The "Six A's" Strike Again

Recently, my partner Anne and I have been working on a project called (Art)ifacts - a study of modern art, through which students design and execute their own original paintings using painting materials that they produce with their knowledge of chemistry. I mentioned it earlier in my blog when discussing the planning stages and my consideration of the "Six A's" in that process (see The "Six A's" of Project-Based Learning). One thing I discussed in that post was that we were considering having students interview professionals in the field about the world of contemporary art-making. Well, we did it, and it was a big success.

We've had students interview professionals in the past, but under much more restrictive circumstances - video taping, making sure entire groups of students could be present, etc. - and so the authenticity of the experience was compromised to an extent by the conditions of the assignment. This time, the assignment was much less structured: to interview someone who makes a living doing something art-related (e.g. professional artists, museum curators, gallery owners, etc.), and then write a 1-2 page reflection about the experience. Students were not required to record the interview in anyway, and the range of possible interviewees was left as open as possible. The resulting reflections were striking:

• "The whole experience was really eye-opening..."
• "This was a very valuable experience; I never thought I would learn so much about art."
• "Talking to someone who actually does art as a living really teaches you more about art than just learning about it in school and taking tons of notes."
• "She went through my sketch book with me, giving me insight on a professional artist's view...It was very interesting to hear her ideas of my work."
• "This has been one of the best experiences that I have had."
• "I think getting out into the real world and familiarizing ourselves with adults and the bigger picture is kind of what our school is about. I'm glad I got to be a part of this, especially because it was so fun."
• "This whole thing was a really positive experience for me. I'd do it again in a second."
• "The most important thing that I realized during this interview is that you have to love what you do."
• "It really taught me a lot about the art world versus just learning about it through a lecture...But then again, that's what High Tech High is all about, taking a more hands-on approach."

It was great to read these comments, because it fortified my sense that what I'm doing with the kids is working. The funny thing is that this assignment was almost an afterthought - it got tacked onto the project after almost the whole planning process had been completed. As it turns out, it seems to have been one of the most significant experiences we've been able to provide our students this semester. It just goes to show that sometimes the most meaningful lessons are also the simplest.