Writing a blog is something I’ve been putting off. Now’s the time; for a few reasons.
I want to incorporate podcasting and blogging into the program I manage at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, so it’s probably time I start wading into this stuff.
And, I just found out I have something growing behind my retina; it’s got me a little frightened. Maybe writing about it will help me think it through.
I say with no reservation I have the best job in the world; a museum educator in a world-class art museum. My job is to create programming for teenagers that brings them into the museum multiple times, gets them used to the idea of looking at art, and finding meaning and connection, and to facilitate projects that express their meanings and connections.
My first day on the job (this after 15 years teaching art in public high school) my boss came to me and said, “David, there’s one more thing. You have to go look at the art. Seriously, it’s why we are all here.” Um, okay. I get paid to think, to be creative, to teach others to think creatively, and to know art.
And I’m afraid I have a tumor in my right eye.
I have always felt the the best lessons, especially for teens, are those that result in real, authentic, important products that can be useful and appreciated by others. Right now we help the kids make videos and websites expressing ttheir responses to works of art from around the globe. The kids are taught that if they base their connections and expressions on their observations, and if they write to make their observations clear to a stranger, their writings are real, they are valid, they are important, they are useful. When I work with schools and teachers I stress that the CD-ROMs and DVDs the kids are more than reports. They are multi-media, cross-curricular peer-to-peer classroom resources. They are learning tools.It’s all about learning to look, really look, trust what is seen, trust the descriptions of, and connections to what is seen, and express a unique, personal response.
I get the results back from my first MRI in two or three days. I hope the writing helps.
d
