Editor’s Letter
Time is what prevents everything
from happening at once.
—John Archibald Wheeler
Is there anyone whose day is more regimented by
time than a teacher? Especially an art teacher?
My day is certainly run with a constant eye on
the clock, beginning from the moment I reach
school, open my room, make sure I have every-
thing out and handy for my morning classes
(even though I try to leave it all ready for the
next day when I leave school), check my mailbox
in the workroom, and quickly look at my e-mail
for urgent messages. (I don’t always manage to
do that.) If I have an extra minute or two, I’ll put
out the ongoing artwork for the first class based
on their seating chart.
Bringing artists to life through living paintings or
other presentations helps students relate to their
times and accomplishments. Frida Kahlo, third
grader Stephany Guerrero, was one of the stars of
our Day of the Dead presentation this year.
1. Students know that the visual arts have both
a history and specific relationships to various
cultures.
2. Students identify specific works of art as
belonging to particular cultures, times, and
places.
3. Students demonstrate how history, culture,
and the visual arts can influence each other in
making and studying works of art.
Posting and adding to an ongoing timeline in
the artroom is an effective approach to helping
students understand concepts of time and how
art and artists have influenced each other over
time. One of the best timelines I’ve seen is from
the Metropolitan Museum of Art (www.metmu-
seum.org/toah). Theresa McGee expands on this
and other online timelines in Tech4ArtEd (page
20) this month.
No matter your approach to time, SchoolArts
hopes this issue can help you use time to your
advantage in the artroom.
