ADVOCACY
Making Art Sticky
How often do you find books that are not written specifically for art education,
yet have everything to do
with the teaching of art?
I am aware of at least two.
The first is A Whole New
Mind: Why Right Brainers Will Rule the Future by
Daniel Pink. The other is
Made to Stick: Why Some
Ideas Survive and Others
Die, by Chip and Dan Heath.
Both books are entertaining,
thought-provoking reads with
often similar, meaningful
ideas to offer art educators.
Ken Vieth
A Whole New Mind
Daniel Pink, a former Washington speechwriter, reflects on
the importance of teaching as
well as celebrating the important connections in teaching
to the right side of the brain.
His focus stresses six essential
aptitudes he calls: Design, Story, Symphony, Empathy, Play, and Meaning.
Pink’s thinking inspires, supports,
and even celebrates the significance
of what we do in our artrooms. He
explains that, through teaching and
applying these principles, we will better prepare our students for the future
workplace in America, as these qualities are not easily outsourced.
stand and remember the importance of
what they are learning.
Made to Stick
Made to Stick explores ways in business that an idea can take hold and be
remembered, resulting in increasing
sales and productivity. It is organized
in a checklist of six principles for
SUCCESs:
S Simplicity (find and share the core)
U Unexpectedness (get and hold attention through surprise)
C Concreteness (help people understand, remember, coordinate)
C Credibility (help people believe)
E Emotional (make people care)
S Stories (get people
to act)
Simplicity refers
to finding the core
of the idea to be
explored.
Unexpectedness is an element
that comes as an
engaging surprise. Concreteness is
grounding the idea to be explored.
Credibility is needed for people to
believe in an idea. The Emotional
component concerns how we get
people to care about our ideas. Telling
Stories is how we engage others and
encourage them to act on our ideas.
As art teachers, we can apply all of
these insights and strategies to make
lasting connections for our students—
help us engage the thinking of our
students and help them better under-
Wouldn’t
we all like to have
our students remem-
ber, find meaning,
and apply all that
we teach them?
Ken Vieth is the author of From Ordinary
to Extraordinary and Engaging the Adolescent Mind , and co-author of The Visual
Experience (all published by Davis Publications). kvieth@crusoe.net
WEB LINKS
www.danpink.com/whole-new-mind
www.madetostick.com
