*Mr. Marvin B*art*el, ed.D.*

Truly inspired by *Marvin Bartel, ed.D.!!! :)
***He is simply amazing***

((Painting of a vase, inspired by shadows cast by hickory leaves))

"At first, I was stumped.  Not until I was open to asking questions of my immediate familiar surroundings, did I become inspired. I noticed something. The shadows falling on my work from overhead hickory leaves became astoundingly compelling and beautiful.
This work may not have a huge effect on the history of art and the world, but it is original and it represents a creative and inspired moment because I questioned my immediate surroundings, asking it to reveal itself visually to me."-Marvin Bartel-Source: http://www.bartelart.com/arted/questions.html

Who is Marvin Bartel?  Marvin Bartel is an Artist and  *Emeritus Professor* of Art at Goshen College in Indiana.

He was a member of the art faculty at Goshen College from 1970-2002, teaching courses in:
*Ceramics
*Photography
*Drafting
*Architectural Design

What is an emeritus professor?
According to wikipedia.org, an emeritus (emeritus; male, emerita; female) professor is a retired professor who retains formal or informal links with their university. 

Mr. Bartel was a keynote speaker at the 2011 MAEA Conference in Kalamazoo.  Bartel began by handing out pen and paper.   He gave us simple instructions like, "Write your full name on the paper...Draw a straight, vertical line from one end of the paper to the other. Gradually, the directions from Bartel became less and less *directive*.  For example, instead of saying, "draw a straight, vertical line from one end of the paper to the other, he said something along the lines of, draw a line that is not straight at first, and then becomes straight again, on any direction of the paper as long as it goes from one end of the paper to the other."  His point is, is that while still leading the group in a particular direction, he is not only guiding the group, but he is also cultivating *thinking* to occur.  He is teaching *learning by limiting*.  Lessons without limitations are not very effective.  This has been a constant question I have found myself as an art education student asking myself.  Do I LIMIT creativity by setting limits? 

Jane K. Bates touches upon this in her book, Becoming An Art Teacher, 2000.   Bates explains how *subject*matter* "may be necessary to provide focus on the what while the students explore the how...In allowing them the free rein to choose their own subject matter, you may be inhibiting their growth." (Chapter #2, pp.35). 


Bartel explains that without limitations, students are prone to fall back on easy "left brain" habits.  In other words, as part of being *human*, we naturally avoid the risk of doing the "unknown"...the "unfamiliar"...because it's scary and uncomfortable.  When thinking is involved, things aren't so "easy" and every persons results will not look the same.  To make another point clear, there was an "example" or "sample" of this project on the screen in the conference center.  Everyone wrote their names in the same, lower right hand corner of the paper because this is what the "example" or "sample" looked like!
((This is why Bartel believes in *skipping* examples)).

Bartel believes that studio art learning is uniquely essential in leaving no minds behind. During his keynote presentation, Make Up Your Mind - Creatively, Bartel spoke of how to foster and inspire self-learning and creativity while producing *empathetic* students who are creative AND self-directed.

Listed below are his *10* ways to inspire self-learning and creativity:

1. Skip examples.

2. Teach countless idea generation methods.   

3. Not too easy, not too hard.

4. Hands-On.

5. Fewer demonstrations.

6. Stop suggestions.  Use questions...Use Experiments. 

"To what extent am I teaching a form of 'learned helplessness' related to independent self-confident thinking ability???"7. Identify with failures and mistakes.

8. More self-assigning.

9. Empathetic critiques.

10. Team projects. 

Finally, Bartel mentioned how teachers offering suggestions when students ask for assistance on their artwork could be weakening students' minds.  Bartel says, "When I give an answer, I miss an opportunity to teach thinking and problem solving. This is a reason that children become less creative as they go through school. Studies show that 98 percent of three to five-year-olds can think divergently while only 2 percent of 25-year olds can think divergently."  (Source for study data: http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/Database/thinking.html#wither)
Bartel has his students visit and observe art classes in which they find that it is common for art teachers to offer suggestions when students ask for assistance on their artwork.  But offering suggestions creates "lost teachable moments."  Instead, teachers should ask *open-questions* and experimentation to guide students to make a choice about ways to move forward in their work.

I read a Bartel  interview on this website: http://www.generations.gs/TQ11/Creativity/sites/interviewmarvin.html.  Bartel was asked in his opinion, what are the "things" that block creativity in one's mind???
Here is his answer:

"Creativity is blocked by the fear of mistakes...
by our need to conform and fit in...
by a lack of energy and initiative...
by being conditioned to be a spectator rather than a participant...
by learning answers rather than questions...
by lack of practice in working with unknowns...
by expecting results too soon...
by expectations that are too high or too low, and by lack of curiosity and passion.
Creativity is often blocked by lack of confidence.

Sometimes creativity fails because of inadequate preparation, definition, focus, or because not enough downtime is allowed when the brain can process the many scenarios based on everything that it has experienced. In some cases emotions and passions are misdirected, too weak, or too strong for creativity to properly function." -Marvin Bartel-

Teaching art and creativity is not about molding every student into an *Artist*. 

Teaching art and creativity is about fostering every student to think and feel for themselves. 

*THIS was the opening quote on Bartel's Power Point Presentation for his speech:

"School should allow a lot to be learned, that is to say that it should teach little -- Learning is better than teaching because it is more intense: the more is being taught, the less can be learned -- In the end all education is
~self-education~"
*Josef Albers*Bauhaus Teacher and Yale Art Professor

I will end this blog entry with words by Bartel in which I *admire*: 

"Teaching art is also an experiment.
What if, when students come to me for advice,
I start by asking the students to review their ideas,
or perhaps I can ask them if they can think of a way to experiment in order to make a good choice?

I am sad to find that many college students are afraid to respond to questions.

Many have been conditioned to believe that the teacher is expecting a certain given answer for every question.
They are hesitant to make a mistake.

...When we find ways to motivate and teach self-learning we give the child or youth an immense potential. Good habits of self-learning develop thinking neurons and the mind gains strength. Suggestions do not do this. Suggestions foster dependency. When we give suggestions, we condition students to ask the teacher or another person who is assumed to be an authority figure or an expert. Why learn to think when others are more than happy to do it for you? These brains grow fewer neurons. Fewer thinking neurons are a big problem in today's world. Today's world requires constant reinvention--not only of artwork,

but of ourselves and our pursuits in life."                                                 *Mr. Marvin Bartel*

*Source: http://www.bartelart.com/arted/stopsuggesting.html

Bartel has a wonderful website full of resources and amazing articles:
http://www.bartelart.com/ and
http://www.goshen.edu/art/ed/art-ed-links.html

WEEK 12 "*GENIUS* is the *ERROR* in the system." ~ Paul Klee ~

Paul Klee Magic Garden

Paul Klee Puppet Theater

Paul Klee Runner At the Goal

"*GENIUS* is the *ERROR* in the system."
~ Paul Klee ~

I came across this amazing article from the website, http://www.thethirdteacher.com/  titled,

Teaching Creativity:  The Answers Aren't in the Back of the Book, by Brian D. Cohen.

...this article made me smile :)...

Cohen explains that as an art teahcer, when students ask him for help on how to do something, he often doesn't answer.  He says that he isn't "possessive" of his knowledge.  No, instead, he believes that no one "possesses" knowledge, rather, it should be *discovered*....

As teachers, we imply there are "definite" answers and that we possess them  ((the "end-all-be-all")).

Cohen goes on to say, "Sometimes teachers play a kind of game in which they encourage students to guess the answer in the teacher's head. It might be better played the other way around."

"I think of knowledge as familiarity with facts and understanding as the ability to apply the principles of knowledge to new conditions and circumstances. Creativity (I would never limit this term to the arts only) involves understanding and, paradoxically and simultaneously, not knowing; entering a process where ready answers are inadequate to the task, and where the resolution at first uncertain. And often when things do come out, and they usually do though it takes a while, they don't look so good at first.  *When you work something out on your own, you often do so awkwardly, haltingly, even blindly, without fully knowing the outcome ahead of time. *"

"The best art schools AREN'T vocational schools, in which students are taught a set of 'skills'.  Students are 'trained' to learn the rules and to speak the language of their medium, but more importantly, they are encouraged to *develop* their own habits of mind and to acquire the discipline of continuing to work in the face of not being able to get the answers right away."

What else do students learn how to do in arts education?
1. They learn how to not give up until they get there.

2. They learn how their first answer may not be the best.

3. They learn how the last answer may help you get to the next, but it won't be the next answer.

4. They learn how there might be more than one way of interpreting or doing something.
5. They learn how skill and knowledge in their discipline is a means and a beginning, not an end.

6. They learn how to live with *uncertainty*, to *pursue* outcomes that are not predetermined.

7. They learn how one must risk the thing one cares most about.

8. They learn how to look anywhere and everywhere for answers.

9. They learn how nothing is sacred and everything is sacred.

10. They learn how to let go of the shore and push off into the middle of the river.

"Figuring things out for yourself has a high value:
Thinking is the best way to learn. But it's painful and a lot of work,
and
lengthy uncertainty is uncomfortable."

Link to full-text article:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-d-cohen/arts-education_b_1084498.html?ref=tw

Thankful ~ to be *Thankful*

With the *Thanksgiving* holiday quickly approaching, I will take this opportunity to be *REFLECTIVE* of my gratitude...

My route home is Grand Blvd. to I-75.  I have been taking this route for the past year and a half, and always see this big, tall building with splashes of paint dripping down the side wall. This building is the *North*End*Studios*.  Recently though, I've noticed little changes in the parking lot of this building...A pair of shoes that looks like a painters palette was dropped on them...shredded car tires spray painted with flourescent and neon colors...and a tiny bed of flowers.  So, I finally had to pull over to see what all "this stuff" was about:
  

   

The North End (((Sensory))) Garden (see picture below): 
This made my heart smile!
There is a little sign that reads:

"We invite visitors of all ages and phsyical ability to explore the outdoors with a garden that stimulates the senses.  When the garden is complete, you will be greeted by a palette of beautiful colors and shapes, a lush mix of textures, fragrant scents, and the sound of waving grass and foilage in the breeze.  Michigan native plants are the focus of this garden with species chosen for their resilience in an urban environment, seasonal beauty and contribution to urban habitat for birds and butterflies.  With the support and maintence of the North End Studios and North End Community, the North End Sensory Garden has the potentional to beautify the neighborhood and connect neighbors like you!!!"
To me, this garden is a metaphor for hope, faith, and trust that *someday*, this little parking lot, on this very "harsh" looking and abandoned street will flourish.  The people behind this hope are *special*...how many of us give up on people...places...and things when they are at their worst?   It takes a *special* heart to see hope and light in people, places, and things when they may "appear" run down or shattered. 

May it be a reminder, that as educators, we are constantly creating an environment that nurtures, supports, cultivates, and stimulates *all the sensories* and ways of "knowing".  May we constantly be sensitized to *see* the "little changes" in students.  Afterall, art educators are "visually listening" every.single.day...

It is my intent to always see the light, potential, and hope in *all* students and help them to see it too ~
For I am *THANKFUL* * for all the *people* who never gave up on me and helped me realize *my light*...my potential :) :) :) 

 

*NOW...a ~seed~of HOPE*

*HOPE*

"As we express our *GRATITUDE*,
We must never forget,
That the highest *APPRECIATION*
Is not to utter words,
But to *LIVE*by*them."
-John F. Kennedy-

WEEK 11 *EVERYTHING*is*~CONNECTED~*

MAEA CONFERENCE 2011

This is my second conference I have attended as a *STUDENT*!!! I absolutely love going ~

One learns so much and re-connects with familiar faces and meet new people who *share*the*same*PASSION.   I attended a workshop called:  The Origins of Passion and the Neuroscience of the Brain.  We dissected a sheeps brain!  It was a wonderful, hands-on workshop that emphasized how *IT IS ALL CONNECTED* MIND, BODY and SPIRIT and that as educators,  every decision that we make should considers all three. 

"Educators should be building multi-educational alloys  ~ NOT educational SILOS.  You need to stimulate mutli-sensory association...it makes *brain*sense*."  - Dr. Nussbaum

THERE is constant communication between the two hemispheres of the brain!!!

The two hemispheres are VEY connected!
The left CAN be creative and the right logical...
The biggest difference is that left sees *parts* and the right sees the *BIG*picture*
Yet, our education system primarily focuses on the left hemisphere...ignoring the right. 
"I am the left brain.  I am a ~*scientist*~.

I am a mathematician.

I love the familiar.
I categorize.
I am accurate.
Linear.  Analytical.  Strategic.  Practical.  Realistic.
Always in control.
A mast of words and language.
I calculate equations and play with numbers.
I am order.  I am logic.
I know exactly who I am." 
"I am the right brain. I am ~*creativity*~.

A free spirit.
I am passion.
Yearning. Sensuality.  I am the sound of roaring laughter.
I am taste.  The feeling of sand beneath bare feet.
I am movement.  Vivid colors.
I am the urge to paint on an empty canvas.
I am boundless imagination.
Art. Poetry.  I sense.  I feel.
I am everything I wanted to be."

Photosource and qoute: Merceds-Benz Ad

"Some people see crazy...

I see genius...because the people that are crazy enough to think they can change the world...

DO!"

"You can change the world,
one child at a time...
THINK DIFFERENT"

*HUMAN*kind...be *BOTH*

Mitch Albom is one of my favorite writers/authors.  He is a good man with character...GOOD...and...CHARACTER, two oh so simple words are oh so hard to come across these days.   I read an article this Thursday, November 10, 2011 in the sports section of the Detroit Free Press by Albom.  He wrote an article: Paterno's Legacy Is Not The Real Issue Today.  In this article, Albom explains the tragedy here is NOT *JoePa*!!! It is the VICTIMS (the children)!!! Albom says, "When scandal erupts, the American way is to howl for a scalp."  JUST WHERE IS America's focus? This tragedy reminds me of the lesson that we shall all learn (especially as educators) that the center and focus of education is the ~*CHILD*~. 

In my last blog entry, I wrote about Reggio Emilia.  Another belief of Reggio's that I would like to mention is the astonishing faith, trust, and hope they have in the child as a learner and seed of knowledge.  This seed will flourish in the proper and cultivating environment. They use the metaphor of the chicory.  The chicory is a wildflower that grows abundantly in Italy (and along~side roads in Michigan, noticably in the spring and summer months in northern Michigan)...when the chicory is pulled from their natural environment, they quickly die...even when you place them in water, they will not survive...they thrive in their *natural*environment*.

"Children are not only our furture, which we invest in by oppressing their dreams and freedom to be something other than we would wish them to be.  They are our present.  The child is not a citizen of the furture he/she is a citizen from the very first moment of life and also the most important citizen, because he represents and brings the 'possible'...the child is a bearer, here and now, of rights, of values, of culture: the culture of childhood.  He/she is not only our knowledge about chilhood, but childhood's knowledge of how to be and how to live."   
(Rinaldi, 2006, In dialogue with Carlina Rinaldi pp.171)

Finally, many of Reggio's educators and auxiliary staff  don't necessarily obtain "certification" to prove they're "qualified"...no, instead, what matters most  is ~*H*u*M*a*N*i*T*y*~...

Closing thought...in the Reggio *way of being*...there is NO hierarchy in occupation...I mean, betweern Atelieristas, Pedagogistas, and Auxiliary (support/cleaning/cooking) staff...they are all equal...
because they are all part of the bigger picture...without the other, the whole of the *being* is compromised.

"Life is not a math equation. 
You can be a good man who did an inexcusable thing,

and an inexcusable man who does one great act."
~Mitch Albom~

*Indestructible*Wonder*(((Oh how I miss thee...*Reggio*)))

Ever since I was introduced to the Reggio Emilia Approach to Early Childhood Education, I've been in constant awe and amazement.  I am an avid researcher and learner...simply, I adore* it.  I constantly find myself asking, what is it about this approach that I find so inspiring?  Does it remind me of my childhood?  Is it the indestructible wonder I see in my 2 year old nephews eyes?  It is my love for science, nature and the environment?  My love for philosophy? My love for psychology?   Maybe it's a culmination of all these tiny pieces of matter that lie within me.

                      Vea Vecchi (Atelierista), Me, Carlina Rinaldi (President of Reggio Children)
I was blessed with the opportunity to travel to Reggio Emilia, Italy last summer.  I read these breath taking books before and after my journey:

      

If anyone is SLIGHTLY interested, I would recommend them...They are a VAST amount of knowledge and believe me when I say, they will change* you :)  I don't mean to sound cliche when I say this, but there is something about the way the Italian people speak.  They are so passionate and they speak poetically...metaphorically.  Reggio is all about metaphors...metaphors are universal and they connect us.  When I would listen to Vea Vecchi (Atelierista) and Carlina Rinaldi (President of Reggio Children) I would catch myself smiling in utter amazement.  And guess what?  I was listening to their translator (they spoke in Italian and had a translator with them at all times)...and even then, the translators interpretation was still beautiful (and the translator so modestly and humbly insisted she did Vea and Carlina no justice).

So, I write this blog with a sense of nostalgia...especially reflecting on the journey of *Becoming an Art Teacher* in American culture...studying the DBAE (Discipline Based Art Education).  The Reggio Approach and DBAE are like a rubber band being pulled...a tension of opposites...

The other day, I was reminded of an essay in the book, The One Hundred Languages of Children.  There is an essay about the importance of the use of light and projection in Reggio schools.  The essay observes that many adults go through their day, not noticing or experiencing the light, shadow, transparency, translucence around them, and how it transforms and changes places and objects. It states that this is quite a shame to be missing out on such an important element that is vital to our lives.  Do you take the time to notice these every day ~*indestructible*wonders*~?

 Today I read a quote: ...it made me smile :) 

"Those who can, do.
Those who can do more, teach."

WEEK 10 What is *your* ~manifesto!?~

As I was browsing an athletic apparel website, I came across the company, lululemon (lulu-lemon, like the fruit) "manifesto".  Lululemon's manifesto instantly reminded me of a wonderful *essential*question:
What are you all about and why do you *believe*that*way??? 
Here are a few of my own along with my favorite of lululemon's:

Photo Source: http://www.lululemon.com/about/

I *BELIEVE*...

A daily hit of athletic (and creative) induced endorphins gives you the power to make better decisions, helps you be at peace with yourself, and offsets stress.

Listen, listen, listen, and then ask strategic questions.

Goal setting triggers your subconscious computer.

Your outlook on life is a direct reflection of how much you like yourself.

That which matters the most should never give way to that which matters the least.

The world is changing at such a rapid rate that waiting to implement changes will leave you 2 steps behind. DO IT NOW, DO IT NOW, DO IT NOW!

Breathe deeply and appreciate the moment. Living in the moment could be the meaning of life (...and creativity!)

Nature wants us to be mediocre because we have a greater chance to survive and reproduce.  Mediocre is as close to the bottom as it is to the top, and will give you a lousy life.

The pursuit of happiness is the source of all unhappiness.

Nature *inspires*.  What does Nature do from moment to moment to moment? She builds and creates, for the *JOY* of creating and building.

Dance,sing, floss and travel.

Life is too short...eat chocolate ~ daily.Source: http://www.lululemon.com/about/culture

WEEK 9 Multi-Cultural Teaching Continued (and the Bloom's!)

WEEK#9 10.29.2011        
"THE HIGHEST RESULT OF EDUCATION IS TOLERANCE." Helen Keller.
After our class discussion, I must say that respectively, I disagree with Helen Keller.  When we use concepts such as "tolerance", we are implying that one is doing just that...tolerating!  Mothers "tolerate" a nagging toddler.  A civil, knowledgable, and diverse society should not "tolerate" one another.  This reminds me of the magazine for educators, titled: Teaching Tolerance.  When introducing and teaching a culture to students, it is a privlige to become knowledgable by researching similarities and differences by starting with *one* (one region) and comparing it to our own.  I believe a good place to start is with the similarity that first and foremost, we are all *human-beings* who more than likely, share common core values and beliefs...

...and I think Benjamin Bloom would also disagree with Keller.  Bloom would argue that the highest result of education lies in the three objectives (or domains) that educators SHOULD set for students:
1) COGNTIVE (Knowing/Head) *Lowest to Highest:

1. Remembering Recall *Which, by the way, happens way TOO often in classrooms, and a form of higher learning is never attained!!!

2. Understading Comprehending: State a problem in one's own words.

3. Applying "Applying" what one has learned in the classroon in a new situation (workplace, etc.).

4. Analyzing Separates material or concepts into component parts so that its organizational structure may be understood. Distinguishes between facts and inferences.
5. Evaluating Make judgments about the value of ideas or materials.

6. Creating Builds a structure or pattern from diverse elements. Put parts together to form a whole, with emphasis on creating a new meaning or structure.

2) AFFECTIVE (Feeling/Heart)*Lowest to Highest:
1. Receiving Awareness, willingness to hear, selected attention.
2. Responding Active participation on the part of the learners. Attends and reacts to a particular phenomenon. Learning outcomes may emphasize compliance in responding, willingness to respond, or satisfaction in responding *(motivation)*.

3. Valuing The worth or value a person attaches to a particular object, phenomenon, or behavior. This ranges from simple acceptance to the more complex state of commitment.

4. Organizing Organizes values into priorities by contrasting different values, resolving conflicts between them, and creating an unique value system.

5. Internalizing (Characterization) Has a value system that controls their behavior.

3) PSYCHOMOTOR (Doing/Hands)*Lowest to Highest:
1. Perception The ability to use sensory cues to guide motor activity.

2. Set ~ Readiness to act. It includes mental, physical, and emotional sets. These three sets are dispositions that predetermine a person's response to different situations (sometimes called mindsets).

3. Guided Response The early stages in learning a complex skill that includes imitation and trial and error. Adequacy of performance is achieved by practicing.

4. Mechanism Learned responses have become habitual and the movements can be performed with some confidence and proficiency.

5. Complex Overt Response The skillful performance of motor acts that involve complex movement patterns.

6. Adaptation Skills are well developed and the individual can modify movement patterns to fit special requirements.
7. Origination Creating new movement patterns to fit a particular situation or specific problem.

According to Orlich, et al. (2004) Teaching Strategies: A Guide to Effective Instruction, learning at the higher levels is dependent on the what has been learned and skills at the lower level. 

The goal of Bloom's Taxonomy is to inspire educators to apply emphasis to all three domains:

1) Cogntive, 2) Affective, and 3) Psychomotor.

Within these three domains (combined) are where the highest results of education lie...

for all students! 

P.S. I know you've mentioned before that the education students at Wayne State University are familiar with Benjamin Blooms taxonomy, but the Art Education students are somewhat left in the dark. 

How ironic, since all three domains (cogntive, affective and psychomotor) are vital in every aspect of the *creative experience*

"It must be remembered that the purpose of education is not to fill the minds of students with facts ~
It is to teach them how to think." *Robert M. Hutchins*

Source(s): 

Orlich, et al. (2004) Teaching Strategies: A Guide to Effective Instruction, Houghton Mifflin.

Clark, D. R. Learning Domains of Bloom's Taxonomy http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html

*HAPPY*HALLOWEEN*!!!

 
***HAPPY***HALLOWEEN!!!***