Part 3

_Home--Exterior_-- Developing and maintaining attractive surroundings for the house. Choosing dormers, porches, and porch columns that are in scale with the house. Grouping and placing the windows so they are harmonious with each other and with the house. Planning suitable and effective trellises and arbors. Recognizing limitations in the use of formal gardens and grounds. Determining the use of the informal type of grounds. Choosing house paint and considering how it may be influenced by neighboring houses. Determining the influence of the color of the house on the choice of color for the porch furniture and accessories and for awnings. Selecting and arranging porch furniture and accessories. Selecting curtains for the windows of the house which are attractive from the exterior as well as from the interior. Determining desirable shapes for trimmed hedges and shrubbery. Selecting shrubbery and flowers that will contribute, at small cost, to the appearance of a home. Planning the grounds of a home and the possible use of a bird bath, an artificial pool, or a rock garden.

_Home--Interior_--

Securing beauty rather than display. Selecting textures that suggest good taste rather than merely a desire for display. Choosing wall coverings that are attractive and suitable backgrounds for the home. Selecting rugs for various rooms. Selecting furniture that adds attractiveness, comfort, and convenience to the home. Determining relation of beauty in furniture to the price of it. Choosing window shades, curtains, and draperies from the standpoint of color, texture, design, and fashion. Selecting appropriate accessories for the home. Determining when to use pictures and wall hangings in the home. Choosing pictures and wall hangings for the home. Placing rugs, furniture, and accessories in the home. Arranging and hanging pictures and wall hangings. Determining the relation of type and arrangement of furnishings and accessories to the formality or informality of a room. Avoiding formal treatment and shiny textures in the average home. Planning how color may be used and distributed effectively in a room. Determining how color schemes of rooms are affected by size, purpose, and location. Discouraging the use of cloth, paper, and wax flowers and painted weeds in the home.

_Social and community relations_--

Determining social and community activities with which high school girls are asked to assist and for which art training is needed. Making attractive and suitable posters for special occasions. Selecting and arranging flowers and potted plants for various occasions. Planning, selecting, and using appropriate decorations for special events. Wrapping gifts and packages attractively. Choosing and using appropriate stationery, calling cards, place cards, and greeting cards.

_Clothing_--

Determining appropriate clothing for all occasions. Planning clothing that adds to rather than detracts from the charm of the wearer. Planning to avoid garments and accessories that may be liabilities rather than assets. Recognizing the relation of the "style of the moment" to the choice and combination of the clothing for the individual. Choosing colors for the individual. Utilizing bright colors in clothing. Selecting harmonious color combinations in clothing. Selecting and using textile designs in clothing. Selecting and adapting style designs in patterns for the individual. Improving undesirable body lines and proportions through the wise choice of clothing. Selecting clothing accessories-- Hats. Shoes. Hosiery. Gloves. Bags. Jewelry. Selecting and using appropriate jewelry and similar accessories with various ensembles. Choosing texture, color and design for undergarments that make appropriate and attractive foundations for the outer garments.

As yet no committee on related art has proceeded so far as to suggest specific content for art courses that are related to homemaking. Since this bulletin deals with the teaching of art as it relates to homemaking, teaching content is presented only in so far as it exemplifies methods or procedures and relates to objectives. It is hoped, however, that teachers will find real guidance for selecting content that will meet the particular needs of their classes through, the detailed consideration of objectives, the selection of principles, and the many suggestions that are offered for art applications that can be made in all phases of homemaking.

Section IV

SUGGESTIVE TEACHING METHODS IN ART RELATED TO THE HOME

The test of a real product of learning is this: First, its permanency; and second, its habitual use in the ordinary activities of life.--Morrison.

CREATING INTEREST

There is a general conception that art is naturally interesting to everyone. Accepting this as true, a specific interest must be developed from this natural interest for the most effective courses in art training. Whitford[15] says:

Little can be accomplished in general education, and practically nothing can be done in art education, unless interest and enthusiasm are awakened in the student. The awakening of interest constitutes one of the first steps in the development of a pupil's natural talents.

Some teachers, in attempting to awaken or to hold the interest of girls in related art courses, have started with art laboratory problems which involve considerable manipulation of materials. A certain type of interest may be so aroused, for pupils are always interested in the manipulative processes involved in producing articles and even more in the possession of the completed products, but it may be only a temporary appeal rather than an interest in the larger relation of art to everyday living. While it is true that manipulative problems do contribute to the development of greater confidence and initiative and therefore have their place in an art course, yet the successful completion of most products requires greater creative and judgment abilities than pupils will have acquired early in the course. It is then a questionable use of laboratory problems to depend upon them for awakening the specific interest in art.

Initial interest of students may be stimulated through directed observation of the many things about them which are good in color and design or by discussion of problems which are very pertinent to girls' art needs or desires.[16] However, conscious effort on the part of the teacher is necessary to "open the windows of the world," if pupils are to develop real interest and experience such enjoyment from the beauty which surrounds them that an ideal of attaining beauty in dress and home is established. A definite plan is necessary for stimulating this interest which is said to be possessed by all. Without an interest that will continue to grow from day to day it is difficult to develop the necessary judgment abilities for solving everyday problems in selection and arrangement.

Professor Lancelot[17] suggests the following procedure as the initial steps in the building of permanent interests:

1. Early in the course endeavor through general class discussions, rather than by mere telling, to lead the students to see clearly just how the subject which they are taking up may be expected to prove useful to them in later life and how great its actual value to them will probably be.

2. At the same time attempt to establish clearly in their minds the relationships that exist between the new subject, taken as a whole, and any other branches of knowledge, or human activities, in which they are already interested.

3. Specify and describe the new worthwhile powers and abilities which are to be acquired from the course, endeavoring to create in the students the strongest possible desire or "feeling of need" for them.

If this procedure is followed, in the field of art the teacher will refrain from merely telling pupils that art will be of great value to them later in life. On the other hand, in creating interest it is suggested that class discussion of general topics within the range of pupil experience and of obvious need be used to awaken an interest in the value of art in their own lives.

The teacher must be sure that the topics are of real interest to the pupils. For example, which of these questions would probably arouse the most animated discussion: "What is art?" or "Arnold Bennett says, 'The art of dressing ranks with that of painting. To dress well is an art and an extremely complicated and difficult art.' Do you agree with Arnold Bennett? Why?"

Other discussions may be started by asking questions such as the following:

1. Have you ever heard some one say, "Mary's new dress is lovely but the color is not becoming to her"? Why do people ever choose unbecoming colors? Would you like to be able to select colors becoming to you? How can you insure success for yourself?

2. Movie corporations are spending great sums of money in an attempt to produce pictures in color. Why do they feel justified in making such expenditures to introduce the single new quality of color?

3. Do you like this scarf? This cushion? This picture? Why? Why not? Why is there some disagreement? To what extent can our likes guide our choices?

4. The class may be asked to choose from a number of vases, lamp shades, table covers, or candles those which they think are most beautiful. The question may then be asked, "Would you like to find out what makes some articles more beautiful than others?"

5. Where in nature are the brightest spots of color found? Have you ever seen combinations of color in nature that were not pleasing? How may we make better use of nature's examples?

6. Why do girls and women prefer to go to the store to select dresses or dress material? Hats? Coats? Can one always be sure of the most becoming thing to buy even when shopping in person? What would be helpful in making selections?

The classroom setting for the teaching of art plays a very important part in arousing interest. Attempting to awaken interest in art in a bare, unattractive room is even more futile than trying to create interest in better table service with no table appointments. In the first situation there is probably such a wide variation in the background and experience of the pupils and in their present ability to observe the beautiful things of their surroundings that it becomes increasingly important that the teacher provide an environment which is attractive and inviting. In the second situation the pupils have had experience with the essential equipment in their own homes and so can visualize to some extent the use of that equipment at the table. Bobbitt[18] says--

One needs to have his consciousness saturated by living for years in the presence of art forms of good quality. The appreciations will grow up unconsciously and inevitably; and they will be normal and relatively unsophisticated. As a matter of fact, art to be most enjoyed and to be most serviceable, should not be too conscious.

Schoolrooms in which pupils spend a large part of their waking hours should provide for the building of appreciation in this way, and it is especially true in the homemaking room. Some home economics teachers have cleverly planned for students to share in the responsibility of creating and maintaining an attractive classroom as a means of stimulating interest in art. It would be well for all home economics teachers to follow this practice.

In many economics laboratories there are several possible improvements that would make better environment for art teaching. Suggestions for such improvements include:

1. More color in the room through the use of flowers, colorful pottery, colored candles, and pictures, featuring arrangements that could be duplicated in the home.

2. More emphasis upon structural lines--

_a._ Pictures that are grouped and hung correctly. _b._ Attractive arrangement of a teacher's desk. _c._ Arrangement of the furniture so that the groupings are well balanced and the wall spaces are nicely proportioned. _d._ Good arrangement of materials on bulletin board.

3. More attention to orderliness--

_a._ When class is not working, orderliness in window-shade arrangement. _b._ Elimination of unnecessary objects and furnishings to avoid cluttered appearance. _c._ Tops of cases and cupboards or open shelves cleared.

There are few seasons in the year when the teacher can not introduce interesting shapes and notes of color through products of nature. The fall brings the colored leaves and bright berries which last through the winter. Bulbs may be started in late winter for early spring, and certain plants can be kept successfully throughout the year. With such interesting possibilities for using natural flowers, berries, and grasses, why would a teacher resort to the use of artificial flowers or painted grasses?

Morgan[19] pertinently discusses the artificial versus the real:

Some say "What about painted weeds and grasses?" No; that is mockery. It doesn't seem fair to paint them with colors that were not theirs in life. One can almost fancy hearing the dead grasses crying out, "Don't smear us up and then display us like mummies in a museum." Remember, a true artist, one who truly loves beauty, despises imitation or deceit.

There are several interesting possibilities for home table centerpieces to be used during the winter months when flowers are not available. Grapefruit seeds or parsley planted in nice-shaped, low bowls grow to make attractive-shaped foliage for the table. A sweetpotato left half covered with water in a low bowl sprouted and made the graceful arrangement of pretty foliage pictured in Figure 7, page 29.

Pupils are more apt to provide such plants in their homes if they see examples of the real centerpieces at school. It is, therefore, worth while for a teacher to direct a class in starting and caring for one or more types of them.

In one State a definite effort is made in planning home-economics departments to have the dining room open directly into corridors through which most of the pupils of the entire school pass at some time during the day. See figure 8, page 30.

This arrangement permits pupils to observe attractive as well as suitable arrangements of the dining room furnishings, and especially of the table. Such a plan should be effective in establishing ideals of what is good and in raising standards in the homes of boys as well as of girls in the community.

A further contributing essential to stimulating interest in art is a teacher who exemplifies in her appearance the art she is teaching. It is said that sometimes our most successful teaching is done at a time when the teacher is least conscious of it. The teacher of an art class who appears in an ensemble of clothing which is unsuited to the occasion and in which the various parts are not in harmony with each other from the standpoint of color, of texture, or of decoration loses sight of one of her finest opportunities for influencing art practices of pupils and developing good taste in them.

There is no more applicable situation for the old adage, "Practice what you preach," than in the teaching of art. One teacher was conducting a discussion on the choice of bowls and vases for flowers as a part of flower arrangement while behind her on the desk was a bottle into which a bunch of flowers had been jammed. Contrast this with the situation in which the teacher had worked out the arrangement of wild flowers and grasses as shown in Figure 1.

DISCUSSION OF METHOD IN THE TEACHING OF ART

In discussing the best methods of teaching art, Whitford[20] says:

As a practical subject art education calls for no exceptional treatment in regard to methods of instruction. The instruction should conform to those general educational principles that have been found to hold good in the teaching of other subjects. Without such conformity the best results can not be hoped for.

It is anticipated that through the course in related art pupils will have gained an ability to choose more suitably those materials and articles of wearing apparel and of home furnishing which involve color and design. It is through understanding certain fundamental principles of art and using them that the everyday art problems can be more adequately solved. The teacher is confronted with the question as to how to develop most successfully this understanding and ability. Shall she proceed from the stated principles to their application in solving problems or shall she start with the problems and so direct their solution that the important principles and generalizations are derived in the process. The present trend in education is toward the second procedure and in keeping with this trend, the elaboration of method in this section is confined to the so-called problem-solving method. When pupils have an opportunity to formulate their own conclusions in solving problems and through the solution of many problems having an identical element find a generalization or principle that serves as a guide in other procedures, experience seems to indicate that they get not only a clearer conception of the principle but are able also to make greater subsequent use of it.

In their everyday experiences pupils are continually faced with the necessity for making selections, combinations, and arrangements which will be satisfying from the standpoint of color and design. Before they can select wisely they need some standards upon which to base their judgments and by which they can justify their decisions. Before they can make satisfying arrangements and combinations of material they need judgment skill in determining what to do. They also need principles or standards by which they can determine how to proceed. Finally, they need opportunity for practice so that they may become adept in assembling articles and materials into pleasing and harmonious groupings and arrangements.

The more experience pupils have in confronting and solving true-to-life problems under the guidance of the teacher, the greater is the probability that they will have acquired habits of thinking that will enable them to solve successfully the many problems that they are continually forced to meet in life.

It might be well to inquire at this point the meaning of the word problem as used in this bulletin. According to Strebel and Morehart[21]--

Probably there is no better definition of a problem than the condition which is spoken of by Doctor Kilpatrick as a "balked activity." This idea is general enough to include all sorts and phases of problems, practical and speculative, simple and difficult, natural and artificial, final and preliminary, empirical and scientific, and those of skill and information. It covers the conditions which exist when one does not know what to do either in whole or in part, and when one knows what to do but not how to do it, and when one knows what to do and how to do it but for lack of skill can not do it.

In teaching by the problem-solving method Professor Lancelot[22] makes use of three types of problems.

Through the first type, known as the _inductive problem_, the pupil is to determine certain causes or effects in the given situation. In determining these causes and effects, various details of information are needed but these do not remain as isolated and unrelated items. Out of the several facts is evolved a general law, a truth, or a principle. For example, in developing pupil ability to understand and use the underlying principle of emphasis, the teacher may make use of such questions as:

Have you ever tried to watch a three-ring circus? Pupils are given an opportunity to relate their experiences.

Have you ever seen a store window that reminded you of a circus? In which of the store windows on Center Street do you think the merchant has displayed his merchandise to the greatest advantage? Why?

From a discussion of such questions as these the teacher can lead the pupil to realize the desirability of avoiding confusion in combining and arranging articles used together and to understand at least one way of producing the desired effect.

The next type is the _judgment or reasoning problem_, which offers two or more possible solutions. In certain subjects as mathematics in which there is but one correct answer, the reasoning problem is used. In other subjects in which, in the light of existing conditions, there is a best answer, the judgment problem is used. This best answer or final choice is determined upon the basis of the law or principle established through the inductive problems. Few subjects are more concerned with the making of choices than art. For this reason, judgment problems play an important part in an art training which is to function in the daily lives of pupils. As soon as a principle has been tentatively established, it is desirable to give the pupils an opportunity to recognize the use of the principle in several similar situations and to use it as a basis for making selections. For example, following the establishment of the principle of emphasis, the teacher may ask the pupils:

Will each of you select from these magazines an advertisement in which your attention was immediately attracted to the article for sale? Be ready to tell the class why you were attracted to this piece of merchandise.

The third and final type is the _creative problem_, which makes use of the truth or principle discovered in the inductive problems, so that the pupil is encouraged to do some creative thinking by using the principle as the basis for determining procedure to follow in a new situation. Since everyday living is full of opportunities for making choices and combinations, it is essential that both judgment and creative problems be included in practical art training. For example, to teach the use of the creative problem in the study of emphasis the instructor may say to a pupil:

Choose a partner with whom to work. From the materials I am providing make an attractive table arrangement for a living room, and then choose a large piece of wallpaper or a textile that would make a good background for it.

Lamps, candles, candlesticks, flowers, pottery, and books will be provided for this activity, as well as the textiles and the wallpaper.

Professor Lancelot[23] sets up five standards for determining what are good problems. They must, he says, be--