The End Game BY ANNE BEDRICK I teach the way I teach because I am keeping my eye on the end game, the adults that I want to help build... the innovators, the ones who persevere, the ones who ask questions and see possibilities, the ones who are able to be self-­‐directed, organized, and can manage their time. I want to help them realize that the key to success in anything is their trust in their own judgment. As an art teacher, I am educating people. Whether or not my students grow up and continue to make art is not the most important thing to me. I hope that they will continue to make art, but if they grow up able to recognize problems and see possibilities in situations, then I will feel that I have succeeded as a teacher. Students learn best and work harder when they are excited by what they are working on…. So I let students choose what to work on. My room is set up in centers. Everyday when the students arrive I do a demonstration to inspire them. Some students follow my lead, doing their own version of what I demonstrated. Some students observe the demonstration, filing the information away for when they need it, and then get to work on an idea that they came to class with. People are built to be learners, to explore the ideas that intrigue them. The art room is one of the few places in school where students have time to do that. How children learn is just as important as what they learn… My goal is to help students find their own ways of expressing ideas and investigating art problems. I want them to realize that art comes from within themselves. So rather than asking them to mindlessly copy and do what I tell them to do, to make some version of a great artist’s work or even a version of mine, I ask them to think for themselves and practice their ability to behave like capable human beings. I do believe that there is place for step-­‐by-­‐step instruction and so I include some “have-­‐to” projects in my curriculum, BUT asking students to ALWAYS work in the style of another artist or to copy me sets them up to feel failure. No one can ever do their best work when they are trying to make their work look like someone else’s. When we were children most of us were asked to make art that was supposed to look a certain way… if our product did not look like the model, or as good as Susie’s, we felt badly about our abilities. We began to say, “I am not a good artist.” Students in a choice art program have a healthier view of themselves. Because everyone is working on different things there is less of a tendency to compare oneself to others and instead of feeling competitive, students celebrate each other’s achievements. “Wow, Joe, that is the best car you’ve ever drawn!” Additionally, students have a healthier view of themselves as artists, “I am really good at clay and fiber, but drawing is hard for me.” Students test their own hypotheses. “What happens if I press hard? How many colors can I make using blue? Is there a way to make this move?” As a result, they understand why they are doing what they are doing and engage much more deeply with their learning. The road to becoming an innovator who sees possibilities in the world around them is to practice coming up with ideas…. When students learn to come up with their own art problems to solve, it teaches them to trust themselves and their own judgment. When they know why they are trying something or how they achieved it, it gives them a window into understanding the motivation behind great artists’ work. Children bring a lot of knowledge to the table and should be given the opportunity to expand upon those ideas. Teaching with choice is in the best interest of students AND the adults that we want them to become.