A common theme running through all of the assignment items was the importance of creating and free thought. According to the Project MUSE reading, the stories that we are exposed to, through varying forms of media, are not showing the full picture. In turn, this tends to leave out certain minorities, ideas, and movements. In the TEDtalk, the importance of making the space for art and creativity was stressed. By promoting creative activities in schools, children would gain the skills to think outside the box, allowing for a great addition to society now and in the future. And finally, in the third assignment, it was argued that we should be teaching students to produce, distribute, and invent new forms of media, rather than just consuming.
As I was reading and listening, I often found myself shaking my head in agreement. Since I work in an after school program, I like to make the time to introduce new ideas and crtical thought through debates or mini town hall meetings where students get the floor to simply ask any question. And often, they request art projects. Since supplies can get expensive, it is a personal project to find websites we can use on the school’s computers. Some current favorites are a website where you can make music beats and one where they make their own mandala design to print out and color. Growing up, I never really got opportunities to connect art to technology so I am really glad to have the resources to provide that to my students.
My question now is- how do you include art in your lives, especially those who consider themselves far from artists?
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