SchoolArts - October 2008

evance to my students? Leonardo’s approach was “wake up, never stop learning, think for yourself, learn from your mistakes, refine your senses, embrace the unknown, balance your brain, and open yourself to the connectedness of all things.” With design, process takes on added meaning, as Leonardo’s constancy proves. Lessons start to have more overlap, and quite often, more practicality. We are often trying to make sense of “the way things work” right at our feet—the blooming flower at my toes; how that noisy pump makes water flow; the patterns found in different peoples hairdos; designing a better, more flowing cafeteria arrangement; imagining what is on the other side of that hill . . . endless

questions and flowing imagination. Leonardo worried less about finishing commissioned artworks and concentrated more on the quest of his flowing curiosity. How many times have we heard that students need to notice more, to ask more questions, to initiate curiosity? Curiosity=opportunity + experience.

ing and provide a well-rounded connectedness and richer literacy. This cannot be done without the processes of design. Design is just art with a purpose!

Art with a Purpose The twenty-first century is a fast, fluid, and flexible world, and to feel vital, we need to feel hot, hip, and happening. To be a constant learner, as Leonardo was, art and design need to be question-based, process and product oriented, and self-fulfilling. We all know deep down that learning through art can center most learn-

Resources

Frederick, Matthew. 101 Things I Learned in Architecture School. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2007.

Gelb, Michael J. How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci. New York, NY: Dell Trade, 1999.

Pink, Daniel H. A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future. New York, NY: Riverhead Trade, 2006.

Ralph Caouette is the National Art Education Association secondary division director and art supervisor, Wachusett Regional School District in Massachusetts. Ralph_Caouette@wrsd.net