Art in Action

One day last spring, art teachers Victoria Sciotto and Patricia Daly gathered their 7th and 8th grade accelerated art students in our school's cafeteria. The students had been working on plans for chalk art mandalas for several weeks, and in a few days they were going to install their projects on the walkway leading to the school's main entrance.

As assistant principal, I had watched the growth of this project with interest. Now I asked the students, "Have you thought about the effect your art will have on the people who see it?" The students admitted that they had not given it much thought. They had been too busy thinking about their designs, the color palettes, and the due dates for each stage of the project.