My creative identity began to change as I entered middle school, and the change was even more apparent as I entered high school. This resulted from painful criticism from outsiders and desire to assimilate, to make friends and to be liked. I remember, on several occasions, when my dad erased something I drew, and redrew it “correctly.” I wish that he would have drawn what he was talking about separately, instead of erasing my picture, even if my version was terrible according to his standards. This quickly squelched a good deal of my artistic expression. I transformed from an uninhibited, unabashed creator into an introverted, self-conscious observer. Rhoda Kellogg’s words resonate with me:
The prejudice against child art is part of the prejudice against the mind of the child. Each adult can recall his own schooling, when he was made aware of his inadequate (though potentially adequate) physical and mental capacities. In later years, it is difficult for him to respect the activities or art of child. (p. 68)
I am grateful for my experiences/opportunities growing up, and for my
parents. Reflecting on my artistic experiences in childhood helps me to be aware of the power I have over students, and my children. I am surprised at how passionately I feel as I recall these memories. Art was a very important part of my life for a long time, and I hope it will become even more important. I married an art teacher/artist because I never wanted to let go of that part of my life. Kevin’s positive, supportive attitude helps me to reconsider what I feel I am capable of doing, and to reevaluate when I thought I knew. I believe that art has important implications on children’s literacy learning, and that it rarely is credited for its benefits in learning. I am excited to learn more about the marriage between arts and literacy.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Moral Panics in panicky times
Moral Panics in panicky times
Although the term ‘moral panic’ was coined in 1972, the idea behind moral panics has been around for hundreds of years- the idea of challenging traditional values. Moral panics are related to power struggles, in a Foucaultian sense. A moral panic is something that society is concerned about, and feels a need for protection of children exposed to some kind of threat. Society then takes divided, polarized sides for and against the threat. “Folk devils” are a threat, and the general consensus must oppose the ‘threat.’ Action against the ‘folk devils’ is often extreme, but the general interest in each moral panic is usually fleeting, (Goode and Ben-Yehuda, 1994).
These moral panics are driven by fear, which compares to the fear that many Americans feel about different ways to die. For example, even though heart disease is the number one killer in the US, people are often more fearful of other ways to die.
Girls’ agency in South Africa: Photovoice
What did these girls find dangerous?
The girls took a photograph of the football players’ lodgings and explained that the football players could abuse girls. The social media used football players as voices against rape, but in fact, many of them were the perpetrators. Some of the girls took pictures of toilets because that could be a place where they could be raped both because it is a public and a private place. The girls wanted to create videos about gender harassment and violence.
Aboriginal youth in Canada created an empowering video that also sent the message that one out of four Aboriginal people have HIV.
Gender and children’s production preferences
Kid play not-quite-museum David Sirota Back to our future, play matters meditations on the history of neuroscience of play What is play?
Pleasure- poise, surprise, strength, anticipation, understanding
Gender and children’s production preferences
When I offered the specials class, “Beaded narrative,” I expected to see mainly girls enroll in the class. I imagined that girls would encourage their friends to sign up together so that they could make jewelry and talk about “girl issues.” To my surprise, more boys enrolled for the class than girls, probably because these kids are just much more creative thinkers than I am. They are creating headbands, small toys, as well as jewelry; rings, earrings, necklaces, etc. The work that students are doing to create their own unique projects often has a problem solving nature. I am interested in learning from the students how they navigate the “gender-playing field,” since they are working with volatile materials- mostly shiny glass seed beads. There are also large glass beads, some that look like gemstones, but so far, only a few girls have attempted to work with these materials.
Zach- first, hacky sack, then became unhappy with it after a mistake, then began a different patterned project
Jeff- multicolored loom work, all different colors of beads, even big pink beads
Mike- blue and green “v/x” pattern, that represents his time at CLC so that he will remember certain things once he is in high school
Lily- star rings for herself and her sister, where star represents the North star that guided Harriet Tubman to lead people to freedom
Greg- loomwork
Brian- blue/silver patterned loomwork
Madison- chain earrings, necklaces
Chris- duct tape bowties, domino crown & necklace,
Miranda- loomwork
Christina- pink & purple right angle weave
Alice- metal chain necklaces with large glass beads
Colin- New York Yankees logo loomwork
Pleasure- poise, surprise, strength, anticipation, understanding
Gender and children’s production preferences
When I offered the specials class, “Beaded narrative,” I expected to see mainly girls enroll in the class. I imagined that girls would encourage their friends to sign up together so that they could make jewelry and talk about “girl issues.” To my surprise, more boys enrolled for the class than girls, probably because these kids are just much more creative thinkers than I am. They are creating headbands, small toys, as well as jewelry; rings, earrings, necklaces, etc. The work that students are doing to create their own unique projects often has a problem solving nature. I am interested in learning from the students how they navigate the “gender-playing field,” since they are working with volatile materials- mostly shiny glass seed beads. There are also large glass beads, some that look like gemstones, but so far, only a few girls have attempted to work with these materials.
Zach- first, hacky sack, then became unhappy with it after a mistake, then began a different patterned project
Jeff- multicolored loom work, all different colors of beads, even big pink beads
Mike- blue and green “v/x” pattern, that represents his time at CLC so that he will remember certain things once he is in high school
Lily- star rings for herself and her sister, where star represents the North star that guided Harriet Tubman to lead people to freedom
Greg- loomwork
Brian- blue/silver patterned loomwork
Madison- chain earrings, necklaces
Chris- duct tape bowties, domino crown & necklace,
Miranda- loomwork
Christina- pink & purple right angle weave
Alice- metal chain necklaces with large glass beads
Colin- New York Yankees logo loomwork
children, play and learning
children, play and learning
I am curious about how children’s consumption practices relate to children’s learning. Marketers put a great deal of money, time and effort into market research with children-as-consumers, although they may argue that they do too little. In schools, administration often mandates a great deal of testing of a very different nature. A minimal amount of advertising appears in school curricula, but that is beside the point. Even though academic early childhood programs key in on play as a step toward active learning, students in most general public schools arguably have few opportunities to play while they are learning, and these playful opportunities tend to diminish as students age. In a materialist culture, companies begin to commodify learning through high-end learning-playthings. Does the high cost of these learning playthings widen the performance gap between the “haves” and the “have-nots?” Schools that have access to parent-support groups with higher socio-economic statuses (SES) will undoubtedly have an advantage over families with lower SES through better materials, superior building structures, lower student-teacher ratios, and likely, more access to play places and manipulatives (Kozol, 2005). Of course, many teachers who work in low SES schools work hard to provide play spaces and materials in learning activities, but are often limited by inferior physical environments and materials. While there is a great deal of academic research on play in early childhood, why is play missing from school programs, when it is something that kids really need? By rejecting naptime and playtime in schools, are institutions ‘rejecting’ the child’s body, and instead, only focusing on the child’s head?
I am curious about how children’s consumption practices relate to children’s learning. Marketers put a great deal of money, time and effort into market research with children-as-consumers, although they may argue that they do too little. In schools, administration often mandates a great deal of testing of a very different nature. A minimal amount of advertising appears in school curricula, but that is beside the point. Even though academic early childhood programs key in on play as a step toward active learning, students in most general public schools arguably have few opportunities to play while they are learning, and these playful opportunities tend to diminish as students age. In a materialist culture, companies begin to commodify learning through high-end learning-playthings. Does the high cost of these learning playthings widen the performance gap between the “haves” and the “have-nots?” Schools that have access to parent-support groups with higher socio-economic statuses (SES) will undoubtedly have an advantage over families with lower SES through better materials, superior building structures, lower student-teacher ratios, and likely, more access to play places and manipulatives (Kozol, 2005). Of course, many teachers who work in low SES schools work hard to provide play spaces and materials in learning activities, but are often limited by inferior physical environments and materials. While there is a great deal of academic research on play in early childhood, why is play missing from school programs, when it is something that kids really need? By rejecting naptime and playtime in schools, are institutions ‘rejecting’ the child’s body, and instead, only focusing on the child’s head?
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