stuck in objectivity

Ewan McIntosh (a Scottish educator) says that knowledge is more than knowing; it is adding wisdom to the equation. Education is about what we have learned in the past and what more could we know. It’s about how do we know this information?

For example, I am asked to read handouts about art from the 15th century to the present. It is in outline form, presenting the major movements in art, their “founders”, the major artists and their dates of birth, et cetera:

I. Expressionism (late 19th to 20th century)
- paintings use a lot of color and is grotesque
- emphasizes the feelings of the painter
- Painter is the founding father (19XX – 19XX)
- born in Berlin
- famous work of art: two women screaming (19XX)
- died of hunger

II. Impressionism (early 19th century)
- interested in objective representation
- dealt mostly in landscapes
- Another Painter started the movement (18XX-19XX)
- born and died in Paris
- most famous painting: another weird painting

The discussion invariably focuses around the outline, with different groups of students providing “extra information” and catchy visual aids. One week later, the system requires our teacher to “test” our knowledge of the topic. Following are the questions:

1. Who is the founding father of expressionism?
2. In what year was the person in number 1 born?
3. What kind of art usually features landscapes?
4. What is the famous work of art by Another Painter?

Reflecting on this, how important is it really to test what the student knows about these facts? Even outside of the classroom, it is very easy to obtain information. One can easily pull an encyclopedia from the shelf and look up who started Expressionism. In this Internet age, one need only point their browser to Wikipedia and a host of other repositories of information, and the facts are easy picking. What we need our teachers to do is to guide us through the thought process that is hard to have without a guide. Now, imagine this alternative discussion:

Art is a reflection of what a society considers beautiful. Why did Expressionism come into being when it did? What does it say about the human situation in that time? How does this “focus on emotion” manifest itself in other aspects of human society?

And of course, the coup de grace,

Relate this to the present. How do our present art movements reflect our society?

This kind of analysis makes students think more critically, and develops their capability to make meaningful insights. This is the kind of skill our knowledge-driven society demands of our students.

It is just too bad that our teachers will not be able to develop their lessons plans this way. Why? Because the system constrains them with objective assessments and grades and all that (imagine our teachers having to check the essays of 175 students). But that’s just me talking.

Teachers, what do you have to say about this?