Thursday, September 1, 2011
Welcome new students!
I have enjoyed hearing about all your experiences in class! We're going to have a lot of fun making art and sharing our love of children and art.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Valentine's day research
For some of you who have not chosen a country yet, Denmark is interesting. In Brasil it is a little different and is celebrated on June 12th and is called " Dia dos Namorados" and is celebrated like most wealthier people do in Brasil with lavish parties. It's also the same in Portugal. In South America it's celebrated with the day of the secret friend where they randomly assign "to each participant a recipient who is to be given an anonymous gift"
In India this is very interesting how some are trying to preserve Indian culture, a topic that is good to always think about as teachers.a lot of countries in Saudi Arabia ban anything having to do with hearts, half hearts and even Teddy Bears. Something to think about.
"In modern times, Hindu and Islamic[62] traditionalists consider the holiday to be cultural contamination from the West, result of the globalization in India.[60][61] Shiv Sena and the Sangh Parivar have asked their followers to shun the holiday and the "public admission of love" because of them being "alien to Indian culture".[63] These protests are organized by political elites, but the protesters themselves are middle-class Hindu men who fear that the globalization will destroy the traditions in his society: arranged marriages, hindu joint families, full-time mothers (see Housewife#India), etc.[61][62]
Despite these obstacles, valentine's day is becoming increasingly popular in India.[64]"
In India this is very interesting how some are trying to preserve Indian culture, a topic that is good to always think about as teachers.a lot of countries in Saudi Arabia ban anything having to do with hearts, half hearts and even Teddy Bears. Something to think about.
"In modern times, Hindu and Islamic[62] traditionalists consider the holiday to be cultural contamination from the West, result of the globalization in India.[60][61] Shiv Sena and the Sangh Parivar have asked their followers to shun the holiday and the "public admission of love" because of them being "alien to Indian culture".[63] These protests are organized by political elites, but the protesters themselves are middle-class Hindu men who fear that the globalization will destroy the traditions in his society: arranged marriages, hindu joint families, full-time mothers (see Housewife#India), etc.[61][62]
Despite these obstacles, valentine's day is becoming increasingly popular in India.[64]"
This is also from Wiklpedia:
"The U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately 190 million valentines are sent each year in the US. Half of those valentines are given to family members other than husband or wife, usually to children. When you include the valentine-exchange cards made in school activities the figure goes up to 1 billion, and teachers become the people receiving the most valentines.[35] In some North American elementary schools, children decorate classrooms, exchange cards, and are given sweets. The greeting cards of these students sometimes mention what they appreciate about each other." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine%27s_Day
Scroll down on the link to the page above and there is a wonderful pictorial history of valentine cards.
This is going to be great fun to share all our research and make some of our own creations the next time we meet. I ordered the supplies today but if there is something you want to bring, feel free to do so.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Response to readings
Kelly made an interesting observation on her Blog which made me think deeper about culture and traditions: "Personally, I never really learned to use art to express my culture. This may be more important for people closer to their cultures."
I was lead to think about the similarities and differences between culture and traditions and that lead to thoughts about the language of art and how we interpret it.
If you would ask a person from another culture what their culture is all about, would they recognize their culture in the same manner that we do (or think we do)? In our time and place that has such ease of trade and movement can we even define certain cultures? Does culture change through time and contact with other cultures?
Our book tells us to include the study of other cultures in lessons and also states that "art is an international language." As teachers, it's important to realize many differences in the language of art that have to do with associations with color and design. For example, we may think of white as a color of purity but in other countries, white represents death. Thus an artist from another culture may create a work of art that expresses one thing to them but affects us in an entirely different way.
When we teach about other cultures we might be the ones who help students make comparison and contrast connections through works of art. The book makes a good statement, "art helps students understand that there is a connection between an artwork's content and the culture and time in which it was created. It helps students see culture as an interpretive social scheme that people project upon existence in order to create their own identity." -Clements, page 4
I was lead to think about the similarities and differences between culture and traditions and that lead to thoughts about the language of art and how we interpret it.
If you would ask a person from another culture what their culture is all about, would they recognize their culture in the same manner that we do (or think we do)? In our time and place that has such ease of trade and movement can we even define certain cultures? Does culture change through time and contact with other cultures?
Our book tells us to include the study of other cultures in lessons and also states that "art is an international language." As teachers, it's important to realize many differences in the language of art that have to do with associations with color and design. For example, we may think of white as a color of purity but in other countries, white represents death. Thus an artist from another culture may create a work of art that expresses one thing to them but affects us in an entirely different way.
When we teach about other cultures we might be the ones who help students make comparison and contrast connections through works of art. The book makes a good statement, "art helps students understand that there is a connection between an artwork's content and the culture and time in which it was created. It helps students see culture as an interpretive social scheme that people project upon existence in order to create their own identity." -Clements, page 4
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Welcome
Hi everyone! Hope you are enjoying our little vacation due to the ice storm but most of all I hope you are all safe. Thanks to Starbucks near my home I'm able to set up this blog and do some writing. I'll return to edit this after I take care of letting you know to "follow."
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