Prior to reading the article, "An Inevitable Question: Exploring the Defining Features of Social Justice Art Education" I had a small amount of knowledge on the subject of Social Justice Arts Education. It's something that I fully believe we have learned the basics of in other courses because I understood what it was as soon as I started reading about it, but I think it's something we haven't attached vocabulary or definition to previously. More or less focused on in a deeper context. As a future art educator, my definition of Social Justice Education broadly means a way of teaching that seeks a way to free all people from systems of inequality or injustice. Social Justice art making is a commitment to create art that draws attention to, mobilizes action toward, or in some way attempts to intervene within those systems. It is extremely important to planning art curriculum in many ways, reason one being because it's influential for students to create artwork that critique and strive to affect conditions of injustice within their own view of the world. Implementing this idea within the realm of your classroom is giving students a way to construct knowledge, critically analyze ideas, and take action in the world. Due to understanding these concepts students will also start to form their own identities, experiences, and attentiveness to their likes and dislikes.
As the teacher, your job is to make sure that students are able to pull from their own personal connections - as well as their own personal reflections based on an idea of injustice. You are also responsible for teaching them how to question- or encourage them to explore ideas with deeper meaning. Lastly, to encourage your students to express an intention to challenge ideas or change conditions of injustice. Students will eventually become people of society with a career, how can this idea translate to making a career choice? Social Justice Art Education teaches our students to be more open minded when it comes to ideas of social injustice - they are able to be deeper critical thinkers, and are able to challenge the norm. Students are able to evolve among these contexts based on people and community that is ever changing around them. Teaching our students these skills will only become more valuable as time continues and the field of Social Justice Art Education continues to expand.
I recently came across this Ted Talk - and this quote stuck out to me, "Wherever art is being created and engaged, we see it- people being inspired, being motivated, moved." Now, it isn't about visual arts, it is more based on writers - poetry, etc. Art has a major component to it, it can build personal connections that make people question inequality and injustice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLg8LMK_Ct4
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Blog # 12: Mindfulness and Social Emotional Learning
My new knowledge on trauma, mindfulness, and social emotional learning impacts my understanding of my future students lives and my role in ...
-
With the Junior High Students visit quickly approaching I can't help but be excited. I really am looking forward to completing this pro...
-
Hello all!! Coming to you from good ol' Glenwood, Iowa. After week two of quarantine I have found a little bit more of a groove when w...
-
We will start off this post by just quickly reflecting on the AMAZING experience that was the junior high visit/ art installation completion...
I did not have a very large pool of knowledge on social justice in art education before reading this article either. We have definitely touched on the basis of it, but getting to read in for further information was beneficial. I really like how you choose to describe social justice from your own understanding outside of the article and I think you did a good job with the definition.
ReplyDeleteI agree that social justice in art education can help students to develop their own identities through their experiences and attentiveness as they analyze ideas, construct knowledge, and take action toward their research. I think it is important that you added in the teachers responsibility to make sure that students include personal connections. Everything they use in their projects with social justice could definitely help them in their careers later in life and help the field of social justice art education to expand. I like that you included a link for the ted talk you included in your article!
Social justice is something we all constantly live with, it is always all around us, but we often pay little attention to it, until someone or something comes around. We probably wouldn't have talked about it at all if Wendy didn't bring it up in class, but it has become such an intriguing and eye opening conversation. Knowing that in just a little while, it will be our turns to bring up these touchy topics to our own students is truly inspiring to know we will be molding our students to become amazing members of society one day.
ReplyDelete