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Art is not done in public schools. Artists who show promise attend art academies.
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William B. Fowle Translates Louis-Benjamin Francœur’s "An Introduction to Linear Drawing" from its original French to English. This text is widely considered the first art textbook in the United States. The book contained six progressive levels for students to master, each with a strong focus on geometric shapes (Davis, 1996).
Reference:
Davis, E. B. (1996). American Drawing Books and Their Impact on Winslow Homer. Winterthur Portfolio, 31(2/3), 141–163. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1215158 -
Horace Mann advocates for the need for public schools and within those schools, the need to teach basic drawing. -
The industrial revolution begins in the United States, and through it rose a need for designers, engineers, and more aesthetically pleasing designs (Stankiewicz, 2001). -
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The picture study movement was established by Henry Turner Bailey. It brought art appreciation to public schools and was considered the beginning of aesthetics and art for art’s sake. -
The 1913 Armory Show in New York exposed Americans to Impressionist, Cubist, and Fauvist work. This shocked the public but broadened our idea of what art could be. The American public had not been exposed to Modern art emerging from the European avant-garde (Trapp, 1958).
Reference:
Trapp, F. A. (1958). The 1913 Armory Show in Retrospect. College Art Journal, 17(3), 294–296. https://doi.org/10.2307/773997 -
The Progressive Education Association was made based on the ideas of John Dewey. Their goal was to encourage schools to lean more toward creative self-expression and the emotional and individualistic aspects of art (Reese, 2001).
Reference:
Reese, W. J. (2001). The Origins of Progressive Education. History of Education Quarterly, 41(1), 1–24. http://www.jstor.org/stable/369477 -
Ruth Faison Shaw invented the modern version of finger painting in 1936. She encouraged creative expression that was not influenced by teachers, other adults, or professional artists (Mayer, 2005).
Reference:
Mayer, V. (2005). Rediscovering Ruth Faison Shaw and Her Finger-Painting Method. Art Education, 58(5), 6–11. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27696095 -
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Sputnik signaled to many Americans that we were falling behind in the space race. Our reaction was to shift focus towards core classes. The “Back to Basics” movement was a direct result of Sputnik and greatly deemphasized the arts (Slobodin, 1977).
Reference:
Slobodin, C. S. (1977). Sputnik and Its Aftermath: A Critical Look at the Form and the Substance of American Educational Thought and Practice Since 1957. The Elementary School Journal, 77(4), 259–264. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1001085 -
Segregation remained common in schools until 1964 when the Civil Rights Act became law (Haynes, 1993). Following this law, schools desegregated at a rapid rate. This change laid the foundation for multicultural education. Schools aimed to educate students about different cultures.
Reference:
Haynes, J. S. (1993). Historical Perspectives and Antecedent Theory of Multicultural Art Education: 1954—1980. Visual Arts Research, 19(2), 24–34. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20715804 -
Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act in 1965. This created the National Endowment of the Arts. The NEA is designed to financially support the arts in public schools (Biddle, 1984).
Reference:
Biddle, L. (1984). Our Government’s Support for the Arts: Nourishment or Drought. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 471, 89–101. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1044139 -
Teaching for Artistic Behavior (TAB) gains support in art education. TAB is a philosophical approach to art education that places children at the center of artmaking choices. -
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Discipline-based art education (DBAE) focuses on a more complete art education across four disciplines: aesthetics, art criticism, art history, and art production. Less focus on studio production. -
National Art Education Association (NAEA) created content standards for art education. Broken down by grade level, these standards guide teachers in creating assignments that will enable students to achieve these standards.