La comunidad de campesinos de Villanueva de San Carlos

Before I begin the description of today’s class, I will describe some of the socio- political events taking place in Montreal and throughout Quebec. Many students were

108 involved in a provincial-wide student protest in response to proposed tuition hikes in Quebec. The student organizations called this movement a strike, whereas the university referred to it as a boycott. I refer to this as a student strike, as that is how it was

commonly referred to by the students and in the media. Not all students chose to go on strike; it differed by school and department. At this moment in time, the Fine Arts students at Concordia had chosen to go on strike, the students in the Department of Education had not. This put my class in an interesting position; ARTE 201 is listed as an Art Education class, but the majority of the students in the course are from the

Department of Education.

Two days prior to this class session I began receiving emails from my students asking if my class would continue and what actions should they take if they were blocked from the building or otherwise confronted by striking students. The matter was made more complicated by the mixed messages that were being issued via email by the Graduate Student Association, the Department Chair, and the University Administration regarding what was happening in terms of how the strike would impact non-striking students, faculty and staff and individuals trying to enter university buildings. There had been rumors of confrontations with campus security and altercations between students. I read on one student website that the striking students were effectively barring professors and instructors from the classrooms. Later, instructors in Art Education received word from the Department Chair that professors, instructors and non-striking students were permitted into the classrooms and could not physically be blocked from entry. The Graduate Student Association (GSA) website posted a letter stating that instructors and professors should be allowed to enter the building and the classroom. The GSA website

109 suggested that instructors and professors print the letter and keep it on their person. Should instructors or faculty be met with resistance, it was advised that we show this letter to the striking students to ensure our passage into the classroom. I was struck by the idea that I was attempting to research how to change my teaching pedagogy with the possibility that my class may go on strike. I was very nervous. Responding to my

students’ concerns, I sent an email stating that we would take things one day at a time and that I respected whatever choice they made concerning the strike. However their safety was of primary concern to me and I asked that they not put themselves in harm’s way. The emails I received in response seemed indicate my students wanted to come to class.

It was in this context that my class resumed after a two week hiatus. Unsure of what situation I might face trying to enter the building, I arrived early, at 7:30am. As I began to prepare for class I began to wonder events might unfold that day. As I stated in my self-interview, “Shit! What if we can’t get out?! [of the building]”

I had not seen my students in two weeks and I wanted to spend the day making clay sculpture as a way of coming back in to the rhythm of our class. At 8:15am, a student who had missed several classes because of medical problems with their spouse came in to work on the printmaking project. The rest of the students arrived at about 9:15am. The Art Education Office Administrator had printed a letter indicating that the students attending this class were from the School of Education and not on strike; therefore they should not be interrupted by any student strike activity. This letter was taped to the door of the classroom. This was also the day that I had planned to teach without making a Power Point presentation.

110 Once the students arrived and were settled, I checked in with everyone to see how they were feeling. This is a standard procedure for me, but today it seemed more

necessary than usual. We then began our day of clay work.

The conceptual sequence of the class was to work from small and intimate to larger pieces, but still keeping within the limits of amount of materials we had available. We began with a very small pinch pot project. We talked about clay and we talked about how to form it with your hands. We took time to focus on how clay feels in your hands and how it smells. It was a calm and centering activity. And we discussed the idea that they could take this standard lesson for kindergarten kids and very simply form a handle or a spout or a neck and it can become this very personal piece of art. Some of the students were anxious about working with the clay and forming a pinch pot. A few students mentioned to me that their work ‘didn’t look right’. I think this anxiety reflected a combination of low level anxiety about making art coupled with an unrealistic standard of perfection, as reflected in the research of Smith-Shank (1995). There anxiety may also have been some stress in response to the strike activity that was happening, but I can not be sure of that. And I was aware that I was likely projecting some of my own anxiety as well.

After the students had formed their pinch pots in the way they felt worked for them, we moved on to a second clay project, low relief. This project involved rolling slab of clay and cutting it into a shape of their choosing. We then took different materials such as fabric, buttons, feathers, twigs, shells, puzzle pieces, clothes pins, plastic forks and whatever else I could find in the storage cabinet and used these to press textures into the clay slabs.

111 After this lesson, we took our break and I prepared for the final clay project. During the break, four of representatives from the striking students association came to the classroom and asked if they could talk to the group. I pointed out the letter on the door that indicated these were students from the Department of Education not Fine Arts. In my nervousness I completely forgot that I had students from other majors in the class, including Fine Arts. The leader of the group gave me a wary glance and said she didn’t understand; this was an art education course so these had to be fine arts students. I explained that actually this was a methods course for education students and once again pointed the letter on the door. After a few moments, she asked if she could come in to speak with my students about an undergraduate student meeting that was happening later that day. I told her that the group was on break, but we would reconvene at 10:30am. And we would be happy to listen to any information she would like to share, provided she behaved with respect towards my class. When my students returned from break at 10:30, the strike representatives were right on the heels of the last student to enter the room. I was struck by this precision. I introduced the representatives to the class and said these women would like to speak to them about what’s happening on campus. As a precaution I added that we would all listen respectfully. I had three reasons for making this statement. First, I had overheard a few heated, albeit whispered, disagreements among my students about the strike and I did not want any heated emotions to erupt into something I could not handle. Second, I wanted to signal the strike representatives that I felt that they should be treated with the same respect I asked them to show my students. And finally, I felt the need to assert a level of authority in the room. I realized that the essence of the strike was pushing against the authority of the university as an institution;

112 but this was still my classroom and I felt a level of responsibility towards its functioning safely and smoothly.

The strike representatives made a short presentation about a meeting of

undergraduate students that would take place, handed me some pamphlets, thanked us for our time and left. There were no raised voices or arguments, but I was still relieved to see them go.

Our final project with clay was a reflective activity. I asked the students to create an image of the face they wear for the world or the face they wish they could wear for the world. I included some information about how to form the curve of a face by molding the clay across one’s knee, and how to score, slip and blend the clay when attaching pieces together, and techniques for cutting away or building up the clay to form an image. I deliberately did not want to phrase the project as a mask as there are certain implications with that word – such as African masks, Halloween masks – and I wanted to steer the project inward towards reflection. However they could choose a human or non-human form for their face.

What motivated the actions took today?

This was first time I have taught without a PowerPoint. As I stated in my self- interview, “This is a big deal for me!” I wanted to see if I could do it; if I could teach with just me, the students and a bag of clay. It was an experiment in relating purely to my undergraduate students in a way that I would with my elementary students. However, I intend to prepare a PowerPoint for the following class as I have come to rely on the

113 PowerPoint as an agenda for the class. It keeps me on track and keeps me from forgetting smaller details of what I want to teach.

The motivation to work with clay for an entire day was that we were coming back together as a group after two weeks. And it felt like such a long time away. I felt that working with clay would be earthy and grounding. I think it reflected more of how much I missed my students.

What aspects of holistic pedagogy informed my actions?

In regards to my interactions with the strike representatives my actions were informed by ideas of openness, mindfulness, safety and respect. Campbell (2012) specifically references the notion of mental and physical safety in regards to the

classroom. And reassuring my students via email and in person was a top priority for me. This kind of community connection between students and the teacher also echoed in the work of J. Miller (2006) and his notion of compassionate connection to others. My actions also are reflective of Campbell’s (2012) notion of demonstrating connection to social justice. Regardless of my personal feelings about the strike, the students were working through a very specific form of social justice and I did respect that. And I wanted to demonstrate to my students a manner of teaching that showed respect for others.

The studio lesson about sculpture techniques was informed by Richmond’s (1998) discussion of the importance of working with art materials as a means for students to reflect and fulfill to create. It also reflects Campbell’s (2011, 2012) discussion of making

114 connections to and through the use of materials. It also echoes a state of mindfulness and attention to activity that is posited by J. Miller (2006).