The Teaching of Art Related to the Home Part 11

One of the most valuable evidences of improved practices that I see from our art work is the girls' appreciation of things that are beautiful and their desire to acquire a few truly beautiful things for their own rooms and homes.

An itinerant teacher trainer describes a lesson in related art which she observed. It is given here for its very practical suggestion of a means for measuring results of teaching:

The day before my visit the teacher had taken all the girls of her cla.s.s to a city about 18 miles away to purchase Christmas gifts for their mothers. The girls had limited themselves as to possible types of gifts within their limited means and at the same time suitable for their mothers. Only one gift cost more than $1 and that was the joint gift of two sisters to their mother. The cla.s.s had agreed that each gift should be of such nature that the application of art principles studied would be involved in making a choice. They had practically confined themselves to pictures, beads, book ends, or vases.

All of the gifts had been brought to the home-economics rooms for storage until the Christmas tea when they would be presented to the mothers.

The girls brought out all their purchases and all entered into the judging without false modesty. In some cases the purchasers were able to suggest improvements in future purchases.

The entire group showed unusual poise, self-confidence, and good judgment, as well as tact, in making suggestions.

The new problem arising from this lesson of designing an invitation to the annual Christmas tea for the mothers was a very real one to the girls. The principles of balance were taught and applied, and the girls decided on a design for the invitation.

Various tests and problems may also serve to measure the results of art teaching. A description of the test which was used at the end of one art unit, as a basis for determining the use the pupils were able to make of that training, is here included. It is hoped that this plan may prove suggestive to other teachers.

The test was given at the close of an art unit which had been conducted according to the method described earlier in this section. (See Section IV, pp. 34 to 42.) The cla.s.s consisted of ninth-grade girls and met for daily cla.s.s periods, 80 minutes in length.

At the beginning of the period on this day the teacher told the cla.s.s that the first part of the period was to be devoted to a make-believe shopping trip. In this test, cost was not a factor but the material used did not include too wide a range in values. Slips with the names of the articles for which they were to shop and directions were prepared. Some of the shopping was to be done individually and some of it by groups. When all were finished the shoppers were to meet in the cla.s.sroom and be given an opportunity to see all of the "purchases" and to know why each selection had been made. The slips were then pa.s.sed out from which the pupils were to draw. The directions for procedure on the slips were as follows:

1. Select from the box of scarfs the one you think would be most suitable to wear with the blue coat that is in the clothing room.

(Three girls drew copies of this slip and worked together in choosing the scarf and justifying the final choice.)

2. For the plain tailored flannel school dress hanging in the clothing room, select a scarf or some appropriate accessory which could be worn with the dress to introduce variety. (Three girls worked on this shopping problem.)

3. Mrs. B. wishes to use this colored picture and these blue-green pottery candlesticks in an arrangement on her mantel. She does not know what color of candles to buy. She is afraid that if she uses blue-green candles the color combination will be monotonous.

Which of these candles would you suggest? Why? (There was considerable variation in the candles provided. In addition to several hues from which to select there were plain as well as decorated candles, and some variations in length. Two girls made this selection.)

4. Suppose your bedroom were a small one and had but one window in it. Select from these samples the wallpaper design that you think would make the room look larger and the material to use for draperies in the room. (A large wallpaper sample book and several samples of plain and figured fabrics in a variety of colors were provided for the two girls who did this shopping.)

5. You are to have a new print dress. Which of these pieces of material would you choose as having the most rhythmic design?

Which tr.i.m.m.i.n.g material do you think would be best to use with it? (Several samples of printed materials were pinned together and each pupil who drew a copy of this slip was given a separate set from which to choose. Bias tape, braid, and lace, as well as plain and printed fabrics, were provided for tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs.)

6. Choose from these printed fabrics the one that you think would be most suited in color and design for some member of this cla.s.s.

Tell for whom you have made the selection, justify your choice, and suggest the tr.i.m.m.i.n.g that you think would be most appropriate.

(The selections were made from a miscellaneous group of samples, printed and plain materials in a variety of colors.)

7. From colored fabrics plan three color combinations that could be used for a dress. Describe the combinations that you have used in each as to hue, value, and intensity, indicating areas of each color and justify their use together. (An a.s.sortment of fabrics separate from those used by other pupils was prepared for this group to save time and to enable the pupils to work independently.

If fabrics are not available, papers may be used, although colors are never the same as in fabrics.)

As soon as the "purchases" were all completed the pupils individually or as group representatives, exhibited the selections to the cla.s.s and gave the reasons justifying each choice. The entire cla.s.s partic.i.p.ated in commending or criticizing the selections made and the reasons given.

Here the teacher was able not only to measure the individual's ability to solve a given problem but to observe how readily the pupils could recognize desirable selections and offer correct art reasons as the basis for those selections.

Immediately following the reports, the pupils took their places around the tables in the clothing laboratory, and the remainder of the period was devoted to individual and written judgments of materials which were pa.s.sed around the cla.s.s. This material was numbered, and to each piece was attached a slip of paper containing suggestive questions and directions as follows:

1. To which of these mounted pictures do you think the margins are best suited? Why? (The pictures cut from magazines were suitable for the cla.s.sroom or a girl's room and were mounted on a neutral construction paper. Only one had margins suited to the size and shape of the picture.)

2. Which of these stamped and addressed envelopes do you think has the most pleasing margins? Why? (Several envelopes differing in size and shape were addressed and stamped in a variety of ways.)

3. Which of these dress designs are balanced? Select one that you have decided is not balanced and suggest the changes necessary to make it so. (Ill.u.s.trations of several dress designs that the pupils themselves might use were chosen from a current fashion sheet and were mounted and numbered. Attention was first focused on the designs which were balanced and then on the possibility of improving those that were not balanced.)

4. In which of these pieces of china do you think the design is in harmony with the shape of the dish and would make a suitable background for food? Justify your choice. (In the absence of real china, magazine advertis.e.m.e.nts of china furnished the necessary examples from the standpoint of color and design.)

5. Which of these three border designs has rhythm made most beautiful? Why? (Advertis.e.m.e.nts of towels with borders furnished the designs.)

6. Is this calendar pleasing in proportion? Give reasons for your answer. (The calendar was quite a long rectangle in shape, but the margins were well suited to it, and the entire s.p.a.ce was well divided.)

7. What in this picture catches your attention first? How has the artist emphasized it? (The picture used was one taken from a magazine cover and was a copy of a painting of recognized merit.)

8. Which of these fabrics has the most pleasing combination of stripes? Why is that piece more pleasing than the other two?

(Cotton materials were provided with stripes varying from those that were regularly repeated at intervals as wide as the stripes, to those in which there was an interesting grouping of stripes of varying widths.)

9. Which of the containers pictured in this advertis.e.m.e.nt would you select to use for an arrangement of flowers? Why? (The containers varied from those which were undecorated and well proportioned, to those which were elaborate in shape as well as in surface decoration.)

10. On this page are two color combinations. Tell what scheme has been used and by what means the colors have been harmonized.

(These combinations were cut from magazine advertis.e.m.e.nts in which the combinations were pleasing. The colors had been harmonized through the quality of each color as well as the area.)

In each of the above situations the answer was not considered adequate if the pupil had merely made a choice. A reason was needed to substantiate that choice and the most complete answer was based on the principles of art which applied in each case. This did not mean that formal statements of the principles were required. It was considered much more desirable to have the pupils give in their own words the art reasons which justified each choice.

That such a test gives pertinent evidence of the use pupils are able to make of their art training is shown in the words of the teacher who gave the above test:

I did not want my students to feel that art work was something to be memorized until the course was over but a thing to be carried through life. I was very much pleased with the results I obtained from the cla.s.s. The pupils responded to the idea that art could be used in every phase of life even when it came to writing up their daily lessons. They no longer thought of art as something accomplished only by professional artists, nor the word as meaning painting and drawing, but as the feeling or appreciation of things beautiful in line, design, and color. By having them constantly put into practice the art principles which they learned, by the end of the art unit the pupils had enough confidence in themselves to back up each choice that they made with a reason. I felt that this type of a test was a true test of their art knowledge because it was practical.

Immediately the question arises as to the source of materials to use in such a test, for it is evident that those used as ill.u.s.trative material for developing or applying principles in cla.s.s can not be reused in the test.

For questions 1, 2, and 3 of the first part (p. 59) the materials used may be borrowed from a store or solicited from interested friends. The girls themselves may be asked in advance to bring in a scarf and some dress accessory. Since the choice is confined to an article suited for a particular garment that choice ceases to be a personal one, although some pupil-owned garments and accessories are used. Drug stores, paint shops, and drapery departments may be solicited for wall paper catalogues and samples of fabrics. Some firms will send fair-sized samples or swatches of material for cla.s.s use.

In the second part of the test (pp. 60-62) magazine ill.u.s.trations and advertis.e.m.e.nts proved to be most usable. Ill.u.s.trative materials have long been recognized as having an important part to play in the teaching of home economics. The possibilities of their use in testing the results of teaching have not yet been fully appreciated. Further suggestions on ill.u.s.trative materials will be found in Section VI, page 75. The objective type test also has its place in measuring results.[26]

As has been suggested, many tangible evidences of the effectiveness of art instruction may be observed and several of them can be noted in the cla.s.sroom. Others of equal or greater importance can not be measured in the cla.s.sroom, but can only be determined by the teacher as she visits the home, supervises home projects, and partic.i.p.ates with her pupils in the life of the community. The home project has been an essential part of the vocational program in home economics since the inauguration of the vocational program in 1917-1918. It has afforded an opportunity for extending the work of the cla.s.sroom into the home and has developed additional desirable abilities through practice under normal conditions. The project carried on in the home has therefore been considered a valuable educational procedure.

It is also a measure of results of teaching in that it shows how well the girl is able to apply cla.s.sroom training to actual situations that arise in her project. Art can contribute to the success of many home improvement and clothing projects. There has been a tendency in some cases, however, for the pupil's interest in the actual manipulative processes involved in the project to be so great that she lost sight of the opportunities for the best applications of art.

In the home project "Redecorating my room," there is evidence that the pupil has consciously applied art for the successful attainment of it. This project, reported as follows, grew out of the unit in home furnishing, which is recommended as an additional study following the first general course in art related to the home.

_Name of project._--Redecorating my bedroom.

_Plan of project._--Since my bedroom must be repapered and painted, I plan to make it as attractive as possible by following some of the things we have had in our art work in home economics.

The plaster of the walls is not suitable for painting, so I will select some light and cheerful colored paper with figures in warm pastel shades.

The woodwork, which is a pea-green color, is quite dull and cool for a north room and needs brightening up, so instead of having the same color again, I will paint it a light cream or ivory.

A dark-yellow paint covers the floor, which is quite worn in some places. I do not like this color, so my plan is to use either light brown or tan, at least something darker than the walls, as I want the floors darkest, the walls next, and the ceiling the lightest.

To make the furniture, which is now varnished, blend with the color of the woodwork and floor, it too will have to be painted a color lighter than the floor or darker than the woodwork.

In place of white tie-back curtains, deep cream or some other color darker than the white will be more suitable with plain-colored draperies, as they will blend with the ivory woodwork and enameled furniture.

In order to contrast the curtains with the bedspread and dresser scarf, I think the spread and scarf can be a lighter cream color.