Aside from creating beautiful artwork that my students can be proud of, creating a positive climate in my art room is my top prerogative. It is a multi-step process with layers of interwoven elements, not unlike a mixed-media piece of work, where each element builds on the next – incorporating, juxtaposing, balancing and emphasizing the next – to create a cohesive, pleasing work of art. And like the process of making great art, one’s work is never complete. Art is simply considered ‘complete’ when nothing about it bothers you any longer -- when you just can’t think of anything else to add or change. When the classroom dynamic reaches this point of satisfaction, then you know you and your students have done well. And the cycle continues with the start of the next project…
Ms. Britt’s Art Room is a cozy, creative nest of young people from many different backgrounds and language groups. Our common verbal language is English, which we speak at various stages of proficiency, and our visual language is art, in which we are learning to express ourselves weekly. With smudgy fingers and paint-stained aprons we wield our tools with both mathematical precision and subconscious-directed free movements. Our work is guided by me and created by the students, but our results are achieved by us all…..because our work is directly affected by the classroom climate, and because are all responsible for this climate.
The first measure of importance for establishing a positive classroom is getting to know your students. Knowing a student, or anyone for that matter, requires far more than merely learning their names (and pronouncing them correctly), but also knowing their age (and remembering their birthdays), knowing where they come from (country and/or community) and understanding their cultural and linguistic heritage. Getting to know their parents is an integral element of knowing students too, as families can be a powerful alliance and a bridge between myself and the student – after all, teachers and parents have similar goals, hopes and concerns for the child, so working together on this common ground can be quite effective.
Once the student is ‘known’
to the teacher, is it the teacher’s role to ensure that the students are
meaningfully engaged and involved in their learning. This means drawing on
their experiences and their personal narratives to enrich the curriculum.
Materials, texts, famous persons bios and projects must be chosen which reflect
the classroom demographics and interests.
In the Art Room I engage an
open-ended, student-centered, collaborative model of curriculum design. On display
on the walls around us are many examples of art projects, artists and artwork,
which the students look at and become absorbed in. Often, they are so smitten
with the art on display that they beg me
to let them do the art project. This scenario actively engages them and allows
them to choose and direct their own learning, which always results in higher learning
outcomes.
The choices I make in the
curriculum have a direct impact on the inter-personal and inter-social
relations in the classroom, and when done right, can make students feel valued,
engaged and excited about learning. They will feel ready and motivated to
learn. However, curricular choices do not alone lead to safe, nourishing
classroom environments. It is also critically important to be mindful of the
types and characteristics of communication practices in the classroom. In order
to learn, student must feel safe. Therefore, communications between teachers
and students, and between students, must be carefully chosen and monitored. Any
incidences of harassment or bullying must be promptly addressed. Likewise, racist
comments and insensitive remarks (even when unintentional) but be addressed in
an open, non-accusatory format which allows for understating and dialogue. 
Words carry serious weight
and they must not be thrown around haphazardly. One incident in my the Art Room
which reminds me of how painful words can be goes back a few weeks during a
portrait painting and color-mixing lesson I was doing with my youngest students,
aged 5-7 years old. We were learning how to mix our own paints to create skin
tones. One little girl ended up with a very dark brown color, despite
attempting to achieve a lighter pale pink hue in her own likeness. Upset with
her results, she blurted out “ugh, I hate brown skin!” The little south Indian
boy sitting next to her lifted his head suddenly when he heard this remark, and
his sad, startled eyes said it all: words (even if unintentional) can hurt
deeply. This situation became an opportunity for all of us to talk about the
wide spectrum of skin colors, where we all come from, and the value of looking
beyond skin color. It also informed our art making process, as it made us
realize that just as the results for mixing skin colors on our palette seemed
to be infinite, so is the represetation of skin colors in people in our
community.
In the Art Room, making art
is so much more than the beautiful chef
d’ouevre the students bring home each week. They are learning the skills of
being informed and open-minded citizens, compassionate and consciensous peers
and friends, and mindful, careful communicators. I know we are on the right
track when this learning happens seamlessly and effectively within and beyond the curriculum, and continues to generate a positive climate
outside the walls of the Art Room.
