![]() Rick Hartwell is a retired middle school teacher (remember the hormonally-challenged?) living in Southern California. He believes in the succinct, that the small becomes large; and, like the Transcendentalists and William Blake, that the instant contains eternity. Given his “druthers,” if he’s not writing, Rick would rather still be tailing plywood in a mill in Oregon. He can be reached at [email protected]. Writing at the Museum: Creating a Class of Humanists In an Environment of Extended Writing by Rick Hartwell Is art necessary in the twenty-first century? At first this assignment may seem to be merely another persuasive essay provided in partial compliance with California’s English language arts content standards and disconnected from the students’ real lives. It is, rather, the terminal activity in a series of lectures, a field trip, discussions, two essays, an oral presentation, and two more essays, all of which comprise a cohesive unit that extends over approximately eight weeks. This is the culminating writing prompt provided to fifty-eight seventh grade students and their three peer tutors in the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) sections at a Middle School in Moreno Valley, California. As with other valuable educational units, it is a work in progress, evolved over time (in this case, four years) from ideas provided by others, merged with one particular instructor’s interests, and manipulated each time to accommodate the group personality of each class. I am primarily a language arts teacher; however, for these students my role is that of an AVID elective teacher and program coordinator. For these students my goal is to provide additional support in the academic areas in which they may be deficient, most often reading and writing, and to create opportunities for them to acquire and practice organizational skills, time management, and group cohesion, and to do it all while fostering an interest in higher education. Toward these ends, the AVID program and I focus on writing, inquiry, collaboration, and reading (the WICR elements of AVID). The writing at the museum unit includes all of these strategies and is very successful in motivating students to strive for better writing, to use higher level analytical thinking, to practice greater confidence in their own abilities, and to take an interest in unique areas of culture they might not otherwise encounter. As to whether or not the students enjoy the unit, I can only note that the eighth graders who had participated the previous year as seventh graders, still looked forward to the field trip even knowing of the writing and presentation demands. Three students had even attended the museum on their own with their parents or guardians during the ensuing year. Several other students who had kept their essays from the prior year asked if they could use various parts of those essays for the current year’s prompts. (What a college concept; to hold onto previous academic work in order to apply it later!) But these are my biases; perhaps I should let the students’ words speak for them: On the visit to the Palm Springs Desert Museum I really liked the artwork that was in there. It was very creative and it made me feel very cool and inspired. I really enjoyed looking at it – Yasmin, 7th grade. This was my first visit to an art museum. Prior to this visit I had never before had the opportunity to view and to judge art pieces in this manner. I learned that there are many forms of art, ranging from ancient artifacts to modern day art displays. As I walked through the museum I came across all sorts of wonderful and creative art pieces – Barbara, 7th grade. As I come to an end I say, “Breathing Glass” has inspired me. It makes me want to be adventurous. I think “Breathing Glass” expresses everyday life and says no matter what you must try [and] never give up, work you[r] way. Life will never be easy deal with it – Aaron, 8th grade. This art museum was the most beautiful place of art I have ever been to. It was filled with many pieces of art from famous artists. Some kinds of art that was [sic] there were sculptures, blown glasses, and many paintings – Randy, 8th grade. Last year I wrote about this couple. I enjoy writing and love writing about things I like. That’s why I wrote about “The Old Couple on the Bench.” When I write, I usually write about things that I like and this art was it. It was so realistic! I hope I see more like it soon – Vanessa, 8th grade. With the expansion of the AVID program at our school this year we were only able to accommodate the seventh grade sections; resulting in great disappointment among those eighth-graders who had participated last year, another reflection of the success of this approach. As I tell my students, approbation deserves attribution. This unit evolved as an extension of a “Writing at the Museum” Writing Retreat opportunity provided through the Inland Area Writing Project (IAWP), a University of California, Riverside, affiliate of the National Writing Project (NWP). Tremendous thanks also must be provided to the Palm Springs Desert Museum and its Education Coordinator. The museum provides writing tours as part of its educational outreach. Students are provided with clipboards and pencils and are conducted through the museum holdings for about an hour and a half by very knowledgeable docents. Stopping before pre-selected artworks for five to ten minutes, the docents present ten to twelve diverse pieces of art to each group of about fifteen students, providing background and context for a deeper understanding of both artists and art. My AVID students are required to take Cornell Notes for use later and are instructed to capture not only factual data, but their emotional reactions to the objects as well. Requests for a specific artistic focus can often be honored by the museum and, with prior arrangement and subject to availability, a facility for debriefing may also be provided. The Palm Springs Desert Museum charges absolutely nothing for this experience! The only cost for the school has been for bus transportation and this has been enthusiastically borne by my Principal. We are extraordinarily fortunate to have the PSDM within an hour’s drive, but I believe that the structure, techniques, and content of this educational opportunity could be provided through almost any museum: cultural, technical, industrial, interactive, or virtual, and there are many virtual museum tours available on the internet. In order to prepare the students for the field trip and to provide them with the academic background and vocabulary necessary to discuss art, I ask a close friend of mine to conduct a class about one week before the trip. This retired middle school teacher uses a series of both black and white and color overheads to encourage student discussion of and response to art. The selections she provides change from year to year to maintain freshness for those students who have seen the presentation before, but for the eighth grade class she often makes reference to the previous year’s art and builds on those students prior knowledge. This is not always a smooth process, often acutely so for those students with limited or no background in art or art appreciation. This difficulty serves to underscore the need for more student exposure to the breadth of humanities, particularly in the earlier grades, and is one of the most compelling reasons for implementing a unit such as this in order to merge the humanities with the content standards. In brief, the following points are made: I. Formal Elements of Art: A. Medium - the types and use of specific materials. B. Color - the distinction and use of warm or cool. C. Shape - the basics of geometry and the use of soft or hard objects. D. Line - the quality of line and the use of curved or jagged types. E. Texture - the presentation of depth and the use of smooth or rough surfaces. II. Content: A. Subject matter. B. Significance of subject. C. Use of symbols. D. Creation of mood. E. Purpose of the artwork. III. Personal Response - What Is Your Reaction: A. Likes or dislikes? Specifically what? B. Powerful or boring? Can you analyze the why? C. What does it make you think of? Be specific? D. Would you like it in your home? Why or why not? E. Could you live with it always? Why or why not? To these could be added many other elements depending on the age and sophistication of the students: lighting and light source, both internal to the art and external; visual perspective and depiction of perspective; the artist’s reliance on common symbolism or allegory; cultural similarities and differences. As I noted earlier, this unit is itself a work in progress and I keep adding new ideas. The students take Cornell Notes during Ms. Brown’s presentation that provide the background for analyses of specific works of art encountered at the museum. Adjustments to these requirements could be made for alternative types of museums. The students need to be encouraged to refer back to these notes periodically in order to avoid the adolescent pitfalls of the “I like it because I like it” or “I don’t like it because it is boring” type of response. I am very indebted to Cora Lee and I extend my thanks publicly. I also have the students thank her, not just with applause, but by writing short thank-you notes which I send to her. These notes usually take the form an eight-page mini-book created from a sheet of blank printer paper and then embellished with drawings and text. Elementary teachers will immediately know what I mean; others may have to ask their colleagues for instructions. This may seem like a “throwaway” element of the process, but I feel very strongly that this simple note is very much a part of real writing - not to mention a social skill that is fast eroding in our society - even though it does not appear in the content standards for the grades I teach. Later in the unit I have the students write thank-you notes to the docent who conducted their particular group, which I mail to the museum for delivery, and I have them write a more formal thank-you card, which I usually buy out of my own pocket, to their group chaperone. As the chaperones are usually parents or guardians, I have their student deliver these cards personally. So what are the specific formal writing requirements I demand of the students? Over the several weeks following the field trip the students respond to the following prompts: I. Create a poem, a narrative story, or an extended figure of speech in prose, expressive of your emotional response to one of the pieces of art you encountered at the museum - Descriptive or Narrative or Poetry. II. In essay form, using the elements of art and art vocabulary which you have recently learned, support your position that ________________ is the most (or least) artistic work you encountered at the museum - Expository. III. Compare and contrast two dissimilar works of art which you encountered at the museum, one you liked greatly and one you did not, using the elements of art and art vocabulary which you have recently learned - Comparison and Contrast. IV. Respond in essay form to the question, “Is Art Necessary in the Twenty-First Century?” defending your position with specific details and thoughtful analysis - Persuasive. These include descriptive, narrative, possible poetic, expository, comparison/contrast, and persuasive formats. Using writing structures provided in both the Step-Up-To-Writing (Sopris West Educational Services) and the 6+1 Trait Writing (Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory) programs, I model each approach with the students by writing with them and then allow them a great deal of collaboration with one another. Writing need not be, perhaps should not be, a solitary practice; community works best. I write with them, in front of them, and I post my completed poetry or essay on the board. This is not for bragging rights, but for them to see that I value writing enough to be involved myself and that completed writing should be published. Are the students able to articulate their feelings towards art and announce them to the world? Absolutely! Note some of their comments: There are many sculptures and paintings added to the museum that I enjoyed seeing. What did you like the most? My favorite sculpture was the sculpture that is called the “Breathing Glass.” A woman named Sandy Skoglund constructed this. This is a magnificent piece or art and I will tell you why – Julie, Grade 8. But there was only one I really enjoyed viewing which (sic) was, “The Welcoming Storm,” by David Shepard. I believe that piece of artwork was the most artistic to me. . . . One thing I was intrigued by was how it made me feel. When I looked at “The Welcoming Storm” I felt like I was in my own little world of freedom and desire, although the painting looked rather fierce - Victoria, 8th grade. He [Max Biel, the artist] could have been saying that the gaps, or negative space was in our world because our countries aren’t all getting along. The purpose could have been anything. The “Positive/Negative” sculpture could have been something to express what he was feeling inside. I think that the purpose of the artwork was something that he was feeling in his life. The negative space (or gaps) could have meant that he had made mistakes in his life and has to fill in the gaps, and the positive space could have meant that he had fixed parts of his life – Sandra, 8th grade. I think that I would very much love to have such a beautiful piece of art in my house. Just having a famous painting of the wild in my home would be an honor. “The Pride” isn’t one of those other paintings in my home where I would get so bored with seeing everyday. To me, I would love to wake up every morning and see that painting hung up on a wall in my home – Melissa, 8th grade. But these students are not just academically oriented. They also can be creative and have fun. The following were submitted in response to the first writing assignment: “The End of Day” “The End of Day” goes on and on from bottom to top It would never stop With every color of glass blown up They look like ballons [sic] all twisted up They look like a rainbow with sharp points . . . “The End of Day” goes on and on from bottom to top It has diffrent [sic] colors and shapes It is so beautiful you wish it were day Life is full of so many colors Just like “The End of Day” – Bernice, 8th grade. “The Cabinet on the Stand” “The Cabinet on the Stand” looks so vivid, so alive I can still picture it, it’s fresh in my mind Some people might think it’s dull and boring But I think it has something special Something that won’t leave you snoring Could it be the bright, firm, or golden engravings? Or the soft, adorned people slaving? Could it be the mysterious, ancient key lock? Or the soft, gentle, whispering of the painted people talk? Or could it be the still, steady, golden homes? Or the soft, gentle rocking of the golden river stones? The cabinet is special and unique in its own way It has something special that I cannot say – Natasha, 7th grade. “The Pump House” The sound of men working around, All of them making a harsh sound, “The Pump House” The rushing of the water running, Just to look at the art is stunning, “The Pump House” The sounds of “The Pump House,” Sounds just like the sqeual [sic] of a hungry mouse, “The Pump House” The water running in and out, Makes the children write about, “The Pump House” The sight of the pump going up and down Making a sqeuaky [sic] sound, “The Pump House” It feels like a sandy shore, Also like a wooden door, “The Pump House” It smells like the ocean, A fresher smell after every motion “The Pump House” – Julie, 8th grade. “Old Couple on the Bench” Sitting here and waiting Sitting here with you Sitting here and waiting Wondering what to do So quickly my life has passed me by Soon will be my time to die And leave this world that I love so much And all the hearts that I hoped to touch Sitting here and waiting Sitting here with you Sitting here and waiting Wondering what to do The past has gone, gone away The future is here, here to stay So enjoy the world while you can Just don’t forget to plan, plan, plan – Vanessa, 8th grade. You just have to love it when a plan comes together, or when a student seems to get the point!
Last year I added the fourth prompt, Is art necessary in the twenty-first century? and then realized that I needed to break up the demands of such continuous writing. In one of those inspirational moments of reflection, I decided that I should have the students make an oral presentation between the second and third essays. During a class discussion about “The Pump House,” a construction art piece created by Michael McMillen, I had commented that I was particularly taken by the artist’s rhythmical use of flushing water and that that sound could be considered an element of art too. I was very quickly confronted by, “Isn’t music a form of art Mr. Hartwell?” Well, ah, yes! Out of the mouths of . . . In any event, it was a simple process to add the following as a Musical Interpretation of Art, again in partial compliance with California’s English language arts content standards in the area of oral communication skills: The Learner Will (TLW) select a piece of music representing a specific piece of art encountered at the Palm Springs Desert Museum. The music selection will be played in class, cassette or CD, and will not exceed one minute in duration. TLW then orally “defend” their musical selection in a three-minute “speech.” Note cards may be used. This is an oral presentation skill required by the California English Language Arts Standards at both 7th and 8th grade. Remember, your objective is to establish and defend a specific musical selection as representative of a specific work of art. You will receive a rubric grade based on oral presentation skills - poise, posture, eye contact, voice volume, voice control, timing, audience reaction - as well as on your critical analysis of the music and the art selected. These oral presentations were then assessed on a four-point rubric system, much as is each essay, and the several days of presentations provided a much appreciated break in the heavy routine of writing. The diversity of musical selections was amazing and there were only two duplicate selections, The Flight of the Bumblebee and some Britney Spears’ thing I’m much too old to know. We even had a musical interpretation provided by one of our school counselors who was a chaperone on the field trip and she received a “four” and my thanks again for modeling for the students, and one presented by the mother of one of the seventh grade students. Mom received resounding applause, but I did not presume to critique her! This year I will be much more proactive and I will videotape these student presentations for later class analysis and critique, adding that element to the unit as well. It was about at this point last year, that I realized I was smothering under a rising mound of rubric scoring and badly needed to breathe more easily. My simple expedient, again adopted from others and adapted to my own needs, was to have those very students who had received rubric scores of four on both of the first two writing prompts to act as responders and reviewers for the essays from the third prompt. I then added the most successful students from the third essay and this augmented group, now about one-third in each of the two sections, responded to and reviewed the fourth essay. Was everything smooth? Of course not! Were all students engaged fully? Oh, that I could find that magic fount in which to baptize them all as willing participants; no, not all, never all! However, the vast majority did improve. They improved in writing, in class participation, in collaboration with their peers, in practicing social skills, and, I believe, in their aesthetic appreciation of art. As a teacher, what did I get out of it? The students practiced note-taking and listening skills. They, or the majority of them anyway, wrote four essays and three thank you notes. They created and delivered an oral presentation. They disagreed and agreed and argued and defended and discussed at great length their preferred selections of art. I believe this to be valuable practice in oral presentation skills. I think they appreciate better the concept of museums. I think they had fun; what a concept! I also haven’t heard the word boring in quite some time and, while eradicating that word from student vocabularies is not my only goal as an educator, it is certainly a good point at which to start. However, I think the students should have the last word: To end this I would love to say that this sculpture really inspired me because it for some reason told me that I can do whatever I believe in and to do that I have to work hard and enjoy being a kid at the same time - Ashawnte, 8th grade. This art piece was a true inspiration for me to accomplish my goals. In the future I would like to be an inspiration to other people. I am going to work hard so that I may be a hero to someone in the future. I am looking forward to visiting many more museums in my lifetime - Barbara, 7th grade. I used to think an art museum was boring, but this is pretty cool - Anton, 7th grade
2 Comments
2/20/2016 01:25:08 am
As a retired middle school language arts teacher, this article fascinated me. The assignment that the author created was far-reaching and integrated. Excellent response from the students. I love that stuff. Thank you.
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Richard Hartwell
2/24/2016 12:14:48 pm
Annis:
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