A Collective Work of Art

One of my edu­ca­tion assign­ments involved iden­ti­fy­ing a metaphor for edu­ca­tion and the jour­ney of teacher. Below is my response. Read­ing it again, I’d like to empha­sis even more that the work of art is a col­lec­tive effort — co-artists with learn­ers and the learn­ing com­mu­nity. I also rec­og­nize par­al­lels to other areas of min­istry and ser­vice. It’s not so much about the skills and tools as the Spirit.

Edu­ca­tion requires an artist’s touch. In my jour­ney as a teacher I have come to see learn­ing as a work of art cre­ated by the learn­ing com­mu­nity. A suc­cess­ful artist pos­sesses a com­bi­na­tion of a love of the art, tools and tech­niques, exten­sive expe­ri­ence in mix­ing colours and paint­ing, and oppor­tu­ni­ties to share ideas together with other artists. I expe­ri­ence a sim­i­lar jour­ney as a teacher. While I began with a love of the art of learn­ing, I con­tinue to acquire strate­gies for teach­ing, expe­ri­ence in cre­at­ing learn­ing envi­ron­ments, and shar­ing through dia­logue with other edu­ca­tors.

The artist’s palette as a per­sonal sym­bol reminds me of the art and sci­ence of teach­ing. Artists pre­pare a vari­ety of colours on their palettes, based on their vision for the work. They know about the sci­ence of art, includ­ing what results would likely occur when mix­ing colours, the effect of pro­por­tion and line, and the tex­tures of dif­fer­ent strokes. They can pre­pare the appro­pri­ate brushes, can­vas, and paints. Yet no artist can pre­dict the exact out­come. It takes a cer­tain sense and spirit to respond to the can­vas. In the same way, the learn­ing com­mu­nity cre­ates the learn­ing expe­ri­ence together. While the teacher-artist may have skills to decide when to use which instruc­tional strate­gies, the stu­dents, other teach­ers, and the school envi­ron­ment also shape the learn­ing expe­ri­ence. Despite the best les­son plans, the vision that the teacher-artist had in mind may turn out very dif­fer­ently. The teacher’s role con­tributes to the learn­ing expe­ri­ence as a work of art, high­lights points of beauty, and iden­ti­fies areas that “work.” As the colours, shapes, and ideas flow into one, the learn­ing expe­ri­ence becomes a beau­ti­ful piece of art.