Nadine Deckert

Art 133
Unit Paper 5
School is a highly structured place where teachers are expected to teach to the standards

so by the end of the school year their students know everything the standards believe students

should know by then. Dorn (1994) talks about how in art education teachers are having to find a

way to teach to all the standards schools want them to teach as well as teaching students about

the individuality that should be in art. In schools art classes have become more about teaching to

the standards than teaching students to use art as a way of expression. Schools rely on structure

every day and standards-based teaching is what they use to keep a solid structure. Eisners

(2002) lesson number 10 shows perfectly how art and schools structure dont always coincide

because art I not always deemed as important to schools as what they call the core subjects:

literature, math, history, and science. A standard based teaching form may be what schools prefer

but it may not always be the best teaching style for children because it doesnt always allow for

creativity and freedom of expression.

I really enjoyed the Chance Operations studio and feel like I could use it in any level

elementary class with variations for certain grades. For all the grade though, I would control the

supplies they are using more, like putting a small amount of the ink into harder to spill

containers, with the lower grades, k-1, I may substitute the ink out for paint, and with kinders I

may use crayons instead of charcoal. The upper grades, 4-6, could easily handle the instructions

and be able to work in pairs to get the project done. Third grade would be able to handle the

project and working in pairs to do it but they would need it split into two parts. The first part

being to follow the instructions all the way through and then the second part to be to go back and

do the project again without following the instructions correctly. For the grades 2 and down I
would do the first part as a whole class and then let 2nds go back and do it again how they want

but with 1-k I would probably have the class work together to do the second part by maybe

rolling a dice to decide what to do next.

References
Dorn, C. M. (1994). Thinking in art: A philosophical approach to art education. Reston, VA:
National Art Education Association.
Eisner, E. (2002). The arts and the creation of mind. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.