Mood, meaning, and purpose. (Editor's Comments).

As we start out this new school year, how can we set the course for an art-filled life for all students? We asked ourselves this question as we planned the magazine for the coming year. We answered it by making sure that each issue of the magazine reflects solid ideas about art, incorporates cutting-edge ideas about teaching and learning, and connects with a comprehensive approach to art education.

Our Ideas about Art

All kids need to understand that throughout time and around the world: (1) people make art; (2) art has meaning; (3) people respond to art; (4) art reflects the time and place in which it is made; and (5) people wonder about this stuff.

Our Ideas about Teaching and Learning

Global implications in education are increasingly evident. Certainly the Internet and the events of last September make the need for global awareness greater now than ever. Students ought to see their needs, values, and beliefs in relation to those of the diverse people throughout the world, and especially in their local communities.

As students move from the personal and their communities to the global, they construct knowledge of their world. They build on prior knowledge by making connections among their experiences.

One thing we've all learned from school reform is to reflect on our actions. We ask questions such as:

"Why do we do what we do?"

"What's the point of this lesson?"

"Why is it important for kids to be doing this?"

The bottom line in planning a learning experience is that it has to be worth the students' time!

Connecting with a Comprehensive Approach

To fully engage in the study of art, students need to make and respond to art. Making art is a complex, cognitive act. It engages the intellect and channels emotions as it gives form to feeling. Responding to art provides insights as it prompts questions about mood, meaning, and purpose.

To improve student learning in art, we are interested in sharing articles about meaningful art problems that connect to who students are, what they know, and how they will live their lives. Thus, to unify each issue, we look to human experience for themes.

Ernest Boyer refers to experiences that are shared by all people as human commonalities:

* We all experience the life cycles from womb to tomb--cycles that are marked by celebrations and commemorations.

* We all develop symbols--to communicate, to express ideas.

* We all respond to the aesthetic--we see and respond to beauty.

* We all have the capacity to recall the past and anticipate the future. We have memories, histories, we tell stories, we make predictions, we prepare for our future.

* We all develop some form of social bonding. We form groups from families to political parties.

* We all are connected to the ecology of the planet. We realize how fragile the earth is.

* We all produce and consume. We work, we play, and we shop.

* We all seek meaning and purpose in our lives. Beyond work, we also have spiritual lives. We care about issues and try to make a difference. We express our moods and feelings in response to these issues.

What We Believe

We believe that: (1) kids lives and their actions are reflected in these eight commonalities; (2) art and artists are an integral part of these common human experiences; (3) using themes in the planning of significant art problems will help students see learning in art as being a part of something large and important; and (4) thematic content stays with you.

Putting Beliefs into Action

Here's this month's theme statement which we shaped to guide our planning:

* We all seek meaning and purpose in our lives, beyond our work.

* Through our actions, we show that we care about issues and hope to make a difference.

* Artists express moods and feelings about, and in response to, important issues that have meaning and purpose in our lives.

* Art has meaning and purpose.

Why We Do What We Do

We want the content of SchoolArts to pave the way for future encounters with art. We want articles to link life experiences with art and to prepare students for a life-long journey with art. We want SchoolArts to be a thematic experience. And finally, we hope you will find most of the articles in this issue to be about the expression of mood, meaning, and purpose.

Eldon Katter, Editor