Thursday, February 18, 2016

Chapter 8 discussion



Hello all, we hope you enjoyed reading chapter 8 as much as we did! There were several large themes imbedded in just a few short pages that we would like to expand on. First, however, we would like to present some of what we believe to be the most influential points in this chapter. Let’s begin with defining service learning.
“Service learning is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities” (Office of Civic Engagement & Service Learning)
Service learning is great because it is creating projects that help the community and remind the students of their experiences in helping one another through fundraiser or community activities. Here is a website we found that presents standards for service learning to keep these projects relevant to your curriculum:  (http://nylc.org/standards/). Here are two great organizations that the chapter mentions:
                  Empty Bowls (EB) is a fundraising project focused on providing dinnerware for local food banks. They hold events where people come and eat soup to support the local food shelter and get to leave with a bowl they had eaten from. This helps keep the owner aware of the empty bowls in their area, or even the world. Empty Bowls has expanded to being used in auctions, and can even be purchased for holiday packages with the proceeds helping the hungry people in their community. The EB is even affiliated with the National Service Learning conference. At this conference, ninety percent of the people who participated in EB bought their own to be reminded of their experiences in helping the community.
                  Second is Potters for Peace (PFP) which was set in motion due to the need for awareness toward a silent crisis. If you read the chapter you would know that every fifteen seconds a child dies from water-related disease (Water Partners International, 2008). PFP aims to help those in need of viable water by supplying low-cost ceramic water filters. These water filters the PFP creates remove 99.88% of most water-borne diseases. PFP began to make filters with many non-governmental organizations and health organizations.
                  These organizations, like many others, prove that artistic forms can be useful in community based art education for social justice. Clay and ceramics is a very versatile medium that can be used to make artistic, functional, and meaningful differences in our communities.
Hunger and thirst is a prominent theme in this chapter. Satisfying hunger and thirst are basic necessities for our survival, yet so many people go without these things. The chapter shares that we need to make our service learning lessons relate to where people are located and that students can connect more deeply with their artmaking through these experiences. The need to help satisfy those with hunger is everywhere you look, and events such as the Flint water crisis bring the need for clean water close to home.
Resources
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: http://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html

Now that we have reviewed chapter 8, we ask that you answer these next few questions in your blog.
1.     Three of the most important things that are necessary for our survival according to Maslow are food, water, and shelter. The chapter discusses how art can fulfill the needs of food and water. In your classroom, how can you fulfil the need for shelter? Discuss your lesson idea and find an artist or group that uses art as a way to help people meet the need of shelter.

2.     What other levels of Maslow’s Hierarchy can we help satisfy through service learning projects in the art classroom? How? Pick one of the following and discuss your idea. (Physiological, safety, love, esteem, self-actualization)

3.     How can you adapt a high school class curriculum to incorporate service learning into one of your courses to help students to be inspired to use art as a tool for social justice? (E.g. Adding EBP or PFP to your ceramics curriculum.)  Please use the k-12 Service Learning Standards as a guide to designing your service learning plan for your curriculum. There are 8 standards, your project should meet one area from each of the standards. Website:  http://nylc.org/standards/

Make sure to post artists’ images and links you might use to connect your curriculum to help students see the importance of service learning in their artmaking.

Love, Garrett and Marvea

                  

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