Spring 2007
Department of Art Education
Art in the Park: For the second time, the Art Education majors joined many others
at the Children’s Art Tent in beautiful Falls Park, just south of Greenville’s Liberty Bridge. It
had rained the night before, so those of us who took up our stations toward the outside of the
tent stood on muddy grass. By noon, it was hard to see any grass, but we could see lots of mud
on our shoes.
Lots of enthusiastic children and their parents came to our tables to make a variety of things. We let them have as much choice as possible in the things they put together. I’ve always wondered why people consider scissors to be a dangerous tool. This year I got an unforgettable lesson: scissors aren’t dangerous for children because we give them the dull ones and keep the sharp ones for us to use. I was cutting a length of yarn for a girl to make a dream weaver, when I discerned that I was cutting more than just yarn. One of my left fingers had joined the yarn in the scissors’ path, and its end disappeared in that muddy grass. Praise the Lord, a super grandma was there: she had antiseptic lotion, aspirin, and Band-aids in her purse! She fixed me up just fine, and I finished my shift with more care than I had begun it.
Washington Center Days: A few weeks after Art in the Park, we gathered again to furnish our tent and prepare for the disabled students from Washington Center. While the Special Olympics is taking place inside the Davis Field House, other students are taking their turns enjoying a variety of activities outside. There is a music tent where they can make various percussive noises. The Speech Therapy majors were helping students blow bubbles. And we had blocks made of foam swimming-pool “noodles.” They stacked them, threaded them onto dowel sticks, or colored them with chalk. The stacking and threading tasks address the need disabled students have for developing fine motor coordination. Coloring with chalk helped them see and enjoy trying different colors. One student pitched the blocks at us. He really had a pitching arm! Students greeted each disabled person cheerfully and helped them see what they could do with the various materials available—and there were hearty cheers when a student accomplished something.
SCAEA (South Carolina Art Education Association) Conference: This year the conference was held in downtown Greenville at the Hyatt Hotel. I love the indoor jungle feel of the lobby and have enjoyed other conferences we have held there. Eight students went with me to take workshops, view the exhibition and visit the commercial exhibits. Workshops are offered on a variety of topics for all ages of students. Some of the favorites are hands-on workshops, demonstrating an art activity that the presenter has used in his/her classes. Several of us attended a workshop on art for disabled students taught by a very knowledgeable person who has lots of good experience. We had lunch in various restaurants and fast-food places downtown.
PRAXIS II Exams: Each Art Education major takes two standardized tests at the end of his/her studies: one is the Art Content Knowledge test, a typical multiple-choice test covering information about art history, criticism, aesthetics and techniques. The other is the Art Making test, which is more like an essay test. Students have to describe and/or diagram some basic art concept such as showing 3D space in 2D artwork. There are many subjects tested, and they are randomly chosen so that a student doesn’t know until he gets his test what he will have to explain. Students are also asked to bring a photograph of one of their personal works, and they are asked to answer questions about it. In 2005-06, BJU students averaged 80 percent on the Art Content Knowledge test and 71 percent on Art Making. Both scores compare with national scores of 71% and 70% respectively. We are proud of the achievement of our students, and we’re working to improve the scores even more. Several studio classes have added writing to their artwork assignments.
Art Education Department Approved by the State Department of Education: After much work and preparation for each department in the School of Education, a committee of seven people visited from other higher education institutions in the state. They were here only five days, but they looked at our exhibits, interviewed us and our students, and visited schools in town where our students do student teaching. After it was all over, they approved our education training program and commended us on many aspects of our program. The testimony of the students they interviewed and observed made a good impact on the group.