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Butler experts educate Dobbins students
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .Dobbins third-graders Ellie Kempers (left), Mason Planey, and Kevin Kushner proudly displayed their art journals, which includes five months of art lessons and reflections from field trips to the Butler Museum and classroom lessons from Butler docents. Their journals will follow them throughout their school year and three more art lessons.
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .Butler Museum of American Art docent Pat Schauweker (center) taught the students of Debbie Patsko's third-grade class about genre art, or a illustration of an everyday scene, by showing off examples of genres.
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .Through a Butler Museum art outreach program, the third- and fourth-graders at Dobbins Elementary received art education by Butler docents. During a Jan. 24 to Debbie Patsko's third-grade classroom, students were asked to share their views on a piece of art and explain why. That day, third-grader Riley Jo Norris (right) was hard at work on her assignment.
By SARAH FOOR
The Butler Museum and Dobbins Elementary have partnered during the 2011-2012 school year for an art exchange program that brings third- and fourth-grade students to the Butler Museum and museum professionals to the halls of Dobbins.
“Good Neighbors: Your School and the Museum” is a federal grant-supported art program that allows students to learn from the art professionals at the Butler Museum. During the eight-month program, Butler docents provide six classroom art concept lessons and students visit the halls of the Butler Museum during two field trips.
Docents Pat Schauweker and Judy Fields, as well as docent-in-training Mary Jo Pokabla, visited Debbie Patsko’s third-grade classroom on Jan. 24 to explore color theory and genre art, or a work that illustrates an everyday scene.
Patsko said having art professionals visit her classroom is a great opportunity for her students.
“As teachers, we can and do teach art to our students, but having teachers who have this kind of expertise definitely gives them a renewed passion for the subject,” Patsko said.
After their lesson, the third-graders reflected on what they learned in journals that have followed the students throughout the year. The books showed activities from previous lessons on seascape, landscape, portrait and still-life paintings.
The students were given a photo of a work of art and were asked to reflect on how the painting made them feel and why.
Nearly halfway through their year at Dobbins Elementary, the docents said they were very proud of the progress their third-grade pupils have made.
“The difference in the students from the beginning of our program to now is like night and day. To see them grow each month and gain a wealth of knowledge about art has been an absolute joy to watch,” said Schauweker.