Art Educator

Big Idea: 

Ingenuity

 

Rationale: 

Ingenuity can be defined as the skill of thinking, performing, or using things in new ways. The world has greatly benefited from the ingenious ideas of individuals throughout the ages and we need to keep that momentum going. Whether they know it or not, students benefit from ingenious ideas on a daily basis and we should encourage them to not only take advantage of these ideas, but continue to redefine them. The most unique characteristic of the human race is the mind, in which we use our cognitive ability to change the world to and make it a more suitable place for us to live. From ancient Egyptian irrigation systems, to the Gutenberg printing press, up to Steve Jobs and the creation of the iPhone- humans have always had to urge to innovate. I feel that this unit would work very well with middle school students since these age groups are heavily targeted by the media and are consumed with using instead of redefining. Since these students are growing up in an “over-tweeted” generation it is not only important to embrace ingenious ideas (such as the iPhone), but continue them. It only takes one idea to make a difference and students need to know that their ideas could change the world one day.