Best/Worst art Experience (blog1)

My best art experience would have to be in grade 12. That was a very formative year in my life; I learned a great deal about myself and developed a strong understanding of the value of relationships. A great deal of this self discovery took place in my art classroom. There were always 2 art teachers in the art room, but they did not teach in tandem. Looking back at this, I begin to make connections with the Reggio system. The negotiations they went through to develop the department does set an example for cooperation in a non dictatorial atmosphere. I may not have realized this when I was younger, but I learnt a great deal from their understanding and enthusiasm regardless of whom was my assigned teacher for the course.

However, at the time I did fully realize how much I was benefitting from being in the same class as my best friend. She and I would be talking and flirting and teasing each other and help one another with the projects we were assigned. Since we both had ADD it was not a surprise that we would drift off together in our own little art world.

Working through artistic blockades and personal strife in that class truly reignited a dormant love of art and expression. It was then that I decided I wanted teaching art to be my life.

To be honest, I cannot really remember the worst experience in my art career. Art has usually treated me very kindly, and so the bad moments do not seem to be nearly as memorable as the good moments. It is arguable, but I would have to say that the worst experience of mine was in Jr. High art class, I cannot remember which grade, most likely grade 7. I was having a hard time making friends in grade 7 on the whole, and in the art class I still felt quite alone and intimidated by the large groups of friends that existed all around me. I remember sometimes feeling like I didn’t belong or that my art wasn’t good enough for the class. I would continue to improve in art from an average student in Jr. High to typically receiving 90%s by the end of grade 12.

After I had read, "Understanding the Learner", I understood why I felt alienated and inferior. For that age, those feelings are a normal part of the developmental process. Many students wished their artwork wasn't good enough, and were uneasy with their new role as young adults. As I grew, I entered other developmental stages. I diversifed my interests and thrived in them. I bagan to really achieve in school, and art was a big part of that.