Studio Thinking: A Superb Guide for Art Teachers

Studio or Classroom? That is the essential question of this book, aptly titled Studio Thinking. Should an art class be inherently different from any other classroom, or do we need the same rows of desks and a teacher at the blackboard? Art classes are usually messy, and perhaps they should be. There won’t be as many books involved, but there will be lots of charcoal dust. Should the teacher be at the front, or should he/she be at the rear, so the students can develop in their own way?

Studio Thinking is published by Teachers College (the Columbia University graduate school for educators) which has a serious reputation for art education. If you’re ever in a top private school in the city, chances are that the art teacher is a Teachers College alum. But at the same time, the school (and this book) leaves one thing out. They don’t directly address the issue of the reluctant learner. That is one thing that’s always on a teachers’ mind at the start of school. The smart ones worry to themselves “I bet the minute I walk in there they’ll yell “fuck you” and piss all over the floor,” because that’s the very worst. The very least is that they’ll want to have headphones in their ears, and that’s curable. You need to be an educator first, artist second.

Critiques are highly stressed in Studio Thinking, and indeed, they are a powerful tool in any class, not just art. In most classes, the kids never see each other’s work, but in an art class, they can learn from each other (chapter 3, The Work Does the Teaching.) But hang on, we don’t want any nasty criticism! There’s no room here for “that’s stupid” or “that’s ugly.” Critiques can be a great way to learn mutual respect. Even in an English class, it can make sense to have the students critique each other’s essays and stories. If a kid hears that his essay “is lacking,” then he can react two ways; he can give up, or work more competitively.

I would recommend this book for new teachers, just like Harry Wong’s First Day of School. In the same spirit as Wong’s famous book, it teaches you how to structure your classroom for success, only in this case it’ll be a lot messier.