Over the course of my practicum, I had to deal with many students who did not want to be in art class but were simply there because they had no other choice due to schedule conflicts and/or the need to fit in an extra elective.  There are a couple of concerns regarding teaching an elective course such as art.

1. Only a small number of students in a regular public school are actually really interested in art and art making. 

This concern is something I’m sure all teachers have to deal with whether they teach an “academic” or “non academic” course.  I am the first to admit that pain of sitting through math courses that made me doze off.  If the teacher wasn’t particularly engaging or was not making sense to my ears, I can easily wander off in my own little world.  In English, I remember reading a book that was not interesting and trying to grind through those pages in class.  How does one find the motivation to keep going and get through these seemingly, “boring” classes?  We must!  Passing these “academic” courses are a requirement to graduate and to go to university.  Luckily, I never gave up and just put my “good student” hat on whenever I needed to.  I always did well in my classes but what about those students who lack the motivation to succeed?

Art class is often thought of as a “slack” course.  I never treated my art class in high school as such but many students do.  I create art projects that are conceptually geared and require some effort into producing a “good” piece of art.  I expect my course to be treated and seen as an academic course like any other.  The problem is convincing the students.  I have several students who are habitual skippers.  I can’t help but wonder if it’s because they don’t like my academic approach to art (where they are required to do concept sheets and artist statements and presentations) or because they just think that skipping art is “no biggie”.  I’ve tried my best to encourage them but I can only push them so far.  For the most part, I can say that the majority of my students have warmed up to me and my teaching style.

2. Keeping the numbers up. 

I’ve heard this a lot before I started my practicum.  It is crucial that we have enough students enroll in art classes so that there are enough blocks for the art teacher to teach!  I feel like this will require a bit of balance.  I do not want to have an art class that is “too easy” and all “crafty” with no thinking involved.  Neither do I want the art class to be as rigid and serious as a post-secondary art class.  What needs to happen is a fine balance between creative art making within the parameters of the materials available to them.  My biggest fear is that my academic style will turn off the students and they refuse to take art because it is “not easy”.  I don’t want to compromise my passion for teaching art as a tool for personal and social exploration.  At the same time, I do not want to deter students from pursuing art because the art projects are too challenging.  I have modified my expectations and assessment strategies as a result but will need to continue refining these as I gain more experience.

3. Promoting a “non-academic” course.

How can we get students and parents to see high school art class as an “academic” subject?  I think it is safe to say that far too many parents view art as an add-on course on top of their regular and more important English, Math, and Science courses.  As a teacher, I take the work and effort of my students very seriously.  I believe that they should put as much effort into their art projects as they do into writing their English essays or studying for their Math unit test.  When students put art lower on their priority list, I will undoubtedly receive second-rate work.  This is not to say that all students do this, but I have already experienced this during my practicum.  While in conversation with a fellow English teacher candidate, she mentions a particular student who does very well in her class.  This student is also in my art class but fails to do any work for me.  Instead, all I receive from him are excuses as to why he does not have the time or interest to do my art projects.  I am not offended.  Instead, I am more curious than anything, about how some students can be such stupendous students in other subjects but failing in a class that is deemed to be “unimportant”.  The narrowing of this  discrepancy between marks in different subject areas is something which I hope to explore and reduce in the future…if possible!