The Opposite of Original

I made a mistake when I wrote “Why Pinterest is Ruining Your Lessons”. No, what I wrote in the article wasn’t a mistake - though I agree with the people who pointed out that Pinterest can be helpful for a number of reasons. The problem with the article was that I wasn't really writing about Pinterest, I was writing indirectly about cookie cutter lessons.  

The term “cookie cutter” is about as loaded as art education terms get. It refers to projects, like some I named in my Pinterest article, that produce results so similar that they are interchangeable. 

I was tiptoeing around the subject, so I’m going to be clear here. Cookie cutter lessons are a waste of your time and do little for students. Consider why teachers use these projects - they produce good results. Is this a valid reason for teaching a lesson?

We shouldn’t be in the business of worrying about what looks good on the wall, but rather with making students who are independent artists.

These sort of step-by-step projects often take weeks to produce and leave students with little more than the work itself. Other issues include: 

• Students haven’t learned skills because they haven't been given a chance to apply new ideas through independent practice.  

• They aren't thinking as deeply as they could be because they haven’t been asked to form opinions of their own.

• They've missed out on making anything original or creative because they haven’t been taught to develop their own ideas.                                                                                                                                 

This misses the point of what art education should be entirely, plus, it robs students of the opportunity to learn something valuable. These types of lessons are a trick. The things they produce look like art but are fundamentally different. Work produced this way is missing self-expression, passion and purpose. It has no soul.​ 

I think that most teachers realize how empty cookie cutter projects are, but many do them anyway. We’re pressured to put on a show, to always have appealing work on display. However, just because it’s expected doesn’t mean it’s right. If a lesson of yours produces indistinguishable work, get rid of it. If it is all about the product, try something new.  

Try lessons that:​

• Teach skills directly instead of disguising them as projects. 
• Produce individualized results.
• Include exploration and inquiry.
• Ask students to apply new learning independently
• Task kids with forming personal connections.
• Include student likes and interests.

The most important thing when deciding what to teach is this:

What do I want this experience to leave my students with?

There is no one right answer to this question. It might be an understanding of art history, a love of painting, the ability to create independently or mastery of a specific skill. “Something pretty on the wall” is probably not your answer - don’t let it be your contribution.