For my capstone project I have chosen to work with Michelle Terwilliger.    Together, we have imagined and created curriculum theory dealing with art appreciation, art making, and museum studies that we have translated and articulated into classroom strategies and activities. The main goal of these activities has been to connect our students with a sense of personal cultural identity and how they can both express and experience this identity through community museums as sites of learning.  The lesson plans span four months.  We have implemented our curriculum in a third grade class at Bayview elementary school in Monterey.  For the four months the class has learned about art forms and techniques, artists, and the function of museums.  The students have taken fieldtrips to two museums. The various projects created throughout the four months will be shown in a gallery exhibition at the Monterey Museum of Art.  Students, parents, teachers, and community members will attend the opening.

We are working with two community partners. We are working with Bayview Elementary and, more specifically, Vanessa Bredthauer’s third grade class.  Ms. Vanessa Bredthauer has allowed us complete freedom and control of her twenty third grade students.  Not only has she allowed us to have complete creative control, but she has given us her own feedback in connection with teaching in general.  She has been helpful in curriculum design as well as curriculum critique and project evaluation. Along with Bayview Elementary we are working with the Monterey Museum of Art and specifically Linda Risso, the educational director.   Linda Risso has mentored us throughout our capstone process.  She has allowed us to partner with the Museum and has set up field trips for our students, space and time for our final gallery exhibition, and as has aided us in completing our lesson plans.  With the help of Vanessa Bredthauer and Linda Risso we have been able to create a comprehensive course in art and museum studies for the third grade level. 

Art is an extremely important tool in education.  It is important both on its own and across the curriculum.  It is important that students be able to use their creativity and imaginations in both their schoolwork and throughout their lives.  Because art programs have been cut in most schools, students seldom receive in depth art education.  It is important that all students have some contact with art and museums, especially here in the Monterey Bay where art is a large part of many of the communities and where many museums are present.  It is important that students, at a young age, learn to feel comfortable and confident in both making art and dealing with art in a museum setting.

Because I have been so influenced by art in my own life and plan on being a teacher, art in education is extremely relevant to my life.  I feel that art is a necessary tool in cultivating young minds.  Feeling comfortable around art as well as creating one’s own art is extremely important in a young person’s development.  Art experiences not only impact one’s creativity, but aid in development in figuring out both personal as well as one’s unique cultural identity.

Michelle Terwilliger and I are working together towards an important goal.  We are both extremely driven by our belief in the critical significance of art in the lives of children.  Because we are both focusing on Museum Studies and Art Education in the VPA major we both have a shared outlook on the importance of art in our society and more specifically the impact of art on the children in our society.  Because art is being taken away from our children, and more specifically our school systems, we feel that donating our time and knowledge to the schools is by far the most important gift we may be able to give.  By educating a class on the importance of art, the creation of art, as well as the importance and use of museums, we are giving these children a key to understanding their own community, and better yet a key to themselves.  The Monterey Bay is a community rich in both art and museums.  It is also rich in its diverse populations.  There are many voices to be represented in art and in museums. By teaching these students the benefits of art and the museum they will better be able to utilize these tools within their community.  Art and Education go hand in hand.  Creativity and imagination are important for learning and knowing.  Children learn while having fun, and art is just that.  Art is something that anyone can do; therefore it can be used as a tool for learning.  Art may also be used to develop certain skills such as perception, motor skills, creativity, understanding, imagination, sense of accomplishment, etc.  Introducing art into every day curriculum gives children a greater chance to enjoy pleasure and success in learning.