Exploring the potential of inquiry. (Teacher Talk).

Mary Erickson National Art Education Association's National Art Educator of the Year 2002 Professor of Art Arizona State University Tempe, Arizona Author of Stories of Art

SchoolArts: Mary, what qualities do you look for in a teacher?

Mary Erickson: Good teachers can articulate a clear and persuasive mission that transcends slogans and cliques. Good teachers are skilled in critical reflection, and use those skills to guide the moment-by-moment judgments they face each day in their interactions with young people. Good teachers have a strong commitment to teaching, built, not only on knowledge and experience, but also on caring and compassion. I think teachers are good in many different ways.

SA: What would you most like to see changed in the way art is taught in schools today?

ME: I'd like to see art teachers ask themselves if a kind of imperialism might sometimes creep into their instruction under the flags of the elements and principles of design and the search for new ideas. What do students learn when they are asked to interpret artworks from diverse artistic traditions simply through elements and principles or in response to the question "How does it make you feel?" or when encouraged to borrow ideas and change them a little?

I'd like to see teachers select fewer artworks and present them with more contextual information so that they and their students can begin to understand the significance of those artworks for the people for whom they were made. Art teachers are in a special position to help young people appreciate and preserve the world's diverse artistic heritage.

I'd also like to see more attention to sequential and articulated art curricula. Elementary and secondary art instruction can be more effective when teachers in later grades can count on teachers in earlier grades having already introduced certain concepts and skills. Good art teachers tailor their instruction to the needs and interests of their students and communities, and take advantage of educational opportunities as they arise.

The challenge is to balance teacher innovation and opportunism with the effectiveness of a consistent and cumulative curriculum.

SA: You've published in many venues and written about many aspects of art education. Of your past work, what has been the most meaningful to you? And what do you think has been your single most important contribution to the field?

ME: I feel as if I've basically been plugging away at one idea for thirty years now. I used to think that idea was about how art historians reason, but the idea has broadened through the years. I've been trying to understand how young people and adults can develop their abilities to inquire about artworks as the basis for drawing their own conclusions about the meaning and value of art. This idea is at the core of most of my research, writing, curriculum, and instructional resource development.

Token Response, an instructional resource that I co-authored, has reached a great number of young people and adults through the years in museums, classrooms, and teacher institutes. By initiating reflection about artworks, I'd like to imagine that Token Response has piqued the curiosity of many and motivated at least a few to begin to inquire about art.

SA: What challenges motivate your continuing investment in art education?

ME: When tractors began to dominate farming, my grandfather retired rather than making the transition from horses. When I bought my first 64K computer in 1982, I was too young to retire, even though I dreamed of nothing finer than a good fountain pen and my very own Selectric typewriter. In an era when so many images and so much unsorted information is available at the click of a mouse, helping young people and adults learn how to build inquiry strategies and how to reflect critically on what they discover are increasingly important goals for me. I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to design an online art course for university students. With the invaluable cooperation and guidance of a team of art teachers, this fall, middle school and high school students will complete our first secondary-level online art program. I am excited to continue exploring the potential of digitally based art inquiry.