A Look Into: A Re-Vision of Teaching

Reflection is an important part of the writing process. By looking closely at the method that I used in order to arrive at my finished piece, A Re-Vision of Teaching, I am able to think about the individual steps that I took and to evaluate the effectiveness of my process. My writing began in the first week of October when I received the essay #2 assignment, which posed many questions about art. In addition to describing a piece of artwork, the assignment called for students to use personal experience, and it also asked for students to go beyond opinions to make arguments about a work of art that is interesting to others. Taking these requirements into consideration, I decided that I wanted to write about something that was significant to my life and relevant to what I am studying≠teaching. Then, I narrowed this topic down by choosing one experience that would serve as my individual piece of art, the lesson I taught on Adrienne Rich. I did not know what assertion I wanted to make, so I decided to work with this writing assignment in a few different ways.

First, I took action. To begin thinking about the assignment, I read through the sample essays on art. I subsequently brainstormed different ideas that I wanted to discuss in my piece. I created a list of some universal concepts that are involved in the creation of all pieces of art including: commission, creativity/ inspiration, tools, and critiques. I also thought about the way that art inspires more art. Not all of my initial ideas made it into the final paper, but this list-making technique was very helpful for me. In addition to making this master list, I also thought back to the actual lesson that I wanted to describe, the Adrienne Rich/ feminism lesson. I wrote down all observations that I remembered from the lesson itself, and critiques that Iπve heard/ developed myself. My biggest critique was that I did not encourage student participation or discussion. As I continued to think about this paper and heard that two students had used Rich in their papers on education, I realized what I wanted my assertion to be. I wanted it to say: In looking at my lesson through an artistic lens, I was able to redefine students roles in the classroom. In writing rough sketches of an idea structure, I came to discover the conclusion that I wanted to make≠students use their own art (writing) to share ideas and show that they were actually part of the lesson themselves.

After realizing where I wanted to go with this paper, I needed to figure out the practicality of the piece. I asked myself: What sources will help me to make the point that I wish to make? While sitting at a coffee shop, Cosi, I spread out all of my essays, notes, and preliminary lists (paper ideas) across a table. Open mindedly, I went through each piece that I had read for this course and asked myself if the ideas in these essays might be relevant for my paper. I started with the essays that I knew had direct connections to my paper such as the pieces by Adrienne Rich, Paulo Freire, and Alice Walker. Rereading my notes for each piece, I realized that the important ideas and lines that I had underlined/highlighted/written notes about in the margin≠ ideas that were important to me and were central themes of the essays≠could be used to support my argument. For example, Freireπs problem posing versus banking methods of education fit perfectly into my paper. As I kept looking at each of the readings, I concluded that each of the essayists that I had read this semester had made valuable points in their essays on art and education. I wanted to include all into my paper to help support my ideas. As I reviewed each source, I recorded quotes that I thought would be extremely useful to include in my paper. At this point in time, I was also reading a fiction novel based on the life of a real artist, Johannes Vermeer; I saw that I could tie this piece into my paper as another example of art inspiring art. (By tying this novel into my paper, I was also reinforcing one of the ideas in my piece: that art inspires art.)

Armed with my notes, my thesis, and my sources, which illustrated my argument, I began typing away. This process was definitely not a linear one. As I wrote my paper based on a basic outline that I created as part of my preliminary notes, I ended up moving ideas around to different places in order to create a smooth flow of ideas in my paper. I also noticed that some of the lines I had wanted to quote were not perfect, so I returned to the text to search for better quotes to illustrate my point. In this stage, I also looked at each of the quotes in my paper. I asked myself if each quote spiced up my paper and if quotes were set up by introductory thoughts, cited correctly, and able to provide the reader with an explanation of its significance. Another question I asked was: is this quote actually helping me to strengthen my assertions (and not state them)? Two major additions also occurred in this period. I decided to structure my paper around Adrienne Richπs idea of ≥re-vision,≤ and I came up with another source (an art exhibit by Olafur Eliasson) that provided me with a metaphor for the idea of students as the lesson.

Finally, the last step in my process was revision. Actually, I should not say that revision was my final step in this paper because I revised and re-vised my paper throughout the entire process. The last step was really copyediting; I used two main strategies for this part of the paper. I read my paper aloud in order to catch mechanical errors, sentence structure/ word choice issues, and passages that did not have smooth transitions. Another strategy that I used was that I printed my paper and made corrections (in colored pen) on these printed pages. Then, I went back the computer and typed in these changes.

I feel that this process was productive, and I know that I will use it again soon. In fact, I am using it at this very moment in time.

A Re-Vision of Teaching

In Adrienne Rich's essay, "When We Dead Awaken: Writing As Re-Vision,≤ Rich writes about re-vision as ≥the act of seeing with fresh eyes, of entertaining an old text from a new critical direction" (629). Richπs idea of looking at a subject with ≥fresh eyes≤ is a strategy that I decided to employ to reflect on my own teaching practices. In using re-vision to examine one particular lesson that I taught on feminism and the Rich essay mentioned above, I was able to see my lesson from a new perspective. Just as Alice Walker looked at her motherπs unconventional piece of art, a garden, in her essay, ≥In Search of Our Mothersπ Gardens,≤ I began to see my lesson as an unconventional artwork in this same way (746). Examining my lesson from this artistic perspective enabled me not only to explain the process itself, but also to discover what was missing from my lesson, the role of the student. Looking at my process ultimately helped me to redefine studentsπ roles in the classroom.
If I had recorded my feminism/ Adrienne Rich lesson this is what it would look like: fifteen minutes of me talking. This talk begins with me introducing an article in the Observer, which was written by a first year composition teacher, Kate Dube. I bring the classπs attention to the observations she discovers from her class when they discuss feminism. I mention a few misconceptions about feminism, some students' thoughts on feminism, and reasons that Dube thinks feminism is a necessity due to the fact that there is still inequality that exists between men and women today. Reading the class a statistic from The Observer, I show that women make only seventy cents for every dollar that men make. I provide the class with a definition of feminism that I have adopted as my own definition (that I once read off a poster): "feminism is the radical idea that women and men are equal."I then, switch gears in providing a speck of information about Adrienne Rich as a feminist, author/ poet. I speak about the meaning of the title, the double-meaning that Rich gives of re-vision (the fact that it is a new way of seeing as well as a tool for students to use when revising their papers by looking at them with fresh eyes). I mention that from reading work from Virginia Woolf, Adrienne Rich realized that she was able to understand the way that she herself wrote her poetry≠as a distant, disengaged woman. Finally, I finish the lesson by referring students to a powerful poem that Rich includes in her essay titled "Planetarium." Here Rich writes (in contrast to her earlier poem) a powerful, honest poem, in which she embraces herself and feminism. Despite the fact that I passionately spoke about these ideas, I know that there was a gaping hole in my lesson that I had overlooked. By reflecting on my process of developing the lesson, I was able to begin the search of what was missing from my piece.

In thinking about the development of the lesson, I compared my process to the process that artists often go through to create their artworks. In many artwork productions there is a person or group of people requesting a piece of art. Did this happen in my case? How did I feel about that? Another factor that I should consider is the inspiration that exists within the artist when constructing the piece. Was I inspired to talk about Adrienne Rich and feminism? Practically all pieces of art are critiqued be it by art critics, the public, or the artist him or herself. Critiquing my own piece may also be helpful in finding something that I may have overlooked in my lesson.

Before the invention of the camera, artists were often commissioned to create a representation of people in a portrait. Artists such as the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer were usually commissioned by a benefactor to paint a particular portrait; for example the patronπs wife, or daughter would be common subjects for such a portrait. In a similar fashion, I was asked by my mentor to make a specific presentation. My purpose was to make an appeal to the students to consider Adrienne Rich and her piece as a source for the next essay that the students were writing. I was also told that I could integrate technology into my lesson, if I chose to do so. My payment would be not monetary like Vermeerπs payment. The lesson itself was to provide me with a teaching experience that I could learn from and give me a chance to get students interested in an author of whose work and ideas I deeply respect. I gladly took on this commission; with the newspaper article and Rich's essay as my easel and paintbrush, I got to work. As I carried out the task of preparing the lesson, I began to think back to past experiences that had influenced me as a feminist myself. Taking a few women studies classes, reading literature by women authors, and participating in a feminist play by Eve Ensler, I had much motivation for the lesson I wanted to create. It is in this way that this art can act as a self-expression because according to Susanne K. Langer self-expression is a ≥spontaneous reaction to an actual, present situation, an event, the company we are in [...] it bespeaks the physical and mental state we are in and the emotions that stir us≤ (87). In presenting a lesson inspired by a need to express Adrienne Richπs essay, I had the motive for wanting to share my artwork with the students. My hope was that my lesson would be able to work as a catalyst to get students to feel and think about the ideas that I communicated to them.

After I presented my lesson, I immediately critiqued my piece. I first thought about the ideas that I presented to the class. I had said everything that I wanted to say, and yet I knew something was missing from my piece. Knowing that I only had a limited amount of time to give my presentation, I had concentrated on the specific points in both of my sources that I wished to use. I referred the students to consider what I thought to be important points, and excitedly read them passages from Richπs essay in order to spark their interest in reading the rest of the piece on their own. Suddenly, I remembered that I had planned on adding an exercise into my lesson that would enable students to take an active part in it. Using the classroom laptops as tools, I had wanted to give students a hands-on opportunity to find internet sources which would support the fact that there is still inequality that exists between men and women. I had planned to give them a chance to connect ideas that they were thinking to themselves about the lesson to what I was saying. Unknowingly, I had stepped into the territory of Paulo Freiresπ essay, ≥The åBankingπ Concept of Education.≤

In Freireπs essay, the author speaks out about how students are often treated as ≥listening objects,≤ and the teacher as ≥ a narrating Subject≤ (259). In finding out that there would not be enough time for the computer activity, I had slightly altered my lesson before the presentation. In the same way a painter may add a few paint strokes, after their painting is placed in the gallery, before its opening to the public, I added one piece of information to my lesson. I added a statistic, into my presentation that would give students the chance to see evidence that feminism exits today. In simply providing students with this fact, I failed to alter my lesson plan to involve extensive student participation. I had forgotten one of Freireπs most important points in his essay: ≥Yet only through communication can human life hold meaning≤ (263). My mentor also brought this to my attention, which made me reconsider how I should have constructed my lesson to make it more student centered. I thought about the appendix of James Geeπs book titled, What Video Games Have To Teach Us About Learning And Literacy. The author explains different learning principles that exist not only in good video games, but also in learning and literacy. The first principle states, ≥All aspects of the learning environment (including the ways in which the semiotic domain is designed and presented) are set up to encourage active and critical, not passive, learning≤ (207). This principle is important because it links back to Freireπs idea that students are not passive objects, who listen as the teacher talks. I needed to create a lesson that would provoke students to take an active part in classroom discussion. I could have asked students if they had seen any examples of gender inequality in their own lives, or if some students already considered themselves to be feminists, or if students believed that there was no need for feminism. In this way students could assert what they know, and connect this knowledge to the new concepts that they are learning.

In reflecting back on my presentation, I tried to recall what students reactions were to the lesson that I gave. I remembered many pairs of eyes looking at me and a few head nods. Were there any glazed over looks as a result of my talking? I realized that my lesson was only one-sided, and lacked the most important tool that I could have used, communication. Jeanette Winterson, author of Art Objects, writes about the kind of experience that she has when she encounters art; she explains, ≥there is a constant exchange of emotion between us, between the three of us; the artist [...] the painting in its own right, and me, the one who loves it and can no longer live independent of it≤ (19). This is a new ideal of what I aim to do when I teach, and I know that without communicating directly with students, the relationship between the subject that I am teaching, the students, and me can not be very good. Students missed out on one key part of this art experience in the lesson≠they did not get a chance to communicate with the lesson itself. Although Winterson does not physically talk out loud to a painting that she purchased, she writes about the way that the painting engages her in an ongoing conversation of sorts in which the piece adds to her passing thoughts, past reflections, and life in general (19). In this same way, I want to give students a chance to directly react to a lesson through communication and actually have a literal conversation involving inquiries, comments, and debates.

Through communicating and having a conversation during the lesson, students would be able to think about a new idea and possibly be changed by that idea. Communication can play a huge part in helping students work on their ability to build conversations with others, as well as help them to make important connections between the piece of art in their own lives. Students may have an epiphany similar to the one that Rodriguez has in his essay, ≥The Achievement of Desire.≤ At the end of his essay, Rodriguez, who has been culturally separated from his family as a result of his education, realizes that he is missing out on something important in his life. As he is sitting in another country and working on his dissertation, he explains, ≥I wanted something≠I couldnπt say exactly what. I told myself that I wanted a more passionate life...And above all, I wanted to be less alone≤ (669). In this passage readers are able to see that Rodriguez suddenly realizes the absence of communication of his family that he used to have when he was a young boy. As he sits in the library, isolated except for books, Rodriguez realizes the need to reestablish communication in his own life between himself and his parents. This may be similar to the communication that needs to exist in a classroom in both student/student and student/ teacher relationships. An environment with open lines of communication is the only kind of environment that a teacher can be successful in teaching, and students will be successful in learning. Here students can not only observe the piece of artwork, but enter into it.

In considering my lesson as a piece of artwork, I thought of an actual art exhibit that I encountered when I was in London last January; the exhibit took place at the Tate Modern, a museum which housed art forms of many different shapes, sizes, and mediums. There was one installation that really struck me because of its size, and its mesmerizing qualities. This piece created by Olafur Eliasson called The Weather Project was held in a large room the size of an auditorium. The fog-filled room was mostly dark, except for a bright circle of light that seemed to be hanging in the upper left hand corner of the room; this was a representation of the sun. With these two elements alone, museum goers may not be entirely entranced, and may pass by the room in moments. Yet, there were hundreds of people stuffed into this room due to the third part of the piece, a mirror. Through this mirror, which covered the ceiling of the entire room, every passerby could be seen on the ceiling. As a result, people stayed for hours searching for images of themselves and others on the ceiling amidst the fog and strange lighting. In thinking about this experience, I can see that it is the museum-goers themselves who actually help to make up the largest part of Eliassonπs artwork. In this same way, I can now see that the students themselves were (and are) the most important part of the artwork. Their feelings, actions, comments, and reactions all help to make up the lesson. In fact, the students are the lesson itself.

I have noticed that one tell tale sign of a successful piece of art is that it often inspires many other pieces of art. For example Vermeer, the artist mentioned earlier, has managed to inspire people to produce their own art in response to his hundreds of years after his own life. Tracy Chevalier, a woman who owned a print of A Girl With A Peal Earring, decided to write an entire fictional novel (with the same name) based on the inspiration from the portrait of the girl. On her web page, Tracy Chevalier explains how she was inspired by the Vermeer print hanging in her room; she writes, ≥There is so much mystery in each [Vermeer] painting, in the women he depicts, so many stories suggested but not told. I wanted to tell one of them≤(Chavalier). Unlike Vermeer, I was actually able to see not one student, but two students create art from my lesson because they integrated the Adrienne Rich essay into their own essays on education. In the next paper that students wrote, even more students made reference to the poems, themes, and ideas that Adrienne Rich wrote about in her essay. These pieces of art communicates back to me that in some way these student writers gained something from the lesson, and they found their own way to express this in their artwork, their own papers. They were using their own art to communicate their own ideas and to acknowledge that they actually were part of the lesson themselves.

Works Cited

Chevalier, Tracy. Tracy Chevalier, Official Site. 15 October 2004. <http://www.tchavalier.com/in dex.html.

Eliasson, Olafur. The Weather Project. Tate Modern, London.

Freire, Paulo. ≥The åBankingπ Concept of Education.≤ Ways of Reading. 6^th Edition. Bartholomae, David, and Anthony Petrosky. New York: Bedford. St. Martins, 2002: 259-270.

Gee, James Paul. What Video Games Have To Teach Us About Learning And Literacy. Macmillan, 2003.

Langer, Susanne K. ≥The Cultural Importance of Art.≤ Philosophical Sketches. Baltimore: John Hopkins Press, 1962.

Rich, Adrienne. ≥When We Dead Awaken: Writing as Re-Vision.≤ Ways of Reading. 6^th Edition. Bartholomae, David, and Anthony Petrosky. New York: Bedford/ St. Martins, 2002: 625-640.

Rodriguez, Richard. ≥The Achievement of Desire.≤ Ways of Reading. 6^th Edition. Bartholomae, David, and Anthony Petrosky. New York: Bedford/ St. Martins, 2002: 652-670.

Walker, Alice. ≥In Search of Our Motherπs Gardens.≤ Ways of Reading. 6^th Edition. Bartholomae, David, and Anthony Petrosky. New York: Bedford/ St. Martins, 2002: 738-747.

Winterson, Jeanette. ≥Art Objects.≤ Essays on Ecstacy and Effrontery. New York: Vintage International, 1995.