Wow. Fall is here again. I really dropped the ball on updating the blog about all the great projects that students completed in Art and Activism in the spring semester, but they once again far exceeded my expectations. Teaching this class is one of the most rewarding experiences I have had in my life. I am constantly inspired by these young artists who have a real passion for making the world a better place. I hope that this class will give them some of the tools and inspiration that will help them to do that wherever their future may take them.
I have been slowly working my way through Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed over the summer. I know the title makes it sound depressing, but that could not be further from the truth. I have to read it in small chunks just to absorb all the ideas that Freire presents. I love the book. I strive to make transformational education the core of my own teaching philosophy -- the idea that education should empower students to understand, control, and change their own lives and the world around them.
I have a small class this fall -- five students in one section and two independent study students. I don't know if that will change the way the class works or not, but the last time I had a smallish class, Behind the Canvas was born, and it continues to make positive contributions to the welfare of the students at the school. I love the mystery of a new semester, and the anticipation of what can happen when artists apply their creativity to the needs of the world around them.
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