Who ever thought that going to Art class meant going to the library as well?  This was an issue that was recently brought up by some of my students.  I explained to them that the library is full of valuable information that can be used to inspire ideas and foster creativity.

The concept of making art without making the art is new to these students.  In fact, it is new to most people who are not familiar with the study of contemporary art or art education.  I want to instill in them that artistic ideas do not come out of nowhere.  In fact, they often arise from looking elsewhere.  That’s what so fantastic about this subject.  Art can be extremely interdisciplinary.  Most of the students have this preconceived notion that art is about craft making where making pretty things is the most important goal.  Because thinking about concepts and doing research involves more thinking than they’re used to in art class, I am encountering resistance.  It is not “fun” and can be “boring” if they don’t find something of interest.  I must reassure them that they will have plenty of time to work on their projects once I am done feeding them information.  All in all, I think the library proved to be a useful resource they can tap into when they need.

My other challenge I had today was dealing with students who are struggling to understand English.  The option was given to them that they may write their concept sheet and comic in Chinese.  I think this will make them feel more comfortable and possibly, be able to express themselves better in their native tongue.   We had a round table session where we brought in students who could speak both English and Chinese to translate what I was saying.  This helped tremendously but I am still encountering difficulties in my other block of art class.  I spoke to this student’s ELL teacher and she recommended that I give him an actual topic to write the comic on and to simplify the overall outlook of the project.  Perhaps I could find another student in a different class to help in the translation process as well.  In any case, communicating with ELL students will prove to be a huge challenge for me during my practicum.