Image Choice Implementation

I couldn't leave my kinders for winter break without VTSing one more time. So I slipped in my image selection for a feel good VTS kick.

Aside: The culture of the region I teach in is Protestant Christian. To the point that I have to discourage religious bullying in some of my upper grades. I thought this image was accessible to the students, but not evangelical. I myself am not christian, and  I do keep my religious persuasion out of the classroom. I chose this image because it would be easily read at some level even by young students - it is part of their visual culture.

I think I had posted earlier that I felt this image would be accessible to this age group because of the drama of the boo-boo. But I was very surprised by the meaning the students attached to this image. The first cause of surprise was the narrative that was formed. The dark clothing and the unhappy expression on the left figure's face gave one student the feeling that the boys in this painting were bad guys who were going to hurt the angel. Some other students added that the boys were taking the angel to a castle. One said the angel's head was about to be chopped off. There is a black horizontal line in the middle ground that crosses the stream and intersects with the angel's back. My kinders noticed this detail that I hadn't and three students said it was sticking out of the angel's back. One said it was the reason the angel was hurt, Two others said it was stuck into her back like a knife or a sword.

Not everyone interpreted the paining with the same meaning, though.  One person verbalized that they thought the boys were helping the angel by carrying her. Another student said that the angel's eyes were hurt. He also added that there was water in the flowers she is holding, and the water would help her eyes. This leads to discuss the level of logic that is becoming more evident with the kinders. Prior to the eye statement, a student had noticed that the flowers the angel was holding was similar to the flowers growing in the landscape behind her. (The boys had picked the flowers to give to her). Another point of interest was their discussion about directionality in the painting. Even though the students still don't address each other directly, there was disagreement about which way the stream flowed and how that affected the meaning. One person said the river was flowing from the ocean in the back to the bottom. Another addressed it later by saying he thought it was flowing up. During the discussion a person had said that the boys were trying to carry the angel to the river in the background so they could find a boat to get her some help. Another student said they couldn't be carrying her to the water because they were walking in the opposite direction. VTS lets me glimpse into their logic in a way I haven't seen in the past.

Now that we are at mid-year, the kinders are past their honeymoon period. There is a core group of students that I could VTS without distraction. But I have noticed that during our past few VTS sessions, there are students who ask, "We aren't going to make anything to day?" Which is kosher with me because kids come to art to "do." Also, kindergartners also have art for 20 minutes at a time. I reply that talking about art is just as important as doing, and that  I enjoy their discussions so much. Most of the students are eager to talk about art, though at the 8/9 minute mark I lose about 1/4 the class to fidgeting. The problem is, there are students who still want to talk about the artwork. Another quarter can stay focused during the disruptions and insist on keeping their hands up in the air. The other half can be swayed depending on their disposition to stay focused or be drawn into the playing. So I am ending this post with a question to all, In your opinion, how do I best manage the misbehaviors? I am O.K. with setting a timer for 10 minutes or less, and will try this first. But this caters to the fidgeters. How do I differentiate for those who are eager and are capable for a prolonged discussion? Independent writing is not an option because of their age.


AND ONE LAST THING: One of students offered evidence for her comment without being prompted. I was mentally in disbelief when it happened. She made a comment about the boys helping the angel and said it was because they were holding the poles and carrying her. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Summative Project

Here is the sculpture so far. My beginning concept was "layers," like in the layers of thinking a VTS facilitator has to do, and the layers and categories of audience that appear during a session. I wanted to incorporate movement into the sculpture. The figures you see in the video are on hinges, but most do not allow the figures to stand up on their own. I need to go back to the drawing board in the case of the hinges. I have also included some still images of Red Grooms work. When I was thinking of how to construct the figures, I kept thinking of Red Grooms' Ruckus Manhattan, because I have a very ruckus classroom. I was drawn by the caricatures, colors, and business of his work. The figures you see are snapshots of the students'  behaviors.  VTSing with these students has provided an education into their thinking and personalities that I would not see otherwise, for the most part.

At the time of this post, the plaster base is gone, gone to the dumpster. It still hasn't dried, and the marker from the bottom of the figures was starting to seep into the plaster. Most of the hinges have been removed also. My future plans for this work is creating more of an environment, and adding the other people who come in and out of the room during this class period.

update #2