I believe it is very important for children to know how to work collaboratively with their peers, think critically, and think creatively. At the same time I want my students to have a complete understanding of the art making process and an art history background to carry with them through life. I feel art lends itself to creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration. Autonomy and independence are other qualities I would like to foster in my students. When they need help I want them to try to figure out a solution on their own or with the help of their classmates. It may sound silly but in my preschool classroom I have my students eat their lunch on their own. If someone needs help removing a lid, opening a bag or putting the straw in a Capri Sun they have to ask each other for help or get a scissor. They need to learn that they cannot rely on grown ups for everything. I praise them for getting their coats on by themselves and I show off their work when they think outside the box. This may be a silly example but I would like my art students to be able to think this way at their own level. I want to encourage group brainstorming, collaborative art projects, and assignments that allow students to think outside the box. For example, having my students redesign something we use every day, like a shoe. They need to use to think critically and creatively to come up with a design. Perhaps their needs to be a balance. Maybe we can combine 21st Century Skills with traditional teaching practices. All that matters is the method that keeps students engaged and performing to the best of their ability.
I thought it was very interesting how you spoke about how your students need to eat their lunch alone. I feel that far too often we think too deeply into what we want young children to learn how to do and how to achieve it. The simplicity of allowing them to figure something like their lunch out on their own is actually a wonderful idea. It is one time of day that the students aren't doing school work and have a chance to socialize with their peers. By leaving them on their own during this time it teaches them how to socialize effectively and how to use teamwork. As I said before that was very interesting and I feel as if the ideas that you put forward in your blog posts could one day be very useful in my own classroom.
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