) speaks about an art education which "seeks to engage [students] in a way that involves them thoroughly in their own inspired inquiry, exploration, and creation" (p. 188). I value student exploration and discovery and encourage self-direction and self-motivation. Both, my philosophy and pedagogy of art and education reflect my concern for our cultural ignorance and amnesia. Through socio-political art education practices and experiences students and teachers become more aware how race, class, gender, age, sexuality, ability, etc. affect and influence our interpretations, reactions, interactions with art and the making of art. In line with what Kaminsky (1974) suggests, we learn how to allow ourselves to speak about the issues and make art that really matters. |
Felman, S. & Laub, D. (1992). Testimony: Crises of witnessing
in literature, psychoanalysis, and history. New York:
Routledge.
Felstiner, M. L. (1988). Taking her life/history: The autobiography of Charlotte Salomon. In B. Brodzki and C. Schenk (Eds.), Life/Lines: Theorizing women's autobiography (pp. 320-337). Ithica, New York: Cornell University.
Kaminsky, M. (1974). What's inside you it shines out of you. New York: Horizon Press.
Nadaner, D. (1990). The need for openness in art education. The Journal of Social Theory in Art Education, No. 10, 187-191.
Silin, J. (1995). Sex, death, and the education of children:
Our passion for ignorance in the age of AIDS. Columbia University,
New York: Teachers College Press.