[Jackie Geiple]

(By the way, love the ‘voices heard most often’ and ‘voices not being heard enough’ questions from jpy5076…I think they are great and spot-on!!)

*Not going to lie…I did research some psychological and personal growth questions for the personal transformation section, and while some are my own, I adapted a few researched ones that I felt could best be explored through creations of artwork. Links to my resources will be below.

Personal Transformation:
Who do you blame? For what? Why?
What regrets haunt you the most and why?
Who can’t you just let go and why?
When someone asks you what you are really thinking about, do you tell them? Why or why not?
Are you more of a self-loather, or a self-lover?
What scares you most about the future and why?
What do you refuse to admit? Why?
What answers are you seeking? Why?
What is your baggage and how has that affected your journey?
Who do you judge? Why?
What memory would you erase if you could? Why?
What don’t you dare do? Why?
Who have you ‘disposed garbage upon’? Why?
What have you given up on? Why?
What should you give up but just can’t?
What patterns keep occurring in your life? Why?
What will you change?
What are you afraid to ask yourself?
Whose approval do you seek most? Why?
What is your biggest lie in life?
What keeps you breathing most?
What is your biggest ‘what if?’
What is your biggest ‘if only?’
What do you deserve? Why?
What don’t you deserve? Why?

Social Transformation:
What is the biggest social worry today?
What different directions could __________ go in 5, 25, 100 years?
What was the biggest social worry 5, 25, 100 years ago? How did it develop?
What throughout history just seems to repeat itself?
What makes it right? Why?
What makes it wrong? Why?
What does compromise look like/where does it begin?
What does understanding look like/where does it begin?
What does respect look like/where does it begin?
What does social progress look like/where does it begin??
Who hurts most? Why?
Who benefits most? Why?
What does love look like?
What does neglect look like?
Where does cruelty begin?
What does the world deserve?
How does the world feel right now?
How will the world feel a hundred years from now?
Who is trying to hide or be invisible?
Who is trying to be seen?

http://dawnbarclay.com/99-personal-development-questions-your-brain-can-thank-you-for

[Jackie Geiple]

Challenges:
1. Incorporating a still somewhat touchy and debated subject into an art classroom without being accused of ‘having a hidden agenda’ or ‘trying to brainwash students’ or ‘forcing personal opinions into curriculum where they don’t belong’…I know it is a real issue, and should be discussed, however…I’d be lying if I said I was 100% comfortable discussing it with students. Some people hear ‘feminist’ and jump to conclusions because it is usually associated with one-sided extremes. I personally don’t like the whole ‘feminist’ label because it just comes across as so one-sided…I recognize differences between masculine and feminine experiences, however, I feel that terms like this imply further divisions and encourage people to ‘choose sides’…when really, we should all recognize and be more understanding of each while promoting humanism. Part of me would be worried that students would twist things, parents would get involved, cause issues with administration, etc. I see so many stories of teachers getting into trouble for silly things just because students/parents could twist the teacher’s true intentions into something extreme.
2. Students might not be aware that there is ‘another side of things’ because they have grown up in a culture, environment, etc. that leans one way more than the other. They might not understand how there could be another side, or they might deny it completely (either before or after hearing both cases).
3. Potential heated discussions that, despite preventative measures, could result in outbursts or offensive remarks from students. High schoolers can be a bit unpredictable in regards to what they take personally, get defensive about, what they misinterpret, etc….
4. Under-informed or mis-informed…students, and/or teachers.
5. Avoiding biases or stereotypes in discussions and artworks; keeping the discussions and artworks progressing in positive and non-hurtful/offensive ways because there are always at least two sides to things…

Opportunities:
1. Can encourage students to think about the world around them from a new perspective.
2. Encourage students to start analyzing the world around them and their own experiences from a non-objective perspective to determine their own informed opinions and views.
3. Provides an opportunity for students to develop their own opinions and gain confidence and ownership in how that can define part of who they are as a whole.
4. Students can use artwork to sort through their feelings, experiences and views; use art as a pathway to help figure themselves and the world out.
5. Students can intentionally and thoughtfully express who they are, their views, experiences, and opinions through artwork.

Strategies
1. Provide students with the topic as well as a few ‘key areas’ to observe and mentally note prior to and throughout unit so they can begin to develop their own ideas based on personal observations and experiences.
2. Have students choose a moment in their life where they experienced or witnessed an example of something topic-related, and describe both views (discussion and/or through artwork).
3. Incorporate historical as well as contemporary/enduring references.
4. Have students create an artwork that expresses how one feels in a situation connected to the topic.
5. Artwork installations that promote understanding of topic throughout the school and/or community.

Feminist inquiry is concerned with the politics of location (i.e., positionality) and politics of knowledge production. What are the challenges, opportunities, and strategies for bringing such inquiry into art education?

[Jackie Geiple]

I have not tried this particular approach, but not for any specific reason. One of my personal teaching goals this year was to help my students grow more comfortable with sharing ideas and discussions, but I am embarrassed to admit that I have not made as much effort and progress as I should have. I found it a lot easier to try new techniques and make progress when I taught year-long courses, probably because students grew more comfortable with each other over that time and because the year-long time frame allowed more opportunities for in-depth content development, growth, and ‘practice’ with discussions.

This is my first year teaching semester courses (and now all ceramics courses), and I have been struggling throughout the year to somehow find a magic balance between the ‘creation,’ ‘production,’ ‘response,’ and ‘connection’ standards…my new school’s art curriculum has students developing skills and techniques the first marking period, then the second marking period is research, individual project development and creation, and setting up the end-of-semester art show and displaying their own individual portfolios. I find it very difficult to condense everything they need to know into one single marking period of 45 minute classes and then expect them to have a solid foundation (in terms of artistic thoughtfulness and technical skills) that will adequately enable them to successfully develop a personal and expressive final project. As much as it pains me to admit it, class discussions have been neglected and put on the back burner. However, I have never tried this particular circle approach and here are my thoughts…

Potential Challenge: Obstructions or limited open circle options with my built-in tables…no true ‘open area’ in my ceramics room.
Potential Solution: Move stools around outside of tables (form a circle, but tables still separate lower bodies); move stools around pottery wheels (which are lower and less obstructive…only lower legs and feet will be blocked).

Potential Challenge: Students aware of required ‘share expectations’ but even upon the ‘pass’ return, still refuse or don’t provide personal response. ‘I don’t know,’ ‘Same as her.’ (Or constantly copying/repeating responses to avoid coming up with their own.)
Potential Solution: Some may be motivated to share if discussion included in participation grade. Provide topics and questions that require some element of unique, personal connection in the response (memories, experiences). Avoid ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ discussions. Create rule that allows you to agree with another person, but then you must develop a response that could be from another person’s point of view so you contribute a new point.

Potential Challenge: Students are extremely shy or uncomfortable opening up and sharing thoughts and ideas. Have thoughts to share, but can’t express them clearly.
Potential Solution: Pottery wheel area has white Christmas lights hanging above it…could turn them on as ‘fun discussion lights’ to lighten the mood. Pose a question or topic and have students quietly reflect and then jot down their thoughts on personal dry erase boards or notepaper so they have a chance to visually organize thoughts and something to refer to when it’s their turn (encourage students to add to their notes throughout discussion). Mini-discussions to build up to longer or more in depth ones. If students uncomfortable sharing their ‘personal’ views, could have option of providing a potential viewpoint from another person. Incorporate game elements (‘sharing stick,’ ball, etc.). Give students something like lollipops to make it less informal (and help deter side chatter because their mouths would have a lollipop in them unless they are the one sharing, haha).

Potential Challenge: Students struggle with discussing topic beyond ‘face value’ ideas and observations; struggle with thoughtful responses beyond basic contributions.
Potential Solution: Provide students with upcoming topics a day or two in advance to allow more time to ‘marinate’ in their minds. Introduce discussions gradually; demonstrate with quick and less intimidating topics to build foundations/steps behind deeper ones. Provide students with a few prompts to encourage more thoughtful responses.

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