The Value in Teaching Diversity in Art Education

Reading: “Culturally Responsive Teaching for 21st-Century Art Education: Examining Race in a Studio Experience”

There can be great, positive impact in addressing the hard to discuss topics like race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and religion. Although all of these topics can be incredibly uncomfortable to address, it is imperative as an educator to make a space for these subjects as well as a space of safety for those negatively impacted by other people’s perceptions. By talking about different types of minorities, you create the opportunity to challenge people’s preconceived notions. I believe art is a wonderful place to speak because the notion 'there is no good or bad as long as you can defend' lives boldly in art realm. As an art educator there is an ability to speak about these difficult topics with the use of varying media—possibly not even with words (at first). Creating lesson plans that encourage students to express interest, confusion, or even curiosity about a topic like race allows them to speak in a way where words may fall short (Lee, 2012).

A premise I have for educating my future students about different cultures is by examining the ways different cultures use and manipulate clay to create functional and visual work in their communities. The way cultures in Indonesia interact with clay is going to be very different than the way a contemporary ceramic artists in America work with clay. My goal would be to have students research a way of making that they have not been exposed to and combined it to a method they are familiar with the use of clay. Hopefully this could spark a conversation about how we view and interact with art that is possibly regarded as ‘craft’ or not ‘fine art’.

#ARED2110 #Blog4 #UGA #ArtEducation

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Source:

Lee, N. (2012). Culturally Responsive Teaching for 21st-Century Art Education: Examining Race in a Studio Experience. Art Education,48-53.