Disruption-The Teaching Artist Watchcry

July 2, 2014

The art of teaching, the teaching of art.  Here I am at the International Teaching Artist Conference listening a whole lot about work that folks are doing in settings across the globe.  Two feelings pop out for me continually.  Validation.  It’s nice to know that the work I do compares favorably with work in many other places.  Too often I feel my work is disconnected from what happens elsewhere,  as if I am playing a great trick on the world; I don’t really know what I am doing and soon people will figure it out.  So, good to feel good about yourself.

Second, I feel frustrated.  The conversations are often people giving themselves a pat on the back for their good work, but we don’t get into more substantial conversations.  Don’t get me wrong, it can be lovely to hear about others work, but with such a group of experienced people,  imagine how focused,  investigative questions could uncover engaging and challenging ideas about the potential future of the field.

Come on teaching artists of the world!  Let’s disrupt the ease of comfortable conversations and consider how we inspire people to creative joy and purposeful action.