The Arts Lauren Marie Foundations of Education-ED358 March 12, 2016

Purpose The purpose of my presentation is to determine whether or not the arts aspect of learning was as significant in education, in the past, as it currently is today, with liberal arts. I plan to compare (and contrast) the art-based curriculum, from previous educational programs and decide what was once considered “art”. As a supporter of all aspects of art (written, film, music, performance, and visual), and seeing that Bethany College is a liberal arts school, I wanted to see how important art was back then, and whether art was a pursuable career given the circumstances of specific curriculum requirement.

General Verdict Similar to education today, an emphasis on art was not a main concern. However, visual art was still incorporated in the classroom, in some way. Nonetheless, the presence of art* was not totally absent as made apparent by artifacts offered at the Old Mill Museum. *Keeping in mind that art is not limited to the visual arts.

Entrance to the West Kentuck One-Room Schoolhouse Poorly detailed photograph of Damion and I inside the West Kentuck Schoolhouse☺ Another photo of me, because I accidentally deleted the inside of the schoolhouse..

West Kentuck Schoolhouse ~In the schoolhouse, the curriculum was relatively basic: Math, English, Geography, etc. ~There was a piano, though, indicating a musical arts incorporation within the classroom. ~There were also several drawings around the classroom, indicating historical projects.

Musical representation of art in the classroom. Said not to be used specifically for music lessons, but rather incorporation for the lesson.  Calligraphy pens: Located in the bookshelf; considered now a form of visual art. Daily Schedule: Made evident that the arts was not a big part of the curriculum. 

~Indications of visual art incorporation within the schoolhouse Kansas History Geography History. Miscellaneous.

Incorporation More of the drawn artwork was present in the elementary grades, predominantly the 5 th grade There were indications, though of a Drawing class, however, aside from that, the drawings typically consisted of Geography, maps, anatomy, and some history in the workbooks

Incorporation ~Some of the older grades were abled (visual) art lessons ~Guided art lessons came from “text books” or magazines ~This art was higher-level skilled, though still relatively basic ~Still, the main focus of art, here, were for general curriculum purposes, especially History, Geography, and some Anatomy

 Old rendition of the colour wheel. Considered a more advanced representation of drawing a bust. *Evident that the evolution of visual art complexity has advanced since the 1900s*

There was a class on “Card Drawing” offered for the youth. Multiple drawings/paintings found of flowers and plants in the workbooks. Most likely made for Agricultural lesson. History. Miscellaneous.

Community ~Higher prevalence of performance and musical arts ~At the collegiate level, music was more predominant ~There was a band, orchestra, and choir *The church, obviously, was musically inclined (organ) ~The organ and piano were most common, but lessons and/or purchasing one were expensive *Antique musical instruments seemingly for sale*

 RCA “Nipper” was the iconic dog who often represented phonographs/record players Organs more prevalent in this county. 3 on display   Museum artifacts of one of the bands present in the area. Clarinet and drums, as well as another organ, and some harps and horns 

 The organ in the church display. Fairly common for churches to have organs instead of pianos. Photograph of the original Messiah Chorus located in Bethany College (later dubbed Liberal Arts) 

Sewing, Embroidery, Jewelry Today, in many high schools, elective courses will often offer FACS classes which teach home economics and family and consumer sciences. ~These courses were not available in the education program, back then. ~Only skill-specific schools (ex. Dame Schools) ~These skills were typically acquired at home (or by some outside source) ~From the following photographs, many of the acquired skills, and jobs, are not something that would be taught in schools nowadays, either.

 Several types of laces for clothing and doilies Different sizes and colors of spools of thread for sewing   Seamstress cabinet. The boxes were used for hats, which indicates a hat designer. Also present were multiple fabrics. 

 Jewelry-making was a pursuable career, as well as embroidery. Fan-making was also a career in designing. Designing of shoes was available as a job, as well as mending and cleaning them.  Mannequin head for designing, styling, and sizing. 

Conclusively, ~Art was not as prevalent in the educational system, though there was still some sort of incorporation into the curriculum. ~I found that the older you became, the more exposed you were to acquiring art-based skills. ~More experience artistically once in the collegiate level, though still not a large emphasis. ~In general, there was not much performance arts, but rather more visual and musical ~In the classroom, visual was more predominant. But studying art as a career was irrelevant to learning. ~Outside knowledge/experience of other artistic skills typically were developed at home or elsewhere (clubs, organizations, out-of-state).

Thank You! Thanks given to the Old Mill Museum staff for their assistance and use of their archives: Especially: Lenora Lynam, Lorna Nelson, and Sheila Malm

Works Cited. McPherson County Historical Archives. [ca. 1900’s]. Archives at the Old Mill Museum, Lindsborg, KS. (L. Lynam, personal communication, March 3, 2016). (L. Nelson, personal communication, March 3, 2016). (S. Malm, personal communication, March 14, 2016).