Entry No. 2
3.13.23
#patchwork
thinking:
My easiest identify experience with inclusion, diversity, and equity, would lie within my own minority identities- I am a woman, I am autistic, I grew up in a lower-middle-class socio-economic status. That said I am also white, born in the US, to an English-speaking family.
In education classes we talk about our experiences with inclusion, our understandings of equity, our observations of diversity, and the intimate identifications of our biases. One of the most eye opening experiences with identifying my own implicit bias and understanding my inherent reactions towards different subjects within discussions of diversity and inclusion, was when I was introduced to Harvard's Implicit Bias Tests. These tests highlighted things I knew about myself but also highlighted what my very, very first reaction to an identity is- this helped me become more aware of my own biases and that I need to be conscious of how I react to and reinforce stereotypes.
This, alongside experiences in other classes, has also emphasized the importance of integrating many different views, experiences, and voices into the content I include in my curriculum.
In an art curriculum, this looks like integrating contemporary and historical artists from a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds- including not only male artists, but also female and queer artists, artists with different abilities, different socio-economic backgrounds, different subjects discussed in their art.
In classroom management, it means taking into consideration the cultural differences between myself and my students- and finding a middle ground where we are efficient at understanding and collaborating with each other despite different social norms we hold.
I have learned to understand that my students and I will have varying opinions and perspectives, but it is my job to give them tools to think and create in their own way, not to create mini-mes that conform to my thought process.
It means integrating student voice into what projects we do, what subject matter we focus on, what artist references we look at. Inclusivity means differentiation and having many ways to achieve success, but it also means being aware that the diverse needs of my students surpass the basic expectation of differentiation for the sake of ability. Differentiation in education creates equitable educations so all students have means to learn and achieve and excel despite the difficulties and how out of touch the education system may be with student needs. I had previously viewed teaching more as directing students on a particular pathway to understanding content, but (especially in art) there are many ways to reach and view the same goal.
Connecting this to theory, I think of previous readings on diversity in terms of race in art, antiracist pedagogies, ability, understanding connections to contemporary art and culture, and accommodation/differentiation within art education.
Utilizing this understanding that I have gained throughout my collegiate career, emphasizing ideas surrounding art education, diversity, inclusion, and equity, and education as a whole- I have more "tools" in my "teacher toolbox". I can also create visual interpretations utilizing my knowledge of symbolism, real life experiences, and theory surrounding diversity, inclusion, and equity. Understanding a wider range of diversity in art also introduces us as artists to new techniques and art styles. Growing, changing our understanding, expanding our worldview, all of these things add to our experience and make us better teachers, as well as artists.
Making:
While thinking of diversity and making art, I thought of a patchwork quilt and how it utilizes a variety of fabrics with different backgrounds. These fabrics could be from other textiles, they could be new, they could be handmade or factory made, they could be recycled, but they can all be combined into a beautiful patchwork quilt as one united object. So, for this piece I created a linocut of a section of a patchwork quilt, that when repeated makes a larger image like a quilt. I also left blank spaces in the middle of the linocut so that I could utilize my letter stamps and spell out words in the quilt. In the one I made this time I utilized my eight spaces to write “kind 2 all”, which encapsulates the bare minimum of what it means to be inclusive.
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