Starting Point

How can we reframe failure as generative in the art classroom?

Looking at failure in art education is something I have been doing for a few months now. In the Education program at UBC, students develop inquiry questions that they study throughout their coursework and practicum. In the beginning, my inquiry questions was “What is the purpose of finding answers?” and as I, ironically, pursued an answer to this question, my question began to narrow. I began to think about what happens when we fail to find answers, and then about failure in art education as a whole. In the end, the inquiry question that I carried with me into practicum was “How can we reframe failure as generative in the art classroom?”

My main motivations for this question revolved around the standards of art that we are taught to strive towards. When we think of drawing and painting, we may find that we have a certain perception of what a successful piece of artwork looks like – think descriptors like ‘realistic’ and ‘perfect’. Many students enter the classroom with these same perceptions, setting standards for themselves according to what they think is ‘good’ art.

Alongside students, most teachers also enter the classroom with a fear of failure. Being knowledge holders and having 30 pairs of expectant eyes upon you for all the answers to their questions is a very daunting task! In my practicum experience, it became very real to me that the information I would provide to students would be believed to be true. Furthermore, teachers also need to abide by the rules of their education system, meet the demands of the curriculum, and manage the class appropriately. Overall, many areas with room for failure.

Objectively, the idea that there is a lot of room for failure for both teachers and students means that there are also many opportunities for success. Instead of such a dichotomous relationship, I wanted to approach the situation from a perspective of taking failure and turning it into a generative experience. What if we saw failure differently? What if we were able to reframe moments of failure into moments of growth?

Success wouldn’t be overcoming failure to meet the standards, but instead purely growing from failure.

How do we assess that? How do we lessen the pressures to strive for ‘success’? How do we begin to deconstruct ingrained perspectives of successful and ‘good’ artwork?

These are all questions I am carrying forward with me and have yet to answer. My practicum experience has given me valuable insight on how arduous of a process this will be, but I see room for it and I see how beneficial it can be as well.

Please join me on this journey. I intend to fail (and grow) a lot throughout it!