Purpose of this blog

I created this blog to fulfill the requirements of a self-designed independent study at Saint Mary's College of California (while obtaining a single subject teaching credential in Art). The proposal was originally written as follows:

  

Having taught art in through non-profit organizations and public schools, and having attended lectures and workshops regarding art education at various museums, I have come to realize there are about as many approaches to teaching art as there are teachers. The goals of this self-designed course, therefore, are to explore alternative practices of art education from a variety of sources, describe a number of these methods as accurately as possible, and finally, to determine which of the methods may or may not be effective strategies for my own personal use. Alternative, in this case, refers to any and all art education that strays from what I have observed to be the traditional approach (predetermined, product-based art curriculum that references commonly used examples from mainly Western art history).

I will narrow my focus to include only visual art education for grades 6-12. In an attempt to explore alternative methods, I will seek out resources and schools that fall outside the “norm”, such as Montessori, small, and alternative settings.