UNIT 1 Art Education in the Elementary Grades "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." - George Santayana REPORTERS AVELLANA, CRISTINE JOY CANARIA, RACHEL ANNE ORUBIA, MARINEL DUMLAO, ALMAR PAYCANA, ALYXANDREA 01 OBJECTIVES 02 03 Familiarize yourself with how and why visual art has been taught in the Philippines in the past decades. Gain cursory knowledge of the arguments in favor of having art subjects in the curriculum. Become familiar with the issues facing Art Education in the country today. A. Art Education in the Phillipines ART EDUCATION "Art Education" as the term is used in the Philippinesrefers to the teaching and learning of the visual arts, i.e., drawing, painting, sculpture, etc. This is to distinguish it from education in other artistic fields, such as music, dance, and theater. A Short History of Art Education in the Philippines According to Santiago (2013), Art Education in the country as we know it today is the by-product of the American philosophy of education which the Americans brought with them as they supplanted the Spanish as colonizers of the country at the start of the 20th century. As the Filipinos' latent artistic talents came to the fore, the Americans saw it fit that they play a part in the development of Philippine education as a whole, and so to this day, art is still taught as part of Basic Education in the country. Santiago (2013) defines Art Education in the country as being comprised of three distinct periods: 1. The Experimental Period (1915-1935) During this time, Art Education was primarily drawing (it was literally called "Drawing" in the curriculum), where the students learned via imitation, and the instructional methods were "dull and authoritarian." 2. The New Movement (1935-1950) Vicente Dizon is credited by Santiago with starting the New Movement in Art Education, characterized by a growing understanding of the desired philosophy for teaching art not only in the elementary grades, but also in high school and college, and an increasing practicality in the teaching of art. 3. The Newer Movement (1950-present) It was in 1950 that "Drawing" became "Art Education" and when Pablo Victoria, an art professor at the then Philippine Normal College, pioneered integrating art with other subjects in the curriculum. His 1959 book, Art in the Elementary School, clarifies and elaborates on the role of both teachers and learners in art education. Today, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) is the primary policy-making body for Philippine culture and the arts. Its programs and policies are what guide government efforts in conserving historical artworks, giving public exposure to the works of Filipino artists, and encouraging a new generation to explore and invest in Filipino arts. Today, art education has been integrated into the Basic Education Curriculum under the Music, Arts, Physical Education, and Health (MAPEH) subject, which receives 4 hours of instruction weekly from Grades 1 to 10 (Department of Education 2012). In 2016, the Department of Education introduced a specialized Arts Track for senior high students under the K to 12 program with approximately 4,400 students nationwide as of 2017 (Geronimo 2016; Samodio 2017). Benefits of Art Education The Seneca Academy (2017) lists ten benefits to having Art as part of school curriculum: 1. Working in the arts helps learners develop creative problem-solving skills. 2. Teaching through the arts can present difficult concepts visually, making them more easy to understand. 3. Art instruction helps children with the development of motor skills, language skills, social skills, decision-making, risk-taking, and inventiveness. 4. Visual arts teach learners about color, layout, perspective, and balance: al techniques that are necessary in presentations (visual, digital) of academic work. 5. Integrating art with other disciplines reaches students who might not otherwise be engaged in classwork. 6. Arts experiences boost critical thinking, teaching students to take the time to be more careful and thorough in how they observe the world. 7. The arts provide challenges for learners at all levels. 8. Art education connects students with their own culture as well as with the wider world. 9. Young people who participate regularly in the arts (three hours a day on three days each week through one full year) are four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement, to participate in a Math and Science fair, or to win an award for writing an essay or poem than children who do not participate (Heath, Soep, and Roach 1998). 10. Greater arts education leads to fewer disciplinary infractions and higher attendance, graduation rates, and test scores (Missouri Alliance for Art Education 2010). According to a 1993 study made by the Arts Education Partnership Working Group, the many benefits of a strong arts program in schools include "intensified student motivation to learn, better school attendance, increased graduation rates, improved multicultural understanding, and the development of higher-order thinking skills, creativity, and problem-solving abilities." Issues in Philippine Art Education Problems in Artistic Values The issues discussed here under deal with the attitudes and mindsets of the various participants in art education regarding the teaching of art in schools. They are problems of perspective, which in turn affect policy, which then affect practice. Four broad categories are identified here: Teacher Issues, Art as a Subject, Student Discipline, and Art as a Luxury: 1. Teacher issues It should come as no surprise that teaching as a whole is not the career of choice for a majority of Filipinos, with many of its practitioners a victim of the "mag-teacher ka na lang!" mentality in the culture. Alongside this, art educators in the country face a number of self-esteem issues. expressed through statements like "I'm not talented enough to be a real artist" or "There's no money in the arts, so I teach in order to make a living. 2. Art as a Subject Perhaps because of its initial, utilitarian roots as "drawing." art in the curriculum is still often viewed as a "subject" rather than an avenue for self-expression. This results in a teaching of art that is overly academic, focusing on facts about art rather than on the practice and creation of art. 3. Student Discipline Stemming from a utilitarian view of art, many students struggle with motivation issues due to an unnecessarily vicious cycle of criticism from family, peers, and ill-equipped teachers, thereby limiting their willingness to invest the hours needed to master the skills needed to create art. 4. Art as a Luxury The popular public view on art in the country is that it is a luxury-Pangmayaman lang 'yan"-nice to have, but nonessential to the average working Filipino. Art is considered the privilege of the elite-those who do not have to actually work for a living and can therefore devote the time, energy, and money needed to participate in artistic endeavors. MATERIALS, RESOURCES, AND WORKSPACES The following are problems related to the physical requirements for teaching art and their availability. An art teacher requires quite a number of materials, many of which can be expensive and outside of school budget. Limited Materials Due to the lack of adequate support art materials are scarce in the average classroom. There is also a lack of recognition of the alternative art materials that are available in the immediate environment. Workspaces Management Issues Many schools have no dedicated space for art classes. As a result, some forms of artistic expression simply cannot be explored. Related to the lack of student respect for art materials and spaces, there is also a severe lack of awareness as to how to manage and organize an art class in order to maximize learning and ensure students safety. Take Note! There are obviously many other issues in the teaching of art in the Philippines. Those mentioned above are simply the most likely ones that art educators like yourselves will face in the field. Knowing and preparing yourselves is necessary. EXPERIENCE For example, if you are an art educator, what is your primary reason choosing this kind of a viable career? B. THE ARTIST MINDSET IN THE EARLY GRADES 01 Familiarize yourself with the mindset, attitude, and values that must be developed in young learner’s to help foster a healthy attitude toward the practice art. 02 Reflection on the presence or absence of these artistic values in your own life as an art educator, and consider how to develop them to the point that you can encourage their development in others. OBJECTIVES “ Nemo dat quod non habet” ( You cannot give what you do not have)- Latin Maxim Any practicing artist can tell you that art first begins in the mind, with artistic skills serving only to create what is already seen in imagination. It is necessary to identify the habits of the mind- mindset- that art educators should possess and seek to develop. ( the values, philosophical positions, and the focus needed for art to thrive in Philippine education) THINK A. Inspired by Daily Experiences and Encounters Part of the “artistic sense” is a sensitivity to beauty- not just in big and grand spectacles and experiences, but particularly in the everyday things we see and experience as we go about our lives. 1. Exposure- the ability to see beauty everyday does not appear out of thin air; rather, it often someone explaining to us how something simple and common place can be beautiful, and in terms that are appropriate for our developmental stages. 2. Context- It is almost a cliché to say that beauty is subjective; that is, what is beautiful depends on the individual. Beauty depends on the context. 3. Age- Children are naturally drawn to the novel, the unusual, and the exciting. Bigger, bolder, faster, brighter, louder are a guaranteed formula to gain interest of children. Educators will need to tailor the experiences they have planned for young learner’s so that they communicate the lesson while holding the learners interest. Events have also been a great source of inspiration for artists. ( Example; ancient art, pre historic cave systems of Europe, the pyramids of Egypt, the bas- relief sculptures from Mesopotamia and etc.) An easily overlooked opportunity to teach beauty in everyday context is in the simple act of coloring a picture. ( exciting, dynamic, full of movement and action; or simple and quite) B. Constantly Curious While curiosity is often cited as a characteristic of scientists, it is also an essential part of being an artist, albeit that while a scientist might be curious as to what is in the design of a bird's wing that enables it to fly, an artist might be curious as to how to make the wing "look alive" even when rendered in a static, unmoving work of art. C. Open-Minded Related to curiosity is "open-mindedness," which is the willingness to be exposed to new ideas and to consider them on their own merits. The practice of art can be an expensive endeavor-the best-quality materials are never affordable even when available, and so where certain techniques and processes are not feasible due to lack of the proper materials, an open mind is needed to perceive and embrace that which is possible given what is available. Open-mindedness is also an asset when it comes to the idea of "perfection" in art-a concept which artists reject. Lastly, an open mind is necessary for an artist to benefit from criticism. Some areas where an open mind is an artistic asset are: 1. Lack of resources 2. The idea of perfection 3. Criticism D. Art as Authentic Self-Expression Art can be defined as any expression of the inner desire to create beauty. Thus, the desire to create something that is beautiful is the defining feature of the artist-i.e., it is what makes an artist an artist and any work of art that an artist produces is but an expression of that desire. E. Art as Self-Expression Expanding this concept, we see that teaching art is not limited to a simple technique-the how of art-but must also include teaching it as a means for students to communicate feelings, experiences, interests, and desires-the way of art. F. Valuing Authenticity Wrapped up in the mind and heart of an artist is a desire for affirmation some outside validation that the work we produce is, in fact, beautiful in the way the artist intended it. This nuance can be easily lost to young learners, for whom validation of their artwork can feel like personal validation. Do note however that it is in the nature of learners to learn via imitation, which should be encouraged up to a point that is, once the learners have a firm grasp of how to execute a technique (via imitation), they should be encouraged to move beyond imitating the work of others toward creating original work of their own. G. Enjoyment in the Process It would be very strange for an artist to not enjoy the process of creating art-after all, this is one of the reasons why he or she is an artist. An artist must enjoy the process, plain and simple or else pursue something other than art. Let us be very clear with this: Everyone feels the desire to create beauty, but only an artist perseveres when the process of creating beauty becomes tedious, frustrating, and repetitive for the sake of producing something beautiful. G. Enjoyment in the Process Make no mistake: sooner or later, the artistic process will become difficult. When it comes to young learners, the goal should not be attaining mastery of any artistic technique that will come with time. Instead, the goal is to teach them to love the creation of beauty, however small it might appear to us. After all, love makes the labor light. EXPERIENCE Answer the following questions: 1. Can comic books be considered "art"? Why or why not? 2. Can designing a slide presentation be considered an "artistic process? Why or why not? 3. Can editing a video to upload onto the Internet be considered an "artistic" Can editing a photo on your phone be considered "art"? Why or why not? 4. Can editing photo on mobile phone considered as "art"? Why or why not? These and other questions help reveal our own artistic "blind spots" and biases, which young learners often do not yet have but can acquire because of a teacher's influence. C. The K to 12 Elementary Art Education Curriculum "If you don't know where you are going, any road can take you there." - Letter from J.R.R. Tolkien to C.S. Lewis Philosophy and Rationale The philosophy and rationale of the curriculum is the country's answer to the question, "Why teach art in basic education? The K to 12 Art curriculum focuses the PHILIPPINE ART, CULTURE and HERITAGE appreciating the diversity of our local artists, our arts, crafts, and indigenous materials to strengthen the student's identity of being Filipino, before he/she is introduced to the art of other countries. Elements, Principles, and Processes of Art Education ARTS ELEMENTS ANS PRINCIPLES · Listening · Reading · Imitating (Recreation) · Responding · Creating · Performing ( Including Movement) · Evaluating · Analyzing Critically Applying (Transference) ARTS PROCESS · Seeing/ Observing · Reading · Imitating (Recreating) · Responding · Creating (Original works) · Performing 9different art processes) · Evaluating · Analyzing Critically Applying (Transference) Standards Standards refers to what the program is trying to teach, It defined in a four level: Learning Area Standards The learner demonstrates an understanding of basic concepts and processes in music and art through appreciation, analysis and performance for his/her self-development. celebration of his/her Filipino cultural identity and diversity, and expansion of his/her world vision. Key Stage Standards for K-3 and 4-6 Grade Level Standards for 1-6 GRADE 1 The learner demonstrate basic understanding of the fundamental processes in music art, through performing, creating, listening , observing and listening. GRADE 2 The learner demonstrates basic and fundamental processes in music and art, through performing, creating, listening, observing and responding. The learner has acquired the basic and fundamental processes through performing, creating, listening, observing and responding towards the development of appreciation of music and art and the acquisition of basic knowledge and skills. GRADE 3 GRADE 4 GRADE 5 GRADE 6 Through the formal introduction of elements, the learner can identify the basic knowledge and skills in music and arts, toward self-development, the celebration of Filipino cultural identify and diversity, and the expansion of one’s world vision. Through exploration, the learner demonstrates a deeper understanding of basic knowledge and skills in music and art, towards self- development, the celebration of Filipino cultural identity and diversity, and expansion of one’s world vision. Through application, the learner demonstrates understanding of the basic concepts of and processes in music and art, towards self-development, the celebration of Filipino cultural identity and diversity, and the expansion of one’s world vision. Grade Level Standards for 4-6 Grade 4: formal introduction of elements, Grade 5: exploration Grade 6: application The Curriculum and the Classroom Content Standards The learner demonstrates understanding of lines, shapes, colors and texture, and principles of balance, proportion and variety through drawing Performance Standards The learner creates a portrait of himself and his family which shows the elements and principles of art by drawing Learning Competencies tells that ART is all around and is created by different people, distinguishes and identifies the different kinds of drawings: 1. portraits 2. family portraits 3. school ground 4. on-the-spot 5. drawings of home/school surroundings ASSESS Discuss the following with your peers: 1. How have you come to appreciate beauty in nature and everyday occurrences? 2. Do you remember when you came to understand art as being a form of self expression? How did you come to realize this? 3. When and how did you come to appreciate the value of your own original work? Discuss some strategies you might have for teaching young students to the same. 4. How well do you cope with criticism of your art? Thank you for listening!
