Keywords

Teachers, curricular designs, constraints, learning

Abstract

As teachers, we often experience fears of uncertainty and failure. These are moments of not knowing, or moments of the as-yet-unknown. We often resist these moments by filling them with the known and patching them with standardized solutions, planning, and explanations. Schools impose rules, curricular designs, and classroom management on teachers. To resist these constraints, teaching can be a performance of un/doing, a place of anguish, of chance and risk. When Bart writes “Pretender” on his apron, he disrupts the ordinary relationship between teacher and students by sharing the unspoken vulnerabilities of teaching, learning, and art making. As a symbol of the teacher’s vulnerability, it also signals the possibility of failure as a generative stance for artistry and growth.

Original Publication Citation

Francis, B., Graham, M. A. & Barney, D. T. (2018). Pretending to be an art teacher. Visual Arts Research 44(2)

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2017

Publisher

University of Illinois Press

Language

English

College

Fine Arts and Communications

Department

Art

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

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