Volume 12, Summer 2012
Spencer Beaudette
Pages 4-5
This is not Art
Spencer Beaudette seeks to teach his fifth-grade students how to reject particular outlooks without declaring them altogether stupid or invalid. To achieve this, Beaudette discusses with his class what qualifies as art. He tasked his students to create something that they are sure is art and something that they are sure is not art. The students presented their works to the class for discussion. As Beaudette and his students found out, what qualifies as art is not an easy question to answer. However, Beaudette believes the lesson achieved the objective of teaching students opposing viewpoints exist that are not necessarily more right or wrong than our own.