In response to the reading: Osler, T, Guillard, I, Garcia-Fialdini, A, Cote, S (2019) ‘ An a/r/tographic metissage: Storying the self as pedagogic practice’, Journal of Writing in Creative Practice, Vol 12 No. 1 & 2, pp. 109-129.
As part of my own journey and evolving pedagogy, I am re learning how to read, learning how to listen and how to reflect on my values, my teaching practice and the world around me. In this text,I find connections to the narratives and questions that resonate with my experiences of teaching and being in creative environments. It inspires me to consider my own inner narratives and the experiences of those around me, listening to the diversity of voices of our student cohort, and staff team.
About the reading;
Text 3 ‘ An a/r/tographic metissage: Storying the self as pedagogic practice ‘
The writing focuses on four arts educators, and their processes of storying the self. How through the act of reflecting on their own creative practices, they find personal narratives and connections to others experiences within their communities.
They reflect on how this can inform their approach and perspective to their pedagogical practice.
It speaks about the importance of lived experiences and unique perspectives within the classroom and how practice becomes a way of knowing that broaden educational discourse among artists, researchers, teachers’ and students’.
A part of the text that resonated with me came from Arianna Garcia-Fiadin’s piece: inter-intra- Artful experiences of community art education and migration.
In her project, reflects on what it meant to her growing up in a multicultural setting and how in her studio practice she explores her evolving immigrant idenitity and through this how she considers other’s Newcomer experiences and challenges, as well as the commonality that can be formed through the art making process.’
Finding commonality
Reading this text bring forward ideas around the importance listening to our own voices and those of others.
As a year 1 leader on BA Textile design, I am challenged on the first day of term day with meeting a group of 80 -100 new people from a diversity of backgrounds and perspectives for the first time. They are meeting me and their peers for the first time too. This is their new communities, in a new place, on a new course. This day brought to my mind within Arianna’s text the idea of the ‘Newcomer experiences and challenges ’ .
Within my own practice the idea of the ‘Newcomer and their experiences and challenges ’ brings questions of how we create inclusive spaces that support students at the start of their journeys. How can we orientate students within the wider university networks. How we foster connections, that ultimately building communities of meaning .
I believe we need to be attentive to the multiple histories, and perspective within our classrooms, making space for students to speak about their experiences, ideas and perspectives. Give agency to student cohorts and encourage pedagogical adaptability within our teams. Listen to students, staff and graduates, and develop projects that reflect what we hear.