Class #6
Tonight’s class was full of good discussion, that felt really great because it was the most personal and real discussion yet. There was structure--we were talking about the article I had them read for today--but several of the guys got into it and talked about their personal experiences and that made the class really great even when it wasn’t directly referring to the text.
The general topic was on education, because our author this week (Ben Shahn) wrote on “the education of an artist”. For him this is a liberally educated person who experiences as much as they can in life, connects these experiences to themselves, uses them to form opinions and then acts with integrity. There’s more to it, but some main points came out in talking…we talked about the idea of “integration” and being “integrated” (as in character, in life). The dictionary definition was interesting because it gives both the idea of unifying/making whole, and also of desegregation. So we connected the idea of intellectual integration of ideas/experiences into our lives and also of connection with other people, eliminating hate and fear of ‘the other’.
One guy said that he sees value in this class, even though it is art in prison (who studies art in prison after all?), because he can talk to different people about art using more language, more ideas, where before he might have turned the conversation to those things he considered art such as music, basketball, hip hop, etc. He talked about how he has always liked reading as a way to learn about things outside what we know, so that when we’re in a new situation we can better handle it. From the beginning he has questioned the class, and had definitely been asking me “what is the point of this class?” He obviously has it now, and it is awesome to see because it’s not something I could articulate well—something I think you just have to get. I could be wrong, but that’s how classes have worked for me as well. A sudden connection, spark.
The guys asked JP and I several questions about school and the university...what do we think is the difference between college-educated people and those who aren’t? (Is there a difference?) Must we all take gen ed classes? How is our relationship with professors; do we challenge them intellectually when we think they’re not right, or are missing something? Do we get shut down or are they actually receptive to criticism? One guy has been through GVSU for business, and seems to think differently of college now than he did when he was here (more an extension of high school). One guy was floored to find that the past experiences of two cohorts seemed the same as his, and talked about his high school experience as someone who failed school but aced bubble tests.
All of this discussion was so great, so it ended up taking almost the whole class. But this was fine, cuz it involved them making connections and voicing new ideas so was really exciting. They wanted to see some of my own artwork at the end of class, so before leaving I showed that and they seemed excited about it. We will have to talk next week about art and specific artists; I think I’ll use that time to build on tonight’s talk…
The general topic was on education, because our author this week (Ben Shahn) wrote on “the education of an artist”. For him this is a liberally educated person who experiences as much as they can in life, connects these experiences to themselves, uses them to form opinions and then acts with integrity. There’s more to it, but some main points came out in talking…we talked about the idea of “integration” and being “integrated” (as in character, in life). The dictionary definition was interesting because it gives both the idea of unifying/making whole, and also of desegregation. So we connected the idea of intellectual integration of ideas/experiences into our lives and also of connection with other people, eliminating hate and fear of ‘the other’.
One guy said that he sees value in this class, even though it is art in prison (who studies art in prison after all?), because he can talk to different people about art using more language, more ideas, where before he might have turned the conversation to those things he considered art such as music, basketball, hip hop, etc. He talked about how he has always liked reading as a way to learn about things outside what we know, so that when we’re in a new situation we can better handle it. From the beginning he has questioned the class, and had definitely been asking me “what is the point of this class?” He obviously has it now, and it is awesome to see because it’s not something I could articulate well—something I think you just have to get. I could be wrong, but that’s how classes have worked for me as well. A sudden connection, spark.
The guys asked JP and I several questions about school and the university...what do we think is the difference between college-educated people and those who aren’t? (Is there a difference?) Must we all take gen ed classes? How is our relationship with professors; do we challenge them intellectually when we think they’re not right, or are missing something? Do we get shut down or are they actually receptive to criticism? One guy has been through GVSU for business, and seems to think differently of college now than he did when he was here (more an extension of high school). One guy was floored to find that the past experiences of two cohorts seemed the same as his, and talked about his high school experience as someone who failed school but aced bubble tests.
All of this discussion was so great, so it ended up taking almost the whole class. But this was fine, cuz it involved them making connections and voicing new ideas so was really exciting. They wanted to see some of my own artwork at the end of class, so before leaving I showed that and they seemed excited about it. We will have to talk next week about art and specific artists; I think I’ll use that time to build on tonight’s talk…
posted by rachel at 11:30 PM
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