A Visualisation of the Notion of an artist-teacher
Inspired by the visualisations on Pete Hindle, Brian Degger and The Photography Pages this cloud is formed by processing the short essay below.
Introduction
The concept of the artist-teacher is one that I admit was personally sceptical about for a range of reasons (including professional responsibility to learners and time pressure) but hoped could be a possibility at the start of my initial teacher training on the PGCE Art and Design at Northumbria University.
I realised that being an artist-teacher is achievable with a flexible, positive and creative approach to art and pedagogy but that it is not easy. Practitioners must strive to establishing supportive partnerships with creative individuals and institutions and look for opportunities for continuing professional and artistic development.
This exhibition aims to present a selection of the range of continuing creative practice of artist teachers or more flexibly what I term creative educators amongst a group of newly qualified teachers.
Certain arts based issues have also arisen as a consequence including the tension between how things are presented and the makers original intention particularly in relation to the codes and conventions surrounding fine art and craft or design contemporary practices.
The Notion of the Artist-Teacher
I think that it is important to try and suggest reasons why there may be a broader degree of scepticism about the notion of ‘artist-teacher’.
1. Art teacher in Secondary Schools are leaders of innovation… currently you would be hard pressed to find another subject specialist calling themselves a mathematician-teacher or a geographer-teacher. Innovation involves taking calculated risk and thinking about how teaching must evolve from Best Practice (meeting current educational needs) to Next Practice (meeting future educational needs). Anything new will be greeted with a healthy amount of scepticism.
2. Outdated models of artistic practice seem prevalent amongst wider society and also by some very experienced teachers. Certainly as an undergraduate after leaving university I was a bit stumped about how to tackle being an artist!
The idea of the true artist solely generates their income through the sale of their work seems, or perhaps that they must produce innumerable artworks every year, or spend most waking hours locked in their studio are all ideas.
Meban, M. (2002; np) writes, “Many school art programs still emphasize modernist conceptions of art and, as a result, children engage in school art activities that promote a conception of art and art-making that bears little resemblance to that of the post-modern contemporary art world.” Although written with a Canadian perspective, I believe that this statement may reflect a wider western approach to art education pedagogy within schools.
3. Teachers have, and rightfully so, a strong tendency to put their students first in almost all circumstances. Consequently their own work becomes of secondary personal importance perhaps resulting in engaged making becoming an occasional occurence and rarely exhibiting their endeavours… I suggest that this mindset undermines their confidence in calling themselves artist-teachers or artists.
It is these teachers that the Artist Teacher Scheme should target as often more experienced teachers occupy departmental or school management roles and as Galloway, S et al (2006: 60) suggests, “The teacher’s position in a department (and the department’s recognition within the school) will play a part in the degree to which increased skill and confidence can be transported into experience for pupils.”
Conclusions
What must be emphasised are the artist-teacher reasons for undertaking continued…… professional development and maintaining a personal creative practice.
Thornton, A (2005:173) concludes that being a reflective artist teacher enables practitioners to come to terms with the duality and sometimes conflicting theoretical standpoints of their commitments to art and education suggesting,“Perhaps reflective practice can enable us to accept complexity and even understand it as a necessary condition of the world and help is approach each problem as a unique experience to be framed and engaged with as such.”
Galloway, S. et al (2006:9) asked participants of the artist teacher scheme to identify why they were undertaking MA Level study and alongside singularly artistic and ‘teacher-y’ reasons identified the following ‘artist-teacher’ reasons,
- Wanted to do it for myself: chance to put myself first and replenish skills, knowledge and creativity rather than put all energy into nurturing others;
- Attracted to the idea of going back to studio/art school (retrieval or cyclical model);
- Time to refresh ideas since teachers in this country don’t get sabbaticals;
- Wanted to get back into creative work after seven years teaching;
- Didn’t want to wait until retirement to go back to creating;
- Began MA course to sustain development and momentum built up through an Intermediate level course;
- Seeking intellectual challenge and critical debate.
From this research I suggest a greater balance must be stuck between the needs of the learners and the professional and creative needs of the teachers.
I hope that in some small way this exhibition goes to satisfy the creative appetites of a newly qualified group of artist-teachers and that it may act as a catalyst for further dialogue between all parties involved with its conception and realisation as well as the wider audience.
References
Galloway, S. et al (2006)ARTIST TEACHER SCHEME EVALUATION 2005-2006 FINAL REPORT [Online] Available at: http://www.nsead.org/downloads/CEDAR_Evaluation_Report_2006.pdf
Meban, M. (2002) International Journal of Education and the Arts The Postmodern Artist in the School:
Implications for Arts Partnership Programs (sic) [Online] Available at: http://ijea.asu.edu/v3n1/
Thornton, A. (2005) The Artist Teacher as Reflective Practioner [Online] Available at http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/toc/jade/24/2 (Accessed: 5.9.07)
Bibliography
Clark, R. (1996). Art education: Issues in postmodernist pedagogy. Reston, VA: National Art Education Association.
Hannon, V. ( 2007) ‘Next Practice’ in education: a disciplined approach to innovation [Online] Available at: http://www.innovation-unit.co.uk/images/stories/files/pdf/nextpractice_in_education.pdf (Accessed: 5.9.07)
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