VLVC wk 1 - An Introduction to Visual Literacy

Readings this week:

1. Cylde, Jean. “Lessons from Douglas: Expanding Our Visions of What It Means to ‘Know’.” Language Arts. Vol. 71. January 1994. 
2. Shlain, Leonard. “Visually Speaking: Keeping the Arts Alive.” Edutopia.org. 26 September 2005. <http://www.edutopia.org/visually-speaking>.

Thoughts as I read: 

   First I read about Douglas. That's a kid, not a school. Douglas is a kid in first grade who the teacher notices isn't as dumb as she first thought. Not that she says it like that. Its more like she had an epiphany that smart can come in all forms and may not be easy to see at first. Duh. but then, I'm an art teacher and I often see those kids who were written off by others. Luckily, I also get to see them bloom when they realize there is something in school they can be good at - art. And to me its a combination of a few things, 1) teachers who look for the talents, whatever they might be, in their students instead of the "right" answers; 2) teachers who are encouraging and motivating and care enough to keep prodding at those students who seem to have given up on themselves; and 3) a subject that allows for multiple creative answers in a language and format different than what is the usual. And that seemed to be the real reason for the article. Supporting a point of view that starts the dialogue about how we can reach kids and what other ways we need to be assessing kids than just the usual. That talking to kids and listening, really listening, allows us to better understand them. 

   And then I read the Shlain article. A few random thoughts that floated in while reading... 

• When Shlain references the arts, after the 3 R's, why did he leave out theatre? Especially since he goes on later to talk about film. Seemed weird. 
• "But despite dire warnings...the worst we can expect will probably be that fewer young people will read Jane Austen books and more will rent Austin Powers movies." Don't get me wrong, I'm a lover of Austen and classic canonical literature, and a big supporter of having more exposure to it in schools, however... Really? This seems like an odd point to make after asserting that we are in a new age where people will be more creative and better communicators. Don't you think that we will be creating a new canon of classics, only in a new language? And if we begin to teach students how to analyze visual images and interpret them, won't we only be creating more sophisticated material? Austin Powers, though immature, juvenile, and crass at times, was successful because of the satire and myriad of references to source material. It was a sophisticated purveyor of visual culture that invented the character of Austen Powers and was able to write three stories that each wove together historical pop culture references (film, fashion, historical events, art, cultural attitudes, etc.). If the issue is reading versus viewing that is an altogether different argument (getting deja vu here thinking about the artistic thinking class and research in art ed's discussion of material vs digital culture). But each, Austen and Myers, were adept at commenting on the time in which they lived in reference to the culture they were surrounded by. What a funny comment, Mr. Shlain.  
• I often think we are in a decline of civilization. Global warming not being the only reason, but also that people don't think as often as they should and we don't embrace the attributes that restore and revitalize a culture. And by don't think I mean we don't analyze. We are quick to distraction and actually celebrate and revel in being talented in not thinking. Or maybe that's just some of the people I have around me. (and hey, I'm guilty of it too sometimes. Its easy to get swept up in the way things are and the culture we are in the middle of.)

OKay. On to the questions for the week...  

*How would you define visual literacy and visual culture?
*What type of background did you receive in school regarding visual literacy and visual culture? *Why/How/Where should visual literacy and visual culture be taught in schools?
*What do you hope to get from this class? 

• I would define visual literacy as the ability to read and interpret visual images in order for them to be used as communication. Visual culture would be the images we find ourselves surrounded by and influenced by in our daily interactions with others. 

• I received basically zero formal education in visual literacy / visual culture. I do remember a few instances in HS where a creative honors english teacher would prompt our writing with images instead of a written assignment however. It stuck with me b/c I always wrote with images floating through my head. It was nice to be given that to start with. It all began with the images from The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris van Allsburg. So freaking cool. But it wasn't really about learning anything to do with visual literacy or visual culture, it was more about using visual literacy to prompt writing literacy (not sure that's the correct term there - not an english teacher after all.) And I took a lot of art classes. But again, nothing purposeful. All happy accident if I learned anything about how images communicate. It was more about the skills associated with the medium or the elements and principles.

• I think in the coming day and age visual literacy skills are going to be vital. And maybe its because I'm an art teacher, or maybe its because I have children and I am in the middle of witnessing this incredible developmental stage & growth they are in where they see so much in an image without being able to read yet, but it seems to me to be such a core of who we are as human beings. Using images to communicate. It speaks to my soul and resonates with my gut. Dr. Unrath mentioned that as art teachers we usually have this ability to know things with our guts before our minds catch up. Reading Shlain it makes me think that maybe our right brains are just catching on quicker and our left brains are having to sort it all out in a linear fashion before we can articulate what it is we "know" with evidence, facts, or data. When I think about where / how visual literacy should be taught I think everywhere. It needs to be more seamlessly integrated. Like a habit of mind, not a separate discipline. But, if we have to start somewhere a natural fit seems to me to be theatre and visual arts classes. Psychology classes, media classes & information literacy classes (business departments - I'm talking to you...), and maybe even health classes. But it should start earlier than secondary, that's just my backyard so I immediately jump there. If we are integrating this way of analyzing the world around us, why shouldn't it start with elementary - preschool, even - kids? Get them thinking about what it is they see? (VTS jumps to mind here...) Young kids are doing it naturally. We, then, as adults need to embrace it. I think sometimes at this juncture that we ( I mean, a certain generation of teacher)  are at a disadvantage because we were taught a certain way and may have become really good to thinking linearly. And it may take some time to retrain how we think in order to better prepare the future. But first we gotta wrap our own heads around how it is they learn, and how they see the world differently because of the delivery of visual images to their eyes. I just keep thinking about the small difference in how my students watch cartoons compared to how I did when I was little; and how different that is going to be compared to my own kids that watch everything on a DVR or Netflix (- instant streaming!).

• What do I hope to get from this class? Oh, jeez. I hope I don't put too much pressure on you Mr. Kremer, but I'm hoping this will start to retrain my mind to think different. That even though I feel more comfortable seeing in images that I will come to understand more about what it is that makes visual literacy so important, tips for teaching through it, for getting my students to understand what they are seeing and how that changes the way they think. I hope it helps me break down my thinking. And gives me the key to translating my gut. I hope it gives me somewhere to start because I have these couple of visual literacy books that I am interested in reading (you know, for fun - in my free time, when I get some of that again) but find that they are a tad bit over my head at this point. I'm hoping for the veil to be lifted.