Page 49 - Journal 89-3 Full

to learn, needle felting can be a great craft for one to pick up easily and create.”
The teachers saw the camp as an opportunity to introduce new skills to a new
audience. What teachers wanted to share with students transferred into the teachers’
instructional practices.
The art teachers also communicated what they wanted students to learn from the
art camp. Teachers’ instructional goals for the students flowed into self-assessment
practices as students experimented with new media. As teacher Amie indicated,
I’m hoping that beyond going home with a finished printmaking project, the
students learn that they can try new things and succeed. They might not be
entirely happy with their first attempt; however, they will hopefully leave
inspired and ready for their next creative endeavor.
Students critiqued their own work to determine if it met their internal standards
before considering if they could try it again. Creating and accomplishing new
tasks successfully was motivating. Courtney’s “hope is for the students to learn
that creating can exist in many different forms. Not all art mediums [sic] are for
everyone, but trying out different kinds can help one channel their inner artistic
side.” Students, like other artists, selected a medium that they enjoyed. The students
assessed if the medium worked for them and if
they could be successful in communicating to
others through that form of art. The aspect of the By integrating Appalachian
student having agency through self-evaluation
connects to the idea of the student’s involvement folk-like culture and visual
with the community through art.
The importance of the classes connected to representation...the students
ideas of developing the child and connecting
the child to their family. The teachers attempted have a chance to feel connected

to make their classes relevant by connecting to their community and their
the students to practices of their families or
ancestors. On trapping and gathering roots, heritage.
Talcon explained,
This craft is important because
it encourages the idea of honoring and
not wasting any parts of the animal. Furthermore, it provides a hands-on
activity for the students to think about how previous generations lived. Many
Appalachians are still trapped into the early [19]80s to provide extra income
for their families and still to this day many folks dig roots to both supplement
their income and maintain regional traditions of living with the land.
Family members, including the students, might still engage in trapping or gathering
roots as a source of income or recreation. Furthermore, all students can work on
observational skills that would transfer to other situations. Although some art
instructors saw the art as a part of human growth and development, other peers saw
it as a continuation of home. For Amie, “Printmaking, like any other Appalachian
craft, is an art form, and art education is vital to brain development in adolescents.
. . . Printmaking encourages higher level thinking, reflective learning, and strong
observational skills in students.” Amie saw the role of home as a place where students
not only are fed but also stimulated as a function of positive family interactions.
These experiences with family supported the furthering of students engaging through
art with their community.

Educators’ Choice 47