The Shelfords on thu 24 jul 97
Could I weigh in here?
Re:>Their JOB, and mine, was/is to transfer information and skills in
>such a way that the student can make use of it as best they are
>able. I want students who come into my drawing class not knowing
>so much as what a piece of newsprint is, or what the word
>"composition" means, who are terrified to pick up a piece of
>charcoal and god forbid, make a "mistake" in a public place, to
>walk out at the end of the semester confident of their eye/hand
>coordination, their ability to actually see what they are looking
>at, and to be able to render an object in an interesting and
>believeable way when they NEED to.
I agree. I think that all the talk about soul and spirit notwithstanding,
there may be a certain failure of faith in the existence of those very
things, to think that they need to be taught, communicated, "fed",
whatever. To teach the skills necessary for individuals to do what they
want to do artistically, in a way satisfying to themselves, carries an
implicit assumption that those individuals have some unique essence to
express. The teacher who teaches those skills well and thoroughly, does
infinitely more for the ultimate expression of individual artistry than
emotionally charged "happenings", however inspiring they may be at the
time. That is not to say that the kind of teaching that Dannon is
referring to cannot also be fun, inspiring, and produce serendipidous
explosions of creative activity. But for this to be an aim or a job
description would be to side-track the focus of the teacher, and probably
water down the quality and long-term value of the education. Besides, to
be frank, I find myself extremely uncomfortable with situations where
someone is attempting to benefit or "feed" my soul. I suspect that
whatever it is that I have, is not what they have in mind...
- Veronica
____________________________________________________________________________
Veronica Shelford
e-mail: shelford@island.net
s-mail: P.O. Box 6-15
Thetis Island, BC V0R 2Y0
Tel: (250) 246-1509
____________________________________________________________________________
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