We're now far enough into the course that I feel comfortable asking one of you to write the discussion questions. Each person in the class will have a chance to do this at least in the semester. We do this on a voluntary basis. Volunteers must have the reading done by Thursday at the latest, and their discussion topics/questions posted to the blog no later than Friday. The topic should be based squarely on the reading, of course. However, bear in mind that the topic or question is also a starting point for a more wide-ranging discussion that each person can take in their own direction.
The upside of writing the discussion topic/question is that once you have posted it, you are not obligated to participate any further that week. Now, you may choose to participate, but it's up to you.
With that said, do we have a volunteer to write this week's discussion topic based on the second half of The Quilters? Your participation is much appreciated!
Thank you ~~
carolyn
If no one has volunteered as yet, I will...
ReplyDeleteThanks Allison!
ReplyDeleteHi everyone! Here are my efforts at creating some discussion generating discussion question topics.
ReplyDeleteDiscussion Questions:
1. In the postscript, Norma Bradley Allen described the group as, “scrap piecers of necessity.” What were the necessities that she might have been referring to? Did the necessities change over their lifetime, if so, how?
2. Many women described their pleasure involved in the processes of quilting: from sorting the pieces, selecting color schemes, selecting designs, processing the batting, piecing the top, to the actual quilting (stitching) and finishing the edge. Some seemed to have enjoyed various parts of the process more than others. Consider yourself creating your art- would you describe yourself as a community quilter (artist/writer/researcher), a lone quilter (artist/writer/researcher) or would you be a bit of both, that being you enjoy the community of creating, but save your best efforts for your own work, separate and away from the collaborative efforts?
My friends, this Saturday, I am going to San Antonio with a team of 6th, 7th, and 8th graders to participate in a Junior Classical League event (I am also a Latin teacher.) So, I will try to get my thoughts down tonight, since I will have little time over the weekend! I hope that I will have an opportunity to read everyone’s blogs Sunday night! Looking forward to your thoughts....
ReplyDeleteThank you, Allison, for starting the questioning!
I feel that the “scrap piecers of necessity” may have a three-fold need: first, they had so little to work with; they had to “make do or do without” in the resourceful spirit of “waste not, want not” (Cooper and Allen, p. 100) described in Quilters. “Mother saved pieces from every dress she ever made for me; when I got older she gave them to me to make a quilt. In her day pieced tops were all made from a woman’s scrap bag, and at that time, more often than not, the linings were other old worn-out quilts or old blankets. We never wasted a bit of cloth...used it over and over until it wore out. Waste not, want not.”
The second deep need was the comfort and renewal found in creating: (Cooper and Allen, p. 107) “After my boy, Razzie, died when he was fourteen, I began to quilt in earnest, all day sometimes. There was still the two younger ones to take care of but losing my oldest just took something away. I lost my spirit for housework for a long time, but quiltin‘ was a comfort. Seems my mind just couldn’t quit planning patterns and colors, and the piecing, the sewing with the needle comforted me.” I have often found the act of making art cathartic: it releases some of the pain of grief into a creative place.
The third need, last, but not least, was the joy of friendship found during the quilting parties. In the sparsely populated west, finding another woman to share with was a great blessing. (Cooper and Allen, p. 121) “When I got back to Houston, my brother-in-law said, “What’d you all talk about? I said, “Don’t ask me what we talked about. We talked about everything under the sun. I don’t know what we didn’t talk about.”
Suzanne,
Deleteplease know that I have been thinking about you all weekend, you are a very brave soul! I hope all went well.
I also know what you mean about those regenerative powers of the creative process, I am not so social in the midst of it either. Time also in inconsequential- hours can go by with out notice!
I believe that I am a bit of both! I so enjoy the interplay of ideas and I become inspired by watching my friends and colleagues in the process of making art. I really desire to have that sense of community in the arts. However, when it gets down to actually painting or drawing, as an artist, I want quiet...I am so easily distracted and so right-brained that I cannot draw or paint when I am talking or listening!
ReplyDeleteAs a writer/researcher I feel that I cannot function without the give and take of ideas, discussion, and questioning. Those activities enrich my thoughts, which is why I enjoy the MAE program so much; as the lone art educator in my small school, my opportunities to discuss, question, and debate about the art life are limited!
Yikes! Now my pix has turned into a exclamatory triangle! This blog site has a will all its own!
ReplyDeleteSuzanne, I agree with you about the point that these women had so little and they had to make do with the few things they did manage to scrap together. They used everything. My mom’s parents raised a hog or two each year for meat and would butcher them in the fall. My grandmother would use just about every last piece of the poor hog. My grandfather used to tease her and say, “Mammy uses everything but the squeal of the pig.” (Personal conversation with Doris Haynes)
ReplyDeleteThe waste of our society would appall the ladies from the depression era. There was no instant this or fast that. I have a quilt or two from my grandmother that has flour sack material included in it. “I do remember now that we used to pick out feed sacks and flour sacks. They were made of good strong cotton, good enough for everyday quilts.” (Page 117)
The necessities did change with time. The book is divided into life sections. Trying to raise twelve kids and get a handle on a harsh life in a harsh land gives rise to a ton of necessities, like keeping warm. As kids grow up and the ‘nice things of life’ add up, suddenly it is possible to make quilts for creativity, and for charity.
Yes, Jenise, my mother-in-law, Zula, made it all a creative game or puzzle! She took joy in making something out of nothing!
DeleteBy necessity, I am a bit of both. Professionally, collaboration is the name of the game. It is sometimes a challenge, not every idea is a good idea and so being a diplomat is also a very necessary part of being a community creator. Political correctness is also a part of the creative community I am involved in professionally. We want to be all-inclusive, no one offended, and no one left out. As a result, the creativity gets a bit muddy and labored
ReplyDeleteWhen I create illustrations for work or for my own edification, I am a lone quilter. I get deep into the process, lose myself, think deeply about everything but what my hands are doing. It is meditation. My instincts know what to do and it frees up my mind to breath, refresh and basically have a spa day!
All, I am in Austin this weekend for a guest speaking & teaching engagement at UT. For this reason, my comments may not be as complete as last week's, but I am reading everything that you write. Good luck, Suzanne!
ReplyDeleteI will apply Allison's questions to the research process. In the talk I gave last night, I presented research that was the result of 2 years of searching through bits and pieces of information relevant to my topic. Through a long, thoughtful and gradual process, I selected pieces that seemed to "go together" in meaningful pattern. The pattern kept shifting as the work progressed. As a result, I have four different versions of the research, each with a different emphasis and direction. It's as if I used the same bag of scraps to make four different quilts in different patterns.
The quilt metaphor applies also to the craft of research writing & editing. The pieces have to be stitched together to appear seamless. My research doesn't follow a straightforward linear narrative, but coheres through the repetition and layering of themes that are presented once and then again at a different point in the process of development. People have a hard time describing it because it doesn't follow the typical linear pattern.
I encourage all of you to draw connections between artmaking, writing and research through the metaphor of the quilt. There is a certain irreducible complexity to it that I hope you will not shy away from.
Carolyn, I love the "quilt" metaphor for research gathering and writing! I feel that the lovely variety gathered from many people, places, and ideas creates a richness interwoven into the final project, like a quilt made from the fabric of our life experience! Wonderful metaphor! Wonderful colors and melodies!
DeleteIt seemed like the book’s conveyed sense of necessity leaned towards, like Suzanne mentioned, the sparse living conditions that these women existed within. But I also got the impression that they found it necessary to, in a sense, make a game of it; It feels like these stories were told by people who accepted the limitations of what they had and what was available to them as a challenge to overcome through creativity and with dignity rather than an obstacle to despise and complain about. It goes back to the old-fashioned saying that I’m almost shocked I didn’t find in the reading; “when handed lemons… make lemonade”.
ReplyDeleteI had the chance to spend some time in Chile and got to visit one of the Universities and its art department, specifically the photo area. I was amazed to learn from one of the graduates that professors there would hold back on their trade secrets, not teaching their student’s all the little tricks they, themselves learned through the years. I found out this was because they ultimately looked at their students as the next generation of photographers that would become their competition for gallery space.
To me, there is a correlation between this mentality and that of saving one’s best efforts for their own work. There is (once again—this is just my opinion) something selfish about holding back and saving your best work or your best ideas for your own personal gains. Obviously this may be nothing more than a romanticized concept of righteousness. But in regards to myself, I absolutely enjoy working with people, especially in collaborations where the individual’s ego needs to be kept in check for the good of the group and its larger intentions. I often feel so much more can be accomplished as a group than as an individual. I think it would a missed opportunity not to put in one’s best in these types of projects. Besides, in my experience with collaborative, people always acknowledge who had the “great idea” or “made it all come together” and that’s enough credit if you’re looking for something other than climbing that ladder to art stardom.
My own personal opinion is the reason the phrase "when given lemons, make lemonade" wasn't used is because they didn't think they had lemons. The people who came to the plains chose to do so. They wanted freedom and land as far as the eye could see. The hardships were just part of their choose package.
DeleteI have asked my mom who grew up during the depression and world war II if it was hard being so poor and doing without so much. She told me you don't miss what you don't know. She told me that everyone was in the same boat and they didn't feel poor. They did what they did to survive just because it was the thing to do.
Dear Francesco;
DeleteThat experience with the art professors of Chile reminds me of my great-aunt Minnie who would give you her famous recipe for creme cake and would always leave out one vital ingredient so that her cake would remain the best! After you baked the cake you would wonder, "What went wrong?!" Then, you would find out amidst the laughter of your cousins that "Aunt Minnie did it, again!" Aunt Minnie, the Master who refused to share the trade secrets!
That is awesome!!! I assume it was always the same one ingredient that she held back? Otherwise, you and your cousins should get together and compare notes.... maybe she slipped up?
DeleteIn something like that, I can't help but see that as your aunt's way of keeping everyone excited about her creme cake. Yes, its kinda the same thing as the chilean professors, but your aunt's dubious tricks seemed to have only the intention to heighten expectations which, to me, is absolutely adorable.
Dear Francesco;
DeleteThe inscrutable Aunt Minnie, will we ever know!? I should e-mail my cousins! She never revealed the ultimate recipe!
Question 1.
ReplyDeleteI felt there were many necessities and those evolved over the quilter’s lives.
In the beginning, as children with fresh new lives on the bare plains of this region, life was stark and so were funds. The women’s creativity and skilled hands created something of warmth for survival for their families and the young girls learned how to contribute as they learned to quilt. These quilts also held the memories for them, of growing up. Later in their lives they quilted for community, friendship, and to help others. They made special quilts for their loved ones. At times quilting was their bond to others, for some it was emotional survival, for others it was a chance to be a part of something larger. There was one woman who after losing her son, and another losing all her belongings in a fire, quilted for totally different reasons then when they began. Others came to quilting later in life. The woman who quilted with her husband, who was in a wheelchair, had a particularly touching story.
Question 2
The community quilter/the lone quilter/or the combined… interesting. I enjoy a ‘project’ where collaboration is the name of the game. All working for one concept, a real give and take, but for me, these projects are few and far between. I teach, and I collaborate on every piece made by my students, even if it is minimal. I tell my students all of my technical ‘trade secrets’ as I give them the benefit of my 36 years of working metal! But they can’t grasp it all, only a fraction. I do not impose my personal artistic philosophy on them, as I want them to begin to shape their own. I show them many approaches to creating their work, as I do not want clones. My husband and I create, he is a painter and sculptor, I am a metalsmith but I paint, quilt, sew, and I am now beginning to weave (my desire is to merge them all in my work). We share many ideas, but our work is each our own, even though we have found a community with each other-within our artistic precepts. For me, it is never about saving the best for yourself, it is just that my ideas and concepts for my work are based in and on my personal philosophy. I have collaborated on many projects as the artist, with the “commissionee” for instance, a collegiate ceremonial mace, their broad ideas mixed with mine, created within the imagery of my philosophical language, in a way a collaboration… I don’t see my students as future competition, I see my students as potential contributors to the art dialogue, and I hope they think back on what they learned from me and see how it has contributed to who they have become.
As far as being a researcher and writer, I would likely be collaborative in many respects and move back and forth within my experience relating the research within my understanding and searching outside beyond myself into what has be written and for input from more knowledgeable sources for a greater depth of understanding.
Well, there's no question that some artists feel threatened by their most talented students. Perhaps withholding trade secrets is a gut reaction to feeling defensive. It doesn't work that way in the field of Art Education/Visual Studies, as far as I have seen. It's considered a feather in one's cap to have a student move on to a successful position. There is an element of self-interest in this, for a former student in an influential position can create opportunities for the professor such as co-authoring an article together, inviting the professor to campus to speak and meet with students, giving the professor's submission to a journal extra careful consideration, etc. In fact, the entire field of Art Ed/Viz Studies can be mapped like a family tree of mentors and students. However, it might be different in studio art, at least in cases where an artist/professor doesn't feel secure in his/her own work.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the "family tree of mentors" idea. I feel there is sense of that here in the states with photography. I remember one of my professors was proud of his photo-education lineage linking himself to photographers like Minor White and Ansel Adams. What was interesting was after learning more about these notable photographers, I was able to recognize some of their sensibilities in my professor's approach to working and teaching. Their philosophies passed through him and on to me.
DeleteI was in a Figure Modeling class and I was a fourth generation student of François-Auguste-René Rodin(1840–1917). My professors name was Thomas Marsh, he was very disciplined and strict. I learned so much from him. I pass down what I learned to my students. It's awesome how it works.
DeleteWow! What a legacy!
DeleteJenise, you used the term "politically correct" in your post. I've always wondered what people mean by this. It seems to imply a feeling of being socially coerced to be respectful and inclusive of other people. But why would one resent this social expectation? It just seems the decent thing to do.
ReplyDeleteI know there are men who resent the social expectation to behave respectfully toward women. They experience this as a form of coercion. But the fact that such a social expectation exists in American life is, I think, a sign of progress, as well as a testament to the hard work and determination of generations of women who fought for inclusion and respect.
I'm a northern progressive, so that's where I'm coming from politically and ideologically. To me, the term "politically correct" seems to trivialize the accomplishments of the Civil Rights era (i.e., the women's movement as well as the Gay Rights, Chicano/Chicana, Black Power and anti-war movements). But perhaps I don't understand what the term, and the sentiment behind it, really means to people who use it. Maybe you or someone else in the class can explain?
Thanks,
carolyn
I I didn't mean any offense by my use of politically correct. I think I probably used it in error.
ReplyDeleteWhat I was referring to is the creative process that I am currently involved in. I choose photos that are well shot, engaging, in focus and appropriate for the design. I also make sure the different groups of students on campus are represented. Then my manager will want to change those photos for others that are out of focus, or poorly lit because of reasons like, there is one more girl than boy in your photo. She is not very experienced and when I tell her that blurry low res photo will not reproduce well for a 5 foot by 10 foot banner, my input is generally not taken in consideration. Many times I will find myself at the point of not putting in my all because she will just change it anyway.
Wow, sorry! I must be tired.
Thanks for explaining, Jenise. It's good to get to the bottom of things like this. You didn't offend me. It provided me with an opportunity to ask a question that I've always wanted to ask, and you with an opportunity to reflect a bit. I sympathize with your frustration that someone with less experience has authority over you. That kind of thing is hard to take, I agree.
DeleteSo really, now that I have opened up, I guess I am feeling marginalized. My 30+ years of experience is being ignored by someone with 2 years experience.
ReplyDeleteSo I retract the politically correct remark with another. I feel that I am ignored in the group creative process that I am currently engaged in.
Jenise, You know your strengths and weaknesses. Don't compare your experience with theirs, keep your head in the game. Continue to blossom as a leader, don't think of things that are being taken away from you, look for things you can grow from. EVERYTHING is a learning experience, that's why we're life long learners. I think your great!!
DeleteLiz, I think I am having a pity party. I have been sick for over two weeks and my feelings are on the surface.
DeleteI had my own pity party this past week, a good friend of mine called me a martyr. I was feeling sorry for myself because I felt overwhelmed that I couldn't teach my students all they need to know. Majority of my students are very low level and it saddens me deeply, How did they get this far not knowing how to spell basic vocabulary words. My friend and my 6th graders put me in check, they reminded me that my job and passion is to teach them Art, I have to keep it that way and hope for the best!
DeleteTeachers pour out so much for their students...sometimes we just need to get away and restore our spirits...rest and renew, dear friends. When we "fill our cup" we can once again pour out for others. For some, it may be a walk in the woods, for others, listening to music, reading, laughing, crying....I even find writing and painting renewing and cathartic.
Delete#1
ReplyDeleteA quilt is composed by numerous scraps of cloth, every scrap play a very important part in composing a quilt. The quilters save every pieces that they can save then uses these saved pieces as part of a quilt. The quilt is the symbol of their lives. Therefore, the quilters are like scraps they stitch every part of their lives together. They, the quilters, play very important part in their life. The groups of quilters thus are necessities not only in their quilting but also in their life. The quilts, of course, have their significant aesthetic meanings. However, for me, the most important part is for their lives. That’s the reason why quilts are considered as an invaluable art that need to be discussed.
#2
I am a social animal. I will be a community quilter for the most of time. I would like to share my life with other people in the community and I would like to know anyone to need to be helped. In a group, we can share our feelings; no matter these feelings are negative or positive. That will be like a group psychic therapy in the countryside like my home town. I can consult the other quilters for their opinions or simply as for help. But I think I will be a lone sometimes. To think about my own designs and plans for my personal purposes.
A Ta; I wish so much that I could see your home town in the country side and know the beauty of the shared life in the community. Sadly, in America, we get busy in our own little "rat race" and miss out on that sense of community. One of the things that I loved about the book, Quilters, was how much fun the women had together, laughing, crying, talking, stitching. When sharing the feelings that are positive, it seems to me that the sharing makes the feeling more celebratory, heightening the joy! When sharing the negative or sad feelings, it seems that the sharing lessens the "sting" or pain, healing the hurt. This is the value of the life shared.
DeleteAs to the passing on of "trade secrets": I am mentoring a young art teacher and through the sharing I learn from her fresh ideas while she learns from my mistakes!
Yes, so much of that community spirit has been lost in our society, and it seems to be getting worse. I have friends from other parts of the world who can't understand the way Americans "put away" elderly family members. I think it has a lot to do with the dynamics of consumer culture, the constant focus on images of youth and beauty, that breeds a lack of interest in history and lack of respect for older people. This lack of respect for older people is especially salient for women, who (I believe) become invisible to others (& especially men) as they age. But this is just my perspective.
DeleteDear Friends;
ReplyDeleteWe all returned, safe and sound, from San Antonio! The Junior Classical League is a great society for all who want to learn about the heritage of the classics, beyond the classroom, beyond the texts, beyond the worksheets. Our kids collaborated on a cheer, a banner, and a t-shirt. The collaborative efforts of Junior High kids are really loud! My rule: everyone must "have their say" and "every idea has merit", none are "too crazy!" Through the sharing of "crazy" ideas, your crazy idea may ignite an idea in someone else that actually is "do-able." The learning curve of respecting and listening to others is somewhat new to that age level; sometimes they think that they can just "out yell" all the others! That quiet, introspective kid needs to be heard and the kid who is a divergent thinker may be the one with the best idea.
We had a great time at JCL area b and won third place in Sweepstakes in our division (Novice) which meant that our tiny school (205, K through 12) won against much larger schools in our area, 4A schools in San Antonio. Most of all, it was a rich experience for the kids and a creative one! Some of the events included making catapults, dressing up as dryads, Amazons, or gladiators, Latin Oratory, Dramatic Interpretation, Ancient Geography, Roman Life, Painting, Sculpting, team building temples from marshmallows, Sight Recitation, building models of aqueducts, etc., etc. Lots of energy was present!
Sometimes I wish that I could bottle the kids' extra energy and save it for later!
ReplyDeleteYour doing a great thing with your our kids. Their energy is what allows you to do so. Congratulations!!
DeleteQuestion 1
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly enjoyed my experiences reading the lives of these amazing women. I have to admit; every time I would mention this book to meaningful people in my life I would get all choked up. History like this is what keeps my life in perspective. After I would share my readings with my colleagues, they would sort of gaze and nod their head, “Yup, I think that is what are students are missing.” They were referring to that missing link of family attributes; pride, legacy, and taking ownership.
I feel the ‘necessity’ was to just simply survive doing what you love and creating something that can give love in all forms that fit an individual. All the basic important functions of life passed through these woman; Fruit of their hands, Ambition, Motherly love, Insight, Love and loss, Yielding at no cost. Take the first letter of each and it spells FAMILY. Everything they did was the necessity for a family to survive. I’m thinking of having my mother come to school with me and help teach quilting to my students. I would choose one class and let them create their own pieces of their family history. They NEED to know their roots, they need to learn to honor their life. I can picture my mom sitting there talking with them, and holding their direct attention. Her voice will give them hope just as it does for me. She will be their mother in that instance and teach them pride through her grace. I hope to do it soon.
I want to go off tangent a little and share an incident I encountered this past week with one of our students. This student named Anthony was using profanity in the classroom, I redirected him. Five minutes later he says, “F-ing N-ger” I said, “Anthony, you know what lets go tell Mr. Edmonson (African –American) what you said, let’s let him defend himself.” In my school the students can get a $250-500 citation for using profanity. I took Anthony to Mr. Edmonson. Mr. Edmonson is about 7’ and all love. Of course when we got to Mr. Edmonson Anthony suddenly couldn’t speak. I said, “Anthony you got two choices, you can get a history lesson on why that “N” word shouldn’t be used or I can give you a referral and in all hopes you get a ticket. Well, Anthony choose a good history lesson.
Just as Anthony was going into the classroom, the school counselor came down the hall, she said, “Anthony you better not be in trouble, you didn’t learn your lesson from when you were making fun of the Holocaust?” In that instant my blood boiled. I got in his face and spat off glimpses of what they went through to survive and what those went through that didn’t survive. I was shaking, I can’t comprehend how one could laugh. During the 9-week study of the Holocaust Anthony was to be removed from the classroom because he would laugh at all the images and make fun of their stories. It’s not about him being uneducated on that subject, I questioned his humanity. The other teachers had to take me away from Anthony, let’s just say I bowed up. I was ready to throw down; I didn’t care about the loss of my job or consequences. I just cared about respect given to that time in history. Anthony knows to stay clear from me, and I the same.
I guess what I’m getting at is, History should not be forgotten, ignored, or taken for granted. Many sacrifices have been made for us to have what we have today. Stemming from these woman, from war, from depression, from what God knows what all else, we must never forget. There’s a lot of Anthony’s in this world, I don’t understand why.
Question 2
ReplyDeleteI am a social butterfly, but I am a lone quilter. I enjoy the company of others, but I need the solitude to get lost in my world of ‘Liz’. My art is mine, my writing is mine, and my research is mine. It’s not a matter of arrogance, but a safety net. No matter what I call mine, it will still be judged. That’s fine, just not during the process. These writings that I post I put my heart into, I put my heart and pride in EVERYTHING I do. My name is attached to my family and I will never disgrace our name. I do these topics alone(sometimes I ask for help), I need time to analyze and process. I cry sometimes, I’m not embarrassed to share that with ya’ll. These topics are somehow entangled with personal experiences for each of us, and I love sitting with myself and realizing that. That is why my writing is mine. My art sets me free, there’s always a hidden memory in my art. A stranger wouldn’t know if they saw it, but a person who knows me would and that’s what makes my art beautiful for them to look at. Anybody else I could care less of their criticism. But, that’s me. I create art because I can, I teach art because it an empowering existence to any individual. It was a power and privilege given to me and I want to share it with my students. I tell them art is not perfect, nor has to be. It can simply be done to be free. As a researcher, I’m a bit slow. It takes me awhile to process new findings. I’m the “why” person. I always ask “why”. It’s just something I’ve always done. It gets on my nerves sometimes. Overtime I have opened up to others during research. In group settings I kinda sit and watch and keep my comments to myself. I know who I can trust and who not to by the way they interact with the group. I watch their body language, tone of voice, assertiveness, and pleasure one gets if they think their way is the best way. I’m no better than the person next to me, nor are they no better than me. I always seem to think my ideas aren’t good enough or taken into consideration. I’m not a planner, I’m an executioner. Others can do all the planning they want, just tell me what to do and it’ll get done beyond your wildest dreams. That’s pretty much how I work. I love working alone, I love to spend time with myself. After all, it’s me who closes my eyes at night to see my dreams, and it’s me who opens my eyes to see the world. Which ones real?
Liz, asking "why" all the time is a wonderful attribute; it's what makes you an intelligent, educated person. People who lack intellectual curiosity are, in my opinion, a little scary. It means that they think they already know what they need to know. It means they don't question their own assumptions about the world, or ever consider that they might be wrong.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I prefer to work alone. However, I have done collaborative artworks in the past, and I'm planning another one now. I'm more comfortable on my own, though. It seems simpler that way but I think I miss out on a lot, too, when I go it alone.
In your first post you hit on one of my pet peeves, which is the lack of attention to, and respect for, histories other than our own personal past. The boy you described in your post sounds like he has a serious empathy deficit. This is dangerous. Studies on violent criminals have found a consistent lack of empathy. For this reason, some prisons have implemented therapies (including art therapy) that build empathy. It's questionable, however, whether people can start feeling deeply for others later on in life. I guess it depends on whether you think people are capable of radical change once they reach adulthood. I tend to think that it's possible but rare.
I have had the "blood boiling" experience in class too, and it's profoundly uncomfortable. The best thing to do is remove oneself from the situation, but when you're a teacher this isn't always possible. You can't just walk out of the room. It takes time to develop a poker face and cool demeanor even in the face of racist, hateful speech. It doesn't come naturally to me, not at all. I'd probably lose it in a situation like the one you described. But you did the right thing by leading the student to the African American teacher and making him repeat what he said. It helps for students to see that their words have real consequences. The Holocaust comment, oh boy that would be a tough one!
Thanks for sharing, everyone, and thanks especially to Allison for coming up with this week's discussion topic. Great work!
Wow!! I wish this were a face to face class! This is amazing, I feel so connected. But that is too basic a way to put it! I have enjoyed the comments and the strength behind them. Teaching, I have felt many of these experiences... and creating, I feel many of them too! and I am thankful.
ReplyDeleteAllison, I know what you mean. It would be cool if this was a face to face class, but then we'd be missing Liz & Suzanne. When I was in Austin, a number of profs there were complaining about online teaching and how it was so inadequate compared to face to face. I felt that way about online teaching/learning at first, but the more I did it, the more I saw that the experience can be pretty intense - the feeling of being connected to others in the class is pretty strong. Some things are lost, admittedly, such as the spontaneity of real-time conversation. I like online teaching because it gives us practice writing & communicating our ideas to others. Through the process of writing, we achieve a certain clarity of mind that doesn't emerge in the same way in verbal conversation.
ReplyDeleteI teach art appreciation online. Many of my students are not in the area, so face to face with them would have never been possible. I enjoy teaching online, but I will admit, tone of conversation is not always readable. I enjoy teaching my online students as they are not art majors and I know that! so my expectations are different from my 'majors' classes. I do wish my students understood the 'tone' difference, as many say things online that they (hopefully) would never say in a face-to-face class! I wish they would practice writing and think about what they are saying and how it could be interpreted via the internet. Many don't. :)
ReplyDeleteBut this class, seems like it is composed of students I could be friends with, and build a real understanding relationship of art with! These are folks I would like to build a dialogue with, in person.