“Stop yourself! Now, before you get too
involved and start enjoying yourself too much.
It’s the students turn, not yours.”
It was one of those moments. I was bent over a
year 9 student, reaching across the table,
attempting to ‘correct’ a student’s artwork and
having way too much fun in the process. Everyone
knows, a good teacher guides a student and
attempts to inspire confidence and independence
in a student and their work. We are not supposed
to do the artwork for them, let alone get
wrapped up in the moment of self satisfaction
and pure enjoyment of reconnecting with our very
own passion for art making.
I’m sure we all have these moments, but lately
for me, the gap between moments of ‘creative
interference’ verses the real job of teaching
and guiding another’s artistic progress, is
beginning to narrow.
It was time to take some action.
Fortunately for me, and quite by accident, I had
come across some information on The National
Society for Education in Art and Design who were
about to hold the Artist Teacher Scheme,
National Symposium in London.
I have never written a cheque so hastily!
On that cold morning in March I got up early,
jumped on the train, and braved what was
possibly the most freezing cold air that had
ever hit my face during my morning walk to The
Tate Modern.
Greeted with a pack of information, a badge and
a much needed warm cup of filtered coffee (as
well as a quick chit chat with other like minded
arties), we made our way into the Starr
Auditorium for what was to turn out to be one of
the most stimulating and refreshing meetings I
had attended in a long while.
A gathering of artist teachers, intellectuals
and academics as well as gallery educators and
students who had all come together on a day to
discuss professional development opportunities;
share their ideas and explore different aspects
of creative practice, the contexts in which it
can flourish and its application in schools.
The highlight of the day for me was, (especially
as an ex-pat Australian trained in Sydney), the
opportunity to hear the remarkable Professor
Anne Bamford who has recently completed the
first international analysis of arts education
research for UNESCO, in partnership with IFACCA
and the Australia Council.
For the first time in history, Professor
Bamford’s book “The WOW Factor. Global research
compendium on the impact of the arts in
education”, published by Waxmann, provides
conclusive evidence about the benefits of
teaching creative subjects or using creative
ways to teach.
The WOW Factor states;
• Quality arts education programmes lead to
improvements in academic achievement.
• Literacy is significantly enhanced through
arts education;
• Arts-rich education enhances the performance
in language learning;
• Arts education leads to an improvement in
student, parental and community perceptions of
schools. (Bamford, 2006, p. 108)
and;
Arts- integrated instruction:
1) created more independent and intrinsically
motivated investments in learning
2) fostered learning for understanding as
opposed to recall of facts for tests,
3) transformed students’ characterizations of
“learning barriers” into “challenges” to be
solved, and
4) inspired students to pursue further learning
opportunities outside of class.” (Bamford, 2006,
p.108)
and cites information from longitudinal studies
in Canada which highlights the connection
between quality arts educational programmes in
school with a reduced drop out rate. (Bamford,
2006, p86)
The book goes on and on, full to the brim with
evidence as testament to the value and
importance of the arts within general education
provisions.
More crucially however, “The WOW Factor” states
that
“Quality arts education tends to be
characterised by a strong partnership between
the schools and outside arts and community
organisations. In other words it is teachers,
artists and the communities, which together
share the responsibility for the delivery of the
programmes.” (Bamford, 2006, p.86)
Professor Bamfords presentation bought us to the
very heart of the Symposium – The Artists
Teacher Scheme. An opportunity for Art Teachers
to further their understanding, skills and
knowledge of art and education to improve ones
own artistic development and ultimately, given
Professor Bamford research, enhance the quality
of Arts Education in the UK and increase student
National Standards and attainment across the
curriculum.
The Symposium included presentations from Emma
Thomas, BALTIC; Sandra Heitt, Liverpool John
Moores University; and Joel Fisher, Northumbria
University who all provided information on ATS
courses and opportunities for art teachers
including information for those interested in
enrolling in MA (Art and Education) research
degrees held at the various centres and which
are designed to accommodate the needs of
full-time teachers.
In between these presentations, graduates from
the programs shared their work and views on the
programmes and in the afternoon we all got
together in parallel focus groups to discuss and
share our knowledge as a cohort of arts
education professionals.
Janet Holland, a Head Teacher of a primary
school in Northumbria who had recently graduated
from the MA (Art and Education) degree at
BALTIC, was particularly interesting both as an
intriguing artist photographer as well as an
innovative Head Teacher of a primary school who,
with the help of her primary school arts
-coordinator had implemented a quality arts
education programme. Consequently a much needed
change of perception and understanding of the
students’ view of art had resulted. After
allowing the students at her school to view her
artwork, a 7 year old student remarked that he
was “surprised to find out that the artist was a
woman” and “even more surprised to discover that
the woman was his teacher.”
As a practicing artist whose work has been
exhibited in both government and private
galleries and which has also been reviewed by
professional art critics, I have often wondered
about the benefits of sharing my professional
artistic merits/work with the students whom I
now teach in Hampshire. It is not that I shy
away from the opportunity but I have always
questioned the impact that ones own work has on
individual student development. There is nothing
worse than a student copying your ‘style’.
Perhaps some students are not developmentally
ready to understand some forms of art,
especially if the work that is being shown is
seemingly representative when actually it is
nothing but a fragment of a memory of a fleeting
moment in time and space. Certainly however,
there is always room for interpretation and of
course, as I have now experienced as a
participant of the National Symposium there is
much room for debate on these such issues.
The Artist Teacher Scheme National Symposium
2006, has been an invaluable experience. An
opportunity to talk with professionals whom it
is almost impossible to meet, given the time and
commitment needed in day to day teaching
practice. I know now that networking with other
arts educators and professionals are an
essential aspect of delivering a quality arts
education and as a Head of Art, it is my duty to
do so more regularly.
While I continue to debate the question of
sharing my own artwork with all of my students,
I have embraced the prospect of the need for
furthering my own art making skills in
conjunction with artists, arts communities and
organisations with the aim to deliver a quality
arts education programme and to boost the
development of student attainment and
satisfaction across the school curriculum.
Art has always been an holistic experience which
is integral to one’s own personal development
and understanding of the world in which we live.
Teaching art should not force us to draw a line
between our personal desires to create artworks
and to foster students’ creative development and
achievement. Quite the opposite. Teaching art is
about being responsible for the delivery of a
quality arts education which cannot take place
without being pro-active and passionate about
continuing ones own professional development and
learning in the arts.
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