Social Justice in the Elementary Art Classroom

How do you imagine teaching social justice issues in elementary school?
In Chapter 18, "We Begin Again After the Tabula Rasa", the thoroughness and complexity of veteran art teacher Anne Thulson's plans for incorporating social justice in her elementary classroom seem quite intimidating. She has collaborated with classroom teachers to coincide what she teaches with what is already being taught outside the artroom. Preparing the focus of her lessons requires a significant amount of coordination between the parties involved. The intricacy undertaken in her planning is ideally what I would like to take on someday. In the meantime, with less experience and not having encountered the numerous tribulations yet to manifest themselves that will shape the kind of art teacher I will inevitably become, I have what I have learned thus far in my teaching career to guide me. My intended course of action for educating my elementary students on social justice issues relies heavily on collaborating with classroom teachers, pulling from historic and current events and issues that have the greatest impact on the communities in which my students live, and drawing parallels between their lives and other inhabitants from all over the world. Teaching students empathy, as is the focus of chapter 13, will allow my students to recognize and overcome adversity not only for themselves, but for others as well. This is a necessary component of teaching social justice at any age level. 
 

What strategies and ideas emerge in chapters 13 and 18 of Art Education for Social Justice that would help plan realistic and meaningful projects for kindergarten through fifth grade students?
Reading chapters 13 and 18 has equipped me with several additions to my teaching strategy toolbox. I would like to incorporate the use of field notes, photographs, and film to document and study student participation and interests, as was used by Michelle Creel in chapter 13 when studying students for the Eco-Wall of Hope project. This information can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of my planning and instruction, as well as assisting to direct the course of the students' studies over time. The partnership between schools and grade levels when working on the project was also inspiring. It gave deeper meaning to the project to give students role models and the opportunity to be a role model themselves. It builds on a sense of community and common ground between students of different age levels. Students could use more chances to interact with peers that are not of the same walk of life. The creation of works that exist beyond the walls of the classroom was also employed in these chapters. Using this approach, students see more of the bigger picture and how art relates to everything we learn about and do. In chapter 18, students learned about the war between Spain and Mesoamerica in their homeroom and the art room. This creates a more holistic representation of not only the history that was taught, but education itself, by showing learning can be achieved through diverse processes. We can and should use what students are learning elsewhere to fuel what we teach them as well. Tapping upon resources that are available to us is an excellent beginning for teaching social justice. Anne Thulson used documents that are all too real, videos, photographs, etc. to convey the meaning she was hoping her students would find.The point was that students should find and develop their own significance in what they are being taught. The teacher again becomes merely a guide towards an end goal. This exponentially effects the way students connect with what they learn.