For workshop 1 the case study I was given to read focused on four arts educators who shared their personal experiences to understand how the self influences their teaching practices. They explore the idea of self through artworks and personal stories connected to their cultural and historical backgrounds. As they give their personal experiences they gain a collective understanding from their shared experiences and differences. In essence what I gained from this essay is how personal insights can inform and improve your own teaching practice, and learning from others unique experiences is key to gaining knowledge and empathy.
When I saw the title of this essay I was struck by the academic language used and had to research what ‘a/r/togaphic métissage’ meant. My initial thoughts went to the accessibility of language and the boundaries that potentially creates for many students. As a Technician, academic articles aren’t something that I come across every day and I was immediately reminded of being a university student and the potential struggles I would have felt with certain essays I could have been asked to read. As a practicing artist I read essays with similar language but I suppose the difference is the subject matter. As these would be things I seek out, I wouldn’t find it challenging but others without a specific niche interest in the topic would. As I researched what certain terms in this article meant it forced me to re-read with gained knowledge which helped me focus and read with intent, rather that just skim over the words on the page – which highlighted to me how challenging language can also be of benefit to understanding.
The case study Arianna stuck out to me within this essay. She devised a project tilted ‘Inter-intra’ where she delved into the experiences of newly arrived immigrant communities in Montreal and created mixed media sculptures and recorded sound to highlight the challenges they faced. She mentions how she struggles with ‘keeping a balance between my vision and collaboration with the people who want to share their stories with me’ (Osler et al, 2019) which instantly made me think of the collaborative nature of teaching and how in my role it’s important to allow a student to express their vision in the way that bests suits them. I can give my opinion and advice on techniques and ideas but ultimately it’s their work I’m trying to help facilitate. This can be an interesting dynamic as I often find my self attracted to work similar to my own interests, which can be a benefit in terms of references and ideas I provide, but I believe it’s equally important to take a step back and let the students thoughts lead the discussion which opens new areas of ideas I wouldn’t have initially intended. As Arianana goes on to explain: ‘the notion of artist as ‘expert’ must be cast aside in order for the real magic to surface.’ (Osler et al, 2019) Although in essence I’m the ‘expert’ in this situation I believe it’s important to speak to students on equal footing, as if we’re both artists or practitioners having a discussion about how best to make their ideas comes to life.
Bibliography:
Osler, T., Guillard, I., Garcia-Fialdini, A. and Côté, S. (2019). An a/r/tographic métissage: Storying the self as pedagogic practice. Journal of Writing in Creative Practice, Concordia University, Intellect Ltd