Nanci Kuykendall

>wondered about...how teachers can grade art. I mean,
>is there a right and wrong to art? And isn't art as
>subjective as anything could be? How do they
>do that? Why do they do that? Sheesh...
>Jacki

It's my understanding that when they "teach art" what
they are actually teaching is art appeciation, art
history, or basic theories like shading, perspective
and color spectrums/wheels/charts. I recall that when
I got graded on art in middle school/Jr. High it had
to do with how well I followed the intsructions or
demonstrated proper shading, etc. techniques,
according to the teacher's interpretation of course.
They also sometimes grade for "effort" so if you
spent a lot of time and poured a lot of energy into a
piece they give you these sort of kudos-pitty grades
just for trying. I believe everyone has "artistic"
talent but it's certainly not always in the areas that
schools demand that you express it (drawing, paint and
clay usually) but may be in woodworking, cooking,
quilting, singing, photography, interior decorating,
asthetic gardening or landscape design, etc. and so
on.

Nanci K.

Pam Sorooshian

On Jun 6, 2005, at 1:54 PM, Nanci Kuykendall wrote:

> They also sometimes grade for "effort" so if you
> spent a lot of time and poured a lot of energy into a
> piece they give you these sort of kudos-pitty grades
> just for trying.

I took a couple of college art classes a couple of years ago. There was
a syllabus with very specific details on what you had to do to earn
each different grade. It included a specified amount of production of
various types of work, an essay, attendance at an art show or museum,
and a written exam on specific techniques, vocabulary, and supplies.

The grade didn't depend on how the teacher evaluated the art work OTHER
than that she determined if a piece entailed a reasonable attempt to
use a particular technique. This was a course that people could repeat
multiple times and then take intermediate and advanced versions. She
wasn't in a hurry for students to produce great works of art - just
focused on them gaining basic technical skill and understanding of
different styles and she supported them in developing enough courage to
take risks and let the art emerge from that. She discussed people's art
with them - pointed out what she saw that seemed effective and asked
them to evaluate their own work (not give a grade - just talk about it
- what were they trying to do, how did that work out, what else might
they try, stuff like that). She was a wonderful teacher with fantastic
skill at knowing when to step in and make a suggestion, when to help
someone with a technique and when to leave them alone to work on it,
and was very inspiring and especially incredibly respectful of each
person's individuality.

Even though students register at different levels, all levels were in
one place at the same time - more advanced students were expected to
help beginners some of the time. It was a very wonderful alive kind of
place where you could learn your own way - by watching, by trial and
error, by asking questions, by reading about it, watching videos, and
on and on. She retired and I haven't had the heart to take another
class because I'd miss her so much.

-pam