Public Pedagogy of Upstander Art

As I reflect on the explorations of the Public Pedagogy of Upstander Act, I am surprised by how present each week’s focus has been in my life and the lives of my classmates. Reading about the emotions, struggles, hardships my peers experience or witness every day left me with thinking about why these conversations are so important. Having a have a platform in which people can emotionally connect, share stories, offer perspective, is a large part of the human experience and what it means to express ourselves. As I read through different blog posts centered around different but related topics each week, I realized that there were many common themes that united everyone.

One theme that I noticed arise frequently was the idea of perspective and who is telling the story. The experience of reading the posts of my classmates felt as though it had multiple layers. First, I was listening to the ideas and thoughts of someone with a different perspective than myself. Then, the posts also shed light on situations where the protagonist also had different perspectives and experiences. In Elizabeth’s most recent post, she mentions The Dangers of the Single Story by C.N. Adichi. Elizabeth mentions how as a teacher we must be open and aware of the individual identities each student has. Through the discussions so far this semester, I feel as though I have had the opportunity to have conversations that open and hold space for different perspectives and ideas to be heard.

Although I have seen similar themes and topics arise in the blog posts each week, the multiple perspectives brought together in this forum has allowed me to see or experiences circumstances or ideas I otherwise would not have. For instance, I often fall into the habit of thinking there is a singular way for me to accomplish a task or project. Throughout the semester, I have witnessed and experienced innovation and creativity from my peers that I never could have imagined. For instance, I was really intrigued by Lance’s re-mixed vinyl samples that were representative of Maria Altmann’s heroism and the tragic losses suffered in the Holocaust. In addition to what was created or shared, it was also interesting to read about the various backgrounds each one of us comes from and how that influences what we have to share. For instance, I am an elementary teacher, so it was interesting to read about the difference settings we find ourselves in each day and how we all have the mutual connection of art education.

As I reflect and move forward, what resonates with me is the idea of a call to action, as we’ve read and experienced, being a bystander isn’t enough. Having space to share these thoughts and have these discussions feels like a catalyst for bringing these issues into the front of our minds during our day to day lives. If I spend time thinking about what it means to be an upstander, hopefully, I can be mindful when I recognize the need to play that role.  When we make the choice to have discourse related to difficult but necessary topics, we hold space for these ideas and allow conversations and awareness to become more present. I look forward to continue exploring and engaging with my peers throughout the semester, learning more about others and myself in the process.