Third Draft
CHARACTERS:
The Writer
Ms. Gardner
Josh
Amy
Seth
Casey
Background Students
SETTING: A typical American high school Art classroom. Instructions for the various projects the students must complete are scrawled across the board in cramped writing. Off to the side there is a set of cabinet's containing art supplies has some cabinet doors left open. Students are sitting at long tables, working on various drawings and painting. Ms. Gardner, the teacher of course, is walking around the room and watching the students as they work. The lights dim as the Writer walks onto the center of the scene.
WRITER: Good day to you all. I am the writer of the scene you are about to watch. While writing this scene, I wanted to convey how art within the classroom is graded, as well as talking about what curriculum that an Art class follows. (He begins to pace, back and forth ) I used primary and secondary resources to obtain this information, and I've chosen this medium as a well to present the information. And now, I hope you enjoy the show.
(WRITER leaves the stage )
GARDNER: OK, class! Everything looks great, keep it up!
JOSH: Hey, Ms. Gardner?
GARDNER: Yes, Josh?
JOSH: I have a question. I've been wondering, what kind of curriculum do Art classes follow?
AMY: (Noticing Josh's question) Yeah, me too! Also, how is art graded?
GARDNER: Well, how do you think art is graded?
AMY: Ummm, I don't know? Some sort of complex method?
GARDNER: Hmmm, not quite. ( Looks around ) Seth, how do you think art should be or is graded?
( SETH looks up at GARDNER from the artwork he's working on. )
SETH: I'd say that art should be graded on quality and the amount of effort put into the project.
GARDNER: Thanks for that, Seth. (She smiles, and then looks around the room once more.)
GARDNER: Hey Casey! (Across the room, Casey looks up from her work) How do you think your art should be graded?
CASEY: I really don't think that art made in a classroom should be graded; I think it should be opinion-based, where we critique each others art instead of it being assessed.
GARDNER: Both of those were good answers, Seth and Casey. Now, Josh, Amy, I'd be happy to answer your questions for you. You see, Art class follows a curriculum just like any other class you've taken, and will take in high school and college.
(GARDNER walks over to her desk in the corner of the room, and sits down at the computer.)
GARDNER: Here, let me show you...
( JOSH and AMY get up from their seats and walk over to the desk.)
GARDNER: Look at this article, My View: Grading Art in a Standardized Test World, by Katie Lyles, an Art teacher in Colorado.
JOSH: OK, so what does Katie Lyles have to say on the subject?
GARDNER: (Chuckles) Well, she says that Art isn't just “an easy break” for kids during the school day.
AMY: What does she say about grading art?
GARDNER: It says here that she uses a portfolio method to keep track of the students' work, as well as to measure their progress.
AMY: So, basically the same sort of thing you have us do here with our portfolios?
GARDNER: That's right, Amy. It's a very useful way, as Ms. Lyles puts it, to monitor “a student's learning and growth”. I also use a rubric ( GARDNER opens a desk drawer and pulls out a small piece of paper ), which I use to make sure your art is up to snuff. You see the title? “The Seven C's”, are what I use to grade your artwork. The seven C's being: concept, communication of concept, composition, craftsmanship, contrast, color, and class ethics; class ethics being your general attitude about the project you worked on.
JOSH: That's kinda cool. Are there any articles about what sort of curriculum Art classes follow?
GARDNER: Well, as you should know Josh, there are many different teachers with their own individual styles of teaching, like it says here in Emergent Places in Preservice Art Teaching: Lived Curriculum, Relationality, and Embodied Knowledge, as the teachers work with the students, as well as their own subject they're teaching, they grow and learn as a teacher, just as the students grown and learn . Lets see here... (She begins to type away at the computer)
GARDNER: Ah, yes! Here we go! ( She faces the screen towards JOSH and AMY )
GARDNER: This is an article by Olivia Gude, it's called New School Art Styles: The Project of Art Education. It talks about how maybe, there shouldn't be a curriculum for Art classes.
JOSH: Huh? But didn't you say that Art class has a curriculum just like any other class?
GARDNER: That's right,Josh, I did say that. But in the field of art, freedom is a very favorable quality to many. But as you see here, in the article, student's probably wouldn't be able to utilize that freedom very usefully; not at first anyway.
AMY: I can agree with that, if I was told I could do anything I want on the first day of class, I wouldn't know what to do.
GARDNER: Exactly, which is why the teachers put together a curriculum that isn't too strict, but isn't wishy-washy either. That sort of curriculum could potentially be tough for the teacher to handle as well. Especially a person who was new to teaching. In fact, a case-study was done on eleven teachers who were being studied to see if they could administer as well as comprehend a “meaningful curriculum”. The results of which were the teachers trying to get the students to relate to the lessons on a personal level. These results were published in the article How Do Novice Art Teachers Define and Implement Meaningful Curriculum? But anyway, our curriculum is made up of a series of projects that are picked by the Art teachers and then approved by the school board. There's something called the “Essential Standards” that must covered by the curriculum of the Art class. At some schools, however, such as charter schools, the curriculum is chosen by the teacher. Ah, but in this other article, The Business of Art Education: A Fairytale Adventure, it says that an art curriculum is made up considering the wants and needs of the students, parents, and other community members. Which could technically be true as well. But for the most part, a curriculum is approved my the school board.
JOSH: Oh, OK. I see now.
GARDNER: Have I answered your questions, dearly devoted students?
JOSH: Yeah. (smiling)
AMY: Yes, ma'am. ( smiling as well.)
( Off in the distance, the school bell is heard ringing to signal the end of the period. The rest of the students begin to hurriedly put art supplies away and begin to pack up their bags so they can leave for lunch. JOSH and AMY hurry back to their tables to assist in the process. After a moment of rushed packing, the students begin to leave. JOSH and AMY wave good-bye to MS. GARDNER. MS. GARDNER gets up from her desk and begins to wipe away the writing from the board.)
END.
The Writer
Ms. Gardner
Josh
Amy
Seth
Casey
Background Students
SETTING: A typical American high school Art classroom. Instructions for the various projects the students must complete are scrawled across the board in cramped writing. Off to the side there is a set of cabinet's containing art supplies has some cabinet doors left open. Students are sitting at long tables, working on various drawings and painting. Ms. Gardner, the teacher of course, is walking around the room and watching the students as they work. The lights dim as the Writer walks onto the center of the scene.
WRITER: Good day to you all. I am the writer of the scene you are about to watch. While writing this scene, I wanted to convey how art within the classroom is graded, as well as talking about what curriculum that an Art class follows. (He begins to pace, back and forth ) I used primary and secondary resources to obtain this information, and I've chosen this medium as a well to present the information. And now, I hope you enjoy the show.
(WRITER leaves the stage )
GARDNER: OK, class! Everything looks great, keep it up!
JOSH: Hey, Ms. Gardner?
GARDNER: Yes, Josh?
JOSH: I have a question. I've been wondering, what kind of curriculum do Art classes follow?
AMY: (Noticing Josh's question) Yeah, me too! Also, how is art graded?
GARDNER: Well, how do you think art is graded?
AMY: Ummm, I don't know? Some sort of complex method?
GARDNER: Hmmm, not quite. ( Looks around ) Seth, how do you think art should be or is graded?
( SETH looks up at GARDNER from the artwork he's working on. )
SETH: I'd say that art should be graded on quality and the amount of effort put into the project.
GARDNER: Thanks for that, Seth. (She smiles, and then looks around the room once more.)
GARDNER: Hey Casey! (Across the room, Casey looks up from her work) How do you think your art should be graded?
CASEY: I really don't think that art made in a classroom should be graded; I think it should be opinion-based, where we critique each others art instead of it being assessed.
GARDNER: Both of those were good answers, Seth and Casey. Now, Josh, Amy, I'd be happy to answer your questions for you. You see, Art class follows a curriculum just like any other class you've taken, and will take in high school and college.
(GARDNER walks over to her desk in the corner of the room, and sits down at the computer.)
GARDNER: Here, let me show you...
( JOSH and AMY get up from their seats and walk over to the desk.)
GARDNER: Look at this article, My View: Grading Art in a Standardized Test World, by Katie Lyles, an Art teacher in Colorado.
JOSH: OK, so what does Katie Lyles have to say on the subject?
GARDNER: (Chuckles) Well, she says that Art isn't just “an easy break” for kids during the school day.
AMY: What does she say about grading art?
GARDNER: It says here that she uses a portfolio method to keep track of the students' work, as well as to measure their progress.
AMY: So, basically the same sort of thing you have us do here with our portfolios?
GARDNER: That's right, Amy. It's a very useful way, as Ms. Lyles puts it, to monitor “a student's learning and growth”. I also use a rubric ( GARDNER opens a desk drawer and pulls out a small piece of paper ), which I use to make sure your art is up to snuff. You see the title? “The Seven C's”, are what I use to grade your artwork. The seven C's being: concept, communication of concept, composition, craftsmanship, contrast, color, and class ethics; class ethics being your general attitude about the project you worked on.
JOSH: That's kinda cool. Are there any articles about what sort of curriculum Art classes follow?
GARDNER: Well, as you should know Josh, there are many different teachers with their own individual styles of teaching, like it says here in Emergent Places in Preservice Art Teaching: Lived Curriculum, Relationality, and Embodied Knowledge, as the teachers work with the students, as well as their own subject they're teaching, they grow and learn as a teacher, just as the students grown and learn . Lets see here... (She begins to type away at the computer)
GARDNER: Ah, yes! Here we go! ( She faces the screen towards JOSH and AMY )
GARDNER: This is an article by Olivia Gude, it's called New School Art Styles: The Project of Art Education. It talks about how maybe, there shouldn't be a curriculum for Art classes.
JOSH: Huh? But didn't you say that Art class has a curriculum just like any other class?
GARDNER: That's right,Josh, I did say that. But in the field of art, freedom is a very favorable quality to many. But as you see here, in the article, student's probably wouldn't be able to utilize that freedom very usefully; not at first anyway.
AMY: I can agree with that, if I was told I could do anything I want on the first day of class, I wouldn't know what to do.
GARDNER: Exactly, which is why the teachers put together a curriculum that isn't too strict, but isn't wishy-washy either. That sort of curriculum could potentially be tough for the teacher to handle as well. Especially a person who was new to teaching. In fact, a case-study was done on eleven teachers who were being studied to see if they could administer as well as comprehend a “meaningful curriculum”. The results of which were the teachers trying to get the students to relate to the lessons on a personal level. These results were published in the article How Do Novice Art Teachers Define and Implement Meaningful Curriculum? But anyway, our curriculum is made up of a series of projects that are picked by the Art teachers and then approved by the school board. There's something called the “Essential Standards” that must covered by the curriculum of the Art class. At some schools, however, such as charter schools, the curriculum is chosen by the teacher. Ah, but in this other article, The Business of Art Education: A Fairytale Adventure, it says that an art curriculum is made up considering the wants and needs of the students, parents, and other community members. Which could technically be true as well. But for the most part, a curriculum is approved my the school board.
JOSH: Oh, OK. I see now.
GARDNER: Have I answered your questions, dearly devoted students?
JOSH: Yeah. (smiling)
AMY: Yes, ma'am. ( smiling as well.)
( Off in the distance, the school bell is heard ringing to signal the end of the period. The rest of the students begin to hurriedly put art supplies away and begin to pack up their bags so they can leave for lunch. JOSH and AMY hurry back to their tables to assist in the process. After a moment of rushed packing, the students begin to leave. JOSH and AMY wave good-bye to MS. GARDNER. MS. GARDNER gets up from her desk and begins to wipe away the writing from the board.)
END.