AED 812: Empower

Difference shows up in the art classroom in a lot of different ways. The students that I teach at Westinghouse Academy (6-12) are all diverse in some way! Economically, racially, mentally, and academically we are diverse from other schools in Pittsburgh, in Pennsylvania, and elsewhere. All of our students receive free breakfast and lunch, live in a community that lives through trauma and violence, have over 1/3 in population with an IEP, and test far below most schools in the state. 97% of our population is black, so it is critical that I bring artists and culture that is relevant and inspiring to the curriculum. None of my students have a hearing or physical disability, but it is so critical to recognize the individuals that stood their ground and protested to pass Act 504, as seen in “Section 504 protest in 1977“ to achieve equitable opportunities for those with differing abilities. My school is under scrutiny on the district’s school improvement plan in order boost our test scores. This has left an immense pressure not only on core teachers but also on special teachers like myself to constantly teach writing and math within my art curriculum.

My students believe that the art classroom is supposed to be one of the escapes from the onslaught of words and numbers that is the rest of their academic day. It does take a lot of the joy out of it for them, but it is what is required of all of us. We write every day for the warm up and exit, and with this I have to make a lot of accommodations without the help of special education teachers pushing in to assist like they get in their core classes. Most of my students struggle with reading and writing, so I make it my mission to make them successful no matter what it takes. I read the questions aloud, rephrase, orally spell, and even transcribe for students who cannot write. I even allow some students to draw their responses instead and express their ideas however they are capable. This takes a ton of pressure off of what can be a really intimidating routine. For instance, I currently teach a 7th grade boy who cannot read sight words like “the” and “who;” it’s not easy, but I make a point to help him one on one get his ideas down. He knows the answer! It’s just reading the question and getting his idea down in a traditional written format that is hard for him alone. This gives him so much confidence, something I don’t believe he often feels in his education. In relation, two years ago, I taught visual arts to students from the life skills classroom. I still remember how excited to engage, create, and reflect they were when given the option to draw instead of writing their answers. These students’ enthusiasm gave the class an energy and feel that I have not had the opportunity to experience again since at Westinghouse.

Reflecting on my practice, I believe there are a lot more ways I can address the differences we don’t see at my school. I know for a fact that the only artist with a disability we look at is Chuck Close; we only shallowly examine his background information and the work he is able to achieve despite his physical challenge. After seeing the Media Enabled Musketeers: “Russian & American Filmmakers with Disabilities Document Shared Struggles,” I felt moved by seeing Jonathan Novak’s story in particular. I think if I were to find some media on Chuck Close, it would give my students a larger perspective into what it is like to be physically different. Dr. Carrie Sandahl in “The American with Disabilities Act and the Arts: A Celebration of Inclusion [Or Unreasonable Accommodations]” explains what she terms as “crip time.” This made me think of how we as teachers always accommodate project deadlines to the students who finish time-wise somewhere in the middle of the class as a whole (think of an academic bell curve). Why don’t we set due dates for the slower workers (who are often students with IEP’s) in order to give early finishing artists some extra time to experiment and find something even more amazing than we thought in our creative work? Working on “crip time” as suggested by Dr. Sandahl could actually be beneficial to all. My last observation is in relation to my favorite video from the Empower exploration- “Because who is perfect? Get Closer.” As someone whose responsibility it is to inspire and empower my students, I want to find a way for students to own their adolescent beauty in a way that people with differing body shapes were able to see themselves represented in a positive way. This self-appreciation is often hard for the age group I teach, but I was so moved by this artist that I want to try and make this connection for my kids.