After thinking about so many different things that have come and gone in life, learning is an ever present challenge that is a continuous climb and march. One of the biggest things I've noticed is how the amount of readings haven't changed from high school to college and how they haven't really had a major impact on my education.
I say this because I don't always have the time or motivation to sit down and read twenty pages for a day that may or may not be referenced during class. So many of them are there for our benefit but never discussed in class, so it just feels like I can either read them and possibly learn more or spend more time on other assignments that are worth more in the long run. Just as it is in college, it was the same in high school but they at least focused on a little aspect of the reading in class when it was due. Despite that, the readings did not majorly effect my grades and I still made it into college. Looking at how far I've come from high school, I realize I could be a lot further along mentally had I read or continued to read, but in terms of learning from the readings it does little for long-term growth. After being able to watch and experience things first-hand, I notice that my growth immediately jumps with my understanding because I was able to do the thing instead of read about doing the thing. Reading is a lot different than doing and I find myself benefiting more from what I need to do than what I need to read about. While it would still be important to try and stay on top of readings assigned, I find my educational experiences growing better from doing than worrying about any readings.
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Just like the test with Schrodinger's Cat, I feel like I am both dead and alive. Days flow into one another and I am losing track of them as things pile up and move on. Yet, I'm still able to keep track of a day to day schedule as I go about my day.
Similarly to the way that days meld together and become seamless, memories of teaching as become blurred and meld into one. In some ways that is good but others is bad because I lose track of what I have done in recent cases and in other instances it allows me to recall certain impactful moments. It leads to a sense of deja vu limbo where I am neither moving forward or backward and where I'm stuck in a moment trying to remember where I am placed. Education can act in the same way where we recall seemingly useless facts from years ago but can't remember the name of an artist we heard yesterday. It's not very organized and gets blended together in what is deemed "worth knowing". So while it is going to be difficult to keep track of everything, it is good to have the other instances of education front and center where I'll be able to work with them directly rather than indirectly. All I have to do is keep track of how they all worked out and how I progress from here. Looking back on the handful of times that I've taught, I feel like I have a good basis to compare them to how things are going today along with how art is essential for societal development.
Just as we are learning more about the hands-on field training of the classrooms at Polaris, it is becoming painfully obvious on just how difficult it is to teach art let alone teaching on its own. Compared to my time in Conrad Ball and with the education class on campus, the kindergarten class is by far the most difficult to wrap my head around. Here we are doing our best to teach art to these young students when in reality we need to build the entire foundation for which they'll use to understand and create art. The middle schoolers and other students already had this foundation, so we didn't need to worry about their foundation because they had it. We're at the core of making sure these students have a grasp on what is art and the etiquette that follows. That can tie in with how art is essential for societal development. Aside from creative writing or composing music, art is another way people develop a mental fluidity. I say this because math may enhance a mental perspective just as art can, but it has guidelines, algorithms, and rules to follow in order to for things to work out properly. It is closed to expansion unless someone has chosen to pursue a route of mathematic exploration. Art is the same with guidelines, algorithms, and rules, but it is ultimately open for change in any of those positions. Drawing in perspective asks that we follow guidelines but then painting asks that we don't follow any guidelines at all; both are aspects of art but can be changed or even combined. Music notes can be arranged in any order and still produce music. Creative writing can be reworded or just become a new creation in its entirety. When something allows us to move freely, we are able to develop new ways of thinking that don't rely on rigidity or algorithms to generate new ideas or to explore. All we have to do is start and we're there. Then once we move onto the next year or the next chapter, the previous ideas can be archived, cataloged, or set on the side while we fill the next chapter. They're all there but usually only one is ever in focus. |
Joel SchreinerBorn on December 17th, 1996, Joel Schreiner entered the Electronic Art program at CSU right out of High School. From there he decided to set his eyes on becoming an educator alongside an illustrator and concept artist. Archives
December 2018
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