It is vital for my art program, that I have created and implemented, to showcase the work created by the children of St Paul's Lutheran School. St Paul's is a private school and does not receive the funding that may sustain the "extras" which art is so often considered. The principal approached me in the summer of 2018 to write a curriculum for the art in the upper grades, 5-8. In the 2019 school year the lower grades K-4 were added in the curriculum. The art program's supplies come from donations of the school and of the congregation. Most parents, congregation, board of education, are in agreement that art is vital to St Paul's creative climate. Most value art education and do believe in a separate program for the general education classroom. The advocacy is for the funding of the position. It is imperative that I take every opportunity to exhibit the fruit of these little hands. The children need to know that their creations are valued. The parents need to know that the creations are valued but also displayed for them to see. The congregation needs to know what their donations support, and the board of education needs to know the school is succeeding in the education of young minds. All advocacy aside, didn't these children do an awesome job? Sunlight, color, and the manipulation of media, beautiful creativity. One little girl said, "I'm going to make a beautiful butterfly" and she did.

Last night, I was blessed with the opportunity to share a creative evening with my co-workers. I was inspired to bring a paint night to our faculty and staff at St Paul's Church and School. Almost all of the participants were apprehensive about painting. (To be honest I was a bit apprehensive to share my painting skills or instruction with them, it was a healthy and normal fear on both sides. A new experience for the group. Recently I am learning to embrace ambiguity and discomfort of the unfamiliar.) The evening went well and the painting took about two and a half hours. I was so please with the result of so much variety. I tried to encourage a creative approach to the individual's skyline, making them consider painting a wilderness, or the Eiffel Tower, or any locale that might excite them. My example however was a mimic of Van Gogh's creation, so in the end most of the participants took my lead. I plan to exhibit the results during our student's art show in April. I think it will be fun for our students to see the work of our teacher's pastor, and staff, beside their creations and fruits of the year.

Mr. Harsh uses visual examples, vocabulary, descriptive narratives for real life connections to the world that surrounds his students. He tries to connect aesthetics to the student through things they might experience in day to day. He engages his students with visual examples and asks questions to get them to think critically. He challenges the student to use vocabulary to describe an aesthetic experience. The students are engaged because they respond to his lesson with eye contact, laughter, eye contact, by performing the exercise, and sharing their work with the class. Mr. Harsh uses art history, aesthetics, criticism, art  looking, philosophy, economy, government in class discussions. The topics covered in class relate directly to their life. The students vocabulary expands and so the the production of their art. I am not sure there are topics Mr. Harsh touches on that I would not discuss. I have a willingness to be open (within reason) to a class discussion, if it focuses on the exploration of a concept and it is fruitful in discovery related to the lesson. In the video, Mr. Harsh uses visual aids that are prints and illustrations, of vocabulary or concepts. In classrooms today, educators use smart boards and power points. In an art classroom today the content is still applicable and the experiment is universal, the visuals would most likely become digital. In my classroom my smartboard does not work, although I have the power points created for each lesson. In adaptation I use books and printed visual aids, not far off from Mr.Harsh’s technology!
https://youtu.be/74DjEGoS-YE

When looking to the teaching, awareness, or inclusion of aesthetics in art education, a philosophical approach is necessary. Philosophy in art education should cause both educator and student to “think and express oneself clearly, carefully analyzing problems and issues considering alternatives, drawing connections and crafting strong arguments and sound decisions through the application of reason”(Anderson/Mcrorie). There were two perspectives mentioned in both articles on which to view art’s existence, universalism/formalism and pluralism/contextualism. Universalism/formalism is the ideal that form is a universal language and the principles of art and design are the foundation. In pluralism/contextualism art has a purpose beyond decoration or form, but rather functions as a means of communication.  Both of these perspectives are important considerations in which to categorize a larger view of educators approach in their class specific curriculum. 
These articles were written in a time when art education was going through a seismic shift. There was (and still is) an examination of formal ideas of art and art world and how formal techiniques, aesthetics, were included in art curricula. The high art ideals collided with the immediacy of street art, conceptual art ideas, and art of the people, as descibed in the feminist theory. This created a dynamic climate in art movements as a whole, and in art education. I was a student through this time period. Art educators in my own experiences taught technical formalism, in my elementary school, where we focused on materials and how they were used. Contextualism was introduced in high school, where it was expected to create original work that would communicate an idea or inform my audience. In college the focus was on discipline, technical ability, and craftsmanship, however once a foundation of skill had been attained the contextualism had a huge role. Why do you do what you do? Why do you create? Why are you an artist? What makes YOU an artist? In my education, I focused on a discipline, fibers. I wanted to learn to become the artist I have become and my love for the visual arts has brought me to a turning point in my personal career, becoming an arts educator. In reflection of my path to where I have been and arrived, I can see connections to the formal and contextual approach to arts in education for the 21st century. In the article A Role for Aesthetics in Centering the K-12 Art Curriculum (Anderson and Mcrorie) the combination of formalism and contextualism allows for an infinite range of imagination, collaboration, the integration of skills and techniques. It enables students to effectively communicate their ideas in visual form. The Lankford article, Aesthetics in Art Education, was an excellent collection of theories and perspectives which are essential foundations in which to approach the viewing and analyzing of art. We need this nomenclature to define art, the philosophy behind it’s existence, and educators need a foundation to understand why we teach what we do. It was suggested in the teacher preparation of the Lankford article, that knowledge and skill both in studio practice and of aesthetics and ideals should be practiced and taught. In both articles the balance of contextualism and formalism is encouraged, it is up to the individual educator how that is defined. There is not a “one size fits all” art program. I was a resident teaching artist and intern in the inner city of Milwaukee. I also worked with behaviorally challenged and non verbal students in the Milwaukee  public schools. In contrast, I currently teach in a parochial school in the city of Menomonie. Art is universal in its ability to communicate through it’s aesthetics, what it communicates is unique to the climate in which it is presented. Adjustments must be made to the audience. Balancing technique, materials, form, with critical thinking, using art history examples and encouraging them to communicate their own voice. The response can be entirely different in these different environments. Knowing that there is no right or perfect outcome, but adhering to theories and standards as a guideline, the student’s unique experience is vital. The “success” of learning through a curriculum mindful of aesthetics, equips the student with critical thinking and creates “a cohesive and comprehensive account of meaning and purpose of art and its methodologies for making, understanding, and appreciating art”.(Lankford) ​