GEEX Educator Affinity Group
Glass Education in the Past, Present and Future
October 6, 2023 4PM CDT
Planning by Emily Leach and Ben Orozco
Facilitated by Helen Lee and Ben Orozco
Notes compiled by Ben Orozco
During the Glass Madison Educational Gathering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (10/6-10/7/2023), GEEX hosted an in-person gathering with educators representing schools attending Glass Madison, as well as GEEX Subscribers and Facilitators.
This meeting provided an opportunity to take a pulse check of the field of Glass Education, from the past, present, and future. Below are some notes and soundbites representing the three breakout groups and their discussion points.
What histories have we been teaching in our classes? How do we expand, update, or change the curriculum?
- Reflecting on American Studio Glass (ASG)… how relevant is it to teach now?
- ASG provides perspective and departure points in teaching glass history
- Reflecting on ASG, students are more timid now, glass is in a much different era than what it was then
- Feeling torn in about ASG and if the history is relevant or not
- The history feels isolated in regards to who has/had access. Who was excluded from these narratives?
- Men “ran the women off” and left visible gaps in the history
- Reflecting on the historical context of the GI bill and who did/didn’t receive support to have a funding mechanism to move into academia.
- Comparing historical craft/art/design figures like Ani and Josef Albers, who was allowed to teach?
- There was a pioneering aspect to early studio glass: What can you make up on your own?
- Global and Holistic Histories
- Including perspectives outside of the European glass
- Mark Hursty’s UNC Asheville Arts 310, New Media Department: History of Glass Elective Class taught in 16 weeks
- Exploitation of labor: Addressing this issue both past and present.
- Living histories: Inviting practicing artists to speak to their lived experience in the field; collecting oral narratives.
- Institutional Structure: the way glass is positioned in an institution can change/affect the way is glass is taught
- New frameworks to explore:
- Glass: Art & Technology
- Glass used in people’s bodies to heal them
- 3D Printing, and glass as the first 3D printer
- How is it delivered/developed?
- The Vitreous Age: Glass in the context of digital culture
- Glass: Art & Technology
- New frameworks to explore:
Takeaways
- We need to teach history in glass curriculum, especially global and holistic histories.
- Focus on what histories of glass have been overlooked
- Glass can be taught as an extension of digital technology or in a context of digital culture
- American Studio Glass history can function as a departure point for the conversation, leading to broader or underlooked narratives
What challenges are you facing in your classes? How are you finding solutions to those challenges? What’s working for you as an educator?
- Challenges:
- Too little structure in a nonprofit glass learning spaces
- Some students respond to less structure better or worse
- Teaching glass techniques you may not specialize in as an adjunct or graduate student
- Teaching glass as a person speaking English as a second language, or with a material/technical vocabulary you may not be comfortable/familiar with
- Too little structure in a nonprofit glass learning spaces
- What’s working well:
- A shifting philosophy away from a “sole genius” educator, towards more collaborative learning in the classroom
- Embracing a culture of difference and the educator and students having different skills to bring to the table, ie being co-learners
- Doing the best with what you have
- Being honest and real with yourself and your students on your limitations/where you need help as an educator
- Trusting students to do more than they can do
- Students often coming into glass from a place of fear, prioritizing building a sense of trust can help in the classroom and studio
- A shifting philosophy away from a “sole genius” educator, towards more collaborative learning in the classroom
What trends are you noticing? What challenges or opportunities do you see on the horizon?
- It’s hard to talk about glass as a monolith, as each academic/educational program can be different
- The economy of academia feels broken
- There is very little space for students to focus, especially in teaching spaces that are not art schools
- A sense of declining program enrollment
- Schools are putting out more students than there are teaching positions for
- Could goals as instructors be better served in a different type of structure from what is being done now? Or is it important to preserve these programs as they are?
- Educators in the group are witnessing shifting ecosystems with generational turnover and declining program enrollment
- What are the expectations of students moving forward?
- Schools are putting out more students than there are teaching positions for
- How can students see themselves continuing to engage with glass after school?
- What is the educator’s primary teaching responsibility moving forward?
- To be resourceful?
- To have a career?
- To making artwork?
- To being practical/utilitarian?
- To service?
- To skill/technique/craft?
- To helping people move through ideas?
- To teaching how to ask questions + be curious?
Last updated: 11/10/23