Art Education for a Change: Contemporary Issues and the Visual Arts

It was the beginning of a new school year and our principal was busily reciting her "Welcome to your first day of high school" speech for the fresh batch of eighth graders. The students had spent their morning touring the school and were now sitting in the auditorium, waiting to be dismissed to their homeroom teachers. As the principal began a rather uninspired explanation of locker assignments and general hallway etiquette, a boy in the fifth row stood up and, with surprising intensity, yelled out "CHINK" at the top of his lungs. The eighth graders, clearly shocked by the interruption, responded by quickly turning their heads in search of the outburst. Almost immediately, a second …