2005-2006

General Art Department Year Plans

Shelley Deck, Instructor

Art Department Mission Statement: Not all of us are great drawers, painters or sculptors, but WE ARE ALL ARTISTS!

The root meaning of the word ART is "to fit together or connect" and that is something that we ALL do everyday of our lives.  This process of connecting is a large part of being human and it is impacted by where we live, what religions we practice, what politics we support, the groceries we buy and where we decide to shop, work or play.  Each time we fit things together we are creating - whether it is to make a loaf of bread, plan a meeting, deciding what to wear in the morning, speaking a sentence, or decorate our dwellings.

Creativity belongs to the artist in each of us.  We are all ARTISTS.

Creative thinking is QUALITATIVE thinking and humanities highest form of intelligence.  The rate of change (especially technological) occurring in the world today requires people who can be flexible, who can be comfortable with change and new ideas, and who are able to improvise to solve problems, visual or otherwise.  Because of this, the creative arts are essential to a well-balanced program of education. The Art Programs at Brooks Composite High School will seek to foster the very best development of human potentiality in accordance with the guidelines provided by the provincial curriculum and the needs of the school and community for the students benefit.

All ARTS EDUCATION activities will be conducted in a stimulating and creative environment where each individual difference is respected and where students are guided through the development of their decision-making and critical thinking skills in an egalitarian manner.

As the Arts Educator, I invite you to visit the classroom and student art gallery (beside the main library) as we engage in our ARTventures and SHARE THE PROCESS OF CREATING WITH US!

Shelley Deck; B.Ed., B.A.

The central concerns of these Art Department Year Plans and Program Outlines exist in how they can help to:

1. Meet the needs of the students individually and collectively.

2. Achieve the goals of the school.

3. Contribute to the betterment of the community in which the program exists.

What are the Goals of the Art Program For The Students Enrolled?

1). To impart a thorough knowledge and understanding of Art, concentrating on the history of Art  from its beginning in pre-history to the present, and including Art not only from the Western world but Art from all cultures, time periods and geographic areas.

2).   To promote the value of Art for its aesthetic qualities, and for its contribution to the cultural heritage of mankind;  to prepare the learners to make better and informed aesthetic judgments about art forms and environments;  to make the learners knowledgeable about the history of Art; and to enable the learner to analyze, describe and appreciate Art objects.

3). To develop an understanding of how the Visual Arts affect our everyday existence and make the Visual Arts an integral part of everyone's lifestyle;  to allow students to develop to their full potential without a feeling of inadequacy as it relates to Art.

4). To engage the learners in a variety of Art experiences (with a variety of media) and to provide  opportunities to produce works of Art in situations in which the Artist is the model and the  environment created in, the Artists "studio", the setting.

5). To assist the learners in acquiring a critical language in which to talk about, analyze and judge  their own work and the work of others in a nurturing, optimistic, positive and beneficial manner.

6). To enable students to display their work in places where their abilities and talents can be appreciated by many.

7). To allow the students to grow and develop as independent artists with individual interests while  recognizing the inter-connective-ness between components of study.

As a result of the proposed program, what may students demonstrate the capacity to do to the extent of their ability?

1). Have intense involvement in - and response to - personal visual experiences.

2). Perceive and understand visual relationships in the environment (especially aesthetic relationships).

3). Increase manipulative and organizational skills in Art performance appropriate to the individuals unique abilities.

5). Acquire knowledge of mankind's heritage of Visual Art, Design and Ideas.

6) Understand the nature of Art and the creative process.

7).  Make intelligent visual aesthetic judgments.

8). Use Art knowledge and skills in personal, community and cultural life.

9).   Improve work/study skills in correlation to the guidelines established in the evaluation criteria.

What May the Art Program Provide Experiences In?

1.   Examining extensively both natural and man-made objects from many sources.

2.   Expressing individual perceptions, ideas, and feelings through a variety of art media and activities suited to the manipulative abilities and expressive needs of the students.

3.   Experimenting with Art materials and processes to understand their potential as vehicles for personal expression.

4.  Working with tools appropriate to the student's abilities for the development of manipulative skills and satisfying aesthetic expression.

5.   Organizing, evaluating and re-organizing work in progress to gain an understanding of the formal structure and expressive potential of line, form, color, shape and texture in space.

6.   Reading and writing about, looking at and discussing works of Art and Design from contemporary and past cultures using a variety of educational media and community resources.

7.   Evaluating Art of both student and mature Artist, industrial products, home and community design.

8.  Seeing Artists, Designers and other Arts Industry Professionals at work in their studios, in the classroom, in their business environment or on film.

9.   Engaging in activities that provide opportunities to apply and gain artistic knowledge and aesthetic judgment (and enhance their personal, school, home and community life and environment).

How May Student Progress Be Assessed and Determined In Evaluation?

In the Brooks Composite High School Art Programs, DAILY EVALUATION determines much of each student's final grade. No one class is more important than the others and each student has until the final day of the semester to submit, resubmit or re-resubmit assignments for inclusion in their final evaluation. The only rules in the classroom are: WORK and BE KIND. Art education and production, I believe, can and should not be rushed. Being kind ensures that our studio is a safe place to learn.

DAILY EVALUATION considers the following:

1.    Was the student diligent in their attendance, prepared for class and demonstrating to others that they wanted to learn?

2.    Did the student try to develop their technical skills/understanding of the media or ideas being explored? This is a THINKING curriculum, not just a MAKING curriculum.

3.    Did the student work on the project to the best of their ability, try to evaluate their own artistic growth and development, and attempt to understand and integrate the elements/principles of art/design?

4.    Was the student open to issues of critical appreciation, cultural/historical/personal contexts in Art?

5.    Did the student help clean the workspace and maintain a safe and healthy classroom environment?

As a result of their study, students should be better able to:

1.  perceive and respond to the aspects of Art by:

Ÿ  Recognizing and describing the subject matter elements of works of Art.

Ÿ  Going beyond the recognition of subject matter to the perception and description of formal qualities and expressive content (The combined effect of the subject matter and the specific visual  form that characterize a particular work of Art).

2.  value Art an important realm of human experience by:  being affectively orientated towards Art.

Ÿ  Participating in activities related to Art.

Ÿ  Expressing reasonably sophisticated conceptions about, and informed attitudes towards, Art and Artists.

Ÿ  Demonstrate open-mindedness towards artistic experimentation.

3. produce works of Art:  

Ÿ  That express visual ideas fluently.

Ÿ  With a particular composition, subject matter, expressive characteristic or expressive component.

Ÿ  That contain various visual conceptions.

Ÿ  That demonstrate knowledge and application of media, tools, techniques and forming processes.

4.  know about Art:

Ÿ By recognizing major figures and works in the history of Art and understand their significance  (ie.  work that began new styles,  influenced Art trends, changed the direction or role of Art in  society and history, contain visual and technical discoveries, express the spirit of an age and are  considered the be the major works of major Artists).

Ÿ By being able to recognize styles of Art, understand the concept of style, and analyze works of Art on the basis of style.

Ÿ By knowing the history of Man's artistic activity and understand the relation of one style or period to other styles and periods.

Ÿ By being able to distinguish between factors or works of Art that relate principally to the personal style of the Artist and factors that relate to the style of the period.

Ÿ By being able to recognize the relationships that exist between Art and other disciplines  (literature, music, science, religion and philosophy) during a given period.

5.  make and justify judgments about aesthetic merit and quality of works of Art by:  making and justifying judgments about aesthetic quality.

Ÿ  By applying specific criteria in judging works of Art.

Ÿ  By knowing and understanding the criteria for making aesthetic judgments.

How May the Art Educator Evaluate the Art Program, the Outline of Activities and the Year Plan?

Here are a few of the many questions that I will continually ask throughout the life of the program:

1.   Do examples of student Art demonstrate growth in individual creativity or expression?

2.   Can students make reference or give facts about Art and about the history of Art that they did not know previously?

3.   Did Art instruction take students out of the school and into the community, Art Galleries and Museums?

4.   Did instruction bring Artists or other resource people into the classroom (even if through video)?

5.   Have discussions about Art involved active student participation as a regular part of instruction?

6.   Were parents and administrators invited to view Art instruction and activities in progress?  Has support of the school Art program increased?

7.   Has the Art teacher been able to integrate Art into other subjects in the school so that student learning crosses over and transfers to other areas of school life?

8.   What have the programs done to improve the aesthetic atmosphere of the school environment?

9.   How has the percentage of students engaged in the creative process changed as a result of their participation in the programs?  What can be done to encourage more activity?

10.  Did the Art Department offer extracurricular activities to the students?

The year plan shall also consider:

1. The organization/maintenance and implementation of the Art Education Program (autonomously and as an integration tool for other subject areas and units of study).

2. The resources available (money, people, programs, facilities and time).

3. External factors (such as political, economic and social assumptions about the attitudes, values and concerns of the school community).

4. Curriculum components, time, credit, space improvement and other changes.

5. External awareness/perception of the Art Program (Board, Administrative, School Staff, Community).

6. Staff development (my own and my peers).