ARE6641 Spring B 2019

Megan Kounnas

How Can Art Teachers Influence Environmental Sustainability in the Classroom?

There isn’t much that is more important than having clean air to breathe, food to

eat, water to drink and a place to live. If maintaining our own homes and gardens or

neighborhoods was all it took to sustain life we needn’t worry about the world and what

others do. Unfortunately, the roots to keeping our planet sustainable to life extend

beyond our homes and neighborhoods. They are out of our personal control. Every

person’s interactions with our environment directly effects the environmental quality in

our personal spaces. If our environment’s well-being is so vital to our survival,

education on environmental studies and awareness should be included in every-day

education (Taylor, 1997). Art teachers have the opportunity to positively influence and

make students aware of the delicate ecosystems and environment we need to sustain in

order for the healthy survival of our only place to live, planet Earth.

As times have progressed since mankind has roamed the planet, humans have

been innovators and sought ways to make life easier and daily tasks and routines more

convenient. Using time saved by these innovations, we have been able to focus our

energies elsewhere, building cities, educating ourselves and our children, enjoying our

lives with hobbies, sport and travel. With the good also comes the bad. Many of these

innovations have been destroying the planet at rates faster than it can regenerate itself

and keep up with. Plastic has been a miracle invention that has made packaging

easier, an inexpensive alternative to many things like toys, flatware, art supplies and

more. With the ease comes more consumption, and therefore more waste. Out of the
plastic produced and consumed in the world, 50% is thrown out after the first use

making enough plastic waste to circle the earth four times each year (San Francisco

becomes…, 2019). According to McCarthy (2019), in one year, people around the

world use and discard over a trillion plastic bags. The United States used to be able to

sell discarded waste to China, where it would be recycled and made into new things. In

2018, China banned almost all imports of plastics, when before, they were bringing in

70% of the world’s trash. That is seven million tons of trash a year. Other countries

now accepting our trash do not have the capacity to recycle or dump it, so illegal

dumping is causing toxic pollution and waste to end up in oceans and other ecosystems

(Joyce, 2019). How can art educators help this desperate situation threatening the only

place humans have to live?

One great advantage art teachers have, is the power of teaching aesthetics.

Bailey (1969) explains how the study of art gives children the ability to understand and

interpret the things we see in the world for more than their literal meaning. Through art,

students can gain deeper understanding of the crisis our planet faces with over-

consumption of wasted materials piling up in landfills and spilling into our forests and

oceans. By teaching lessons using environmental imagery, art educators can make

students aware of areas in the world where you can actually see the damage pollution is

causing the earth. Chris Jordan is an artist and photographer who focuses his work on

photographs of mass consumption and sculptures or images created from waste. His

goal is to send a message about our unconscious behaviors in everyday life that

contribute to the ever-growing over-consumption problem in the U.S. and the world

(Everette, 2010). By showing students images of Jordan’s work, students not only see
how he was able to artistically capture images of environmental destruction and also

create beautiful sculptures from the waste, but they will also see the impact of the

destruction caused by waste from our convenient lifestyles and how much we throw

away after one use. Aesthetic experiences promote student sensitivity in what they see,

which can be directly applied to the perception of quality in the environment (Bailey,

1969).

Another way art teachers can influence their students to live an environmentally

sustainable lifestyle, is to model it within the art classroom. Taylor (1997) reflects on the

days when her art classroom trashcan would be overflowing every day, prompting her to

one day dig through it to see what was causing it to get so full so fast. She discovered

that it was mostly not her students’ faults, although they contributed. Most of what she

found were printed handouts from class, old tests and quizzes, numerous discarded

charcoal renderings, old textbooks, excessive amounts of paper towels, unclaimed

artwork, other art room related papers and plastics along with one-use plastic cutlery,

packaging and coffee cups from her daily coffee run. As art teachers, we have the

ability to stimulate students’ perception making them aware of visual problems,

including those in our environment (Thomson, 1978). Taylor was able to bring her

students’ attention to the amount of waste coming from the art room by literally showing

them the trash in the bin. She started modeling environmentally conscious behaviors in

her teaching and lessons, along with her personal lifestyle in and outside the classroom

in hopes students would see and follow suit. After brainstorming ideas with her,

students wanted to take action by creating and displaying art from discarded trash

around their schools to make a statement about the waste produced by students and
staff. With every unit moving forward, they’d inquire how their work would impact the

earth (Taylor, 1997). These are simple questions art teachers can ask themselves and

their students before each lesson. The unit might not be focused on sustainability, but

the environment is still taken into consideration.

Inquiry-based learning encourages students to explore materials and content for

visual arts appreciation and artmaking. It also helps them to be aware and sensitive to

their surroundings which can help art educators teach sustainability using visual arts

(Sang, 2010). By asking students open-ended questions when guiding lessons,

students become actively involved in thinking of reasons why pollution and waste

problems exist in their communities and planet, and they start thinking creatively for

solutions.

Showing students artists who work with environmental themes result in students

thinking about the relationship between sustainability and art. Tin Yan Wong is an artist

from Hong Kong who uses discarded wood and other materials to create interactive

sculptures within the community. His artwork addresses issues with recycling and

environmental sustainability, and by making his sculptures interactive, his art gets more

notice and his messages are comprehended (Chung, 2017). Jean Shin is an artist born

in South Korea and raised in the United States who makes beautiful sculptures from

discarded every-day materials. Her art focuses on collective environmental and

personal issues faced within society (Shin, 2018). Artists Kwak Man Ho and Lam Yuk

Lin are both artists and environmental activists from Hong Kong who focus their work on

spreading awareness to the waste problem Hong Kong faces (Sang, 2010). These

artists and their work can inspire students to reuse found objects and recycle discarded
items for artistic expression while simultaneously sustaining and caring for their

environment (Chung, 2017).

Art teachers can use technology and digital-based arts to help teach students

about environmental concerns. Giving lessons on how graphics, words, color and

design play a big role in conveying messages. There are so many negative messages

we can spread about the state of the environment, but sometimes people react better to

positivity. Students could do digital-based art focusing on positive changes people,

communities and countries around the world have made to help lessen waste in society.

For instance, China’s ban on most imported plastics wasn’t to hurt the planet, but was

actually a way for them to focus on promoting domestic recycling (Joyce, 2019).

Companies around the world, like Avani and Ecovative have invented biodegradable

solutions to the plastic and polystyrene problem in the packaging industry. Ireland and

China both put regulations on their plastic bag distribution in shops causing Ireland to

have a 94% drop in plastic bag use and China’s plastic bag use to drop by 40 billion in

one year (BBC, 2014). Trader Joe’s grocery stores promise to eliminate 1 million

pounds of plastic from their stores in 2019 and turn to sustainable alternative instead

(McCarthy, 2019). These are all positive topics regarding sustainability that could be

introduced in art lessons and might result in creative thinking, inquiry, and problem-

solving.

If students understand their place in the world through the study of art, their

concern and action could make all the difference for the future of the environment and

its ability to sustain life for generations to come (Taylor, 1997). Bailey (1969) stated that

by educating students at a young age about values, as adults, their opinions, actions
and choices made as adults will be influenced. Taking this into consideration, educating

students about the issues our environment faces and how we can actively make

changes in the ways we interact with it, maybe as adults they will reject environmentally

inconsiderate values to make a difference in the world’s future. Their activism through

art could help to spread awareness to their communities and beyond, making sure that

humans continue to have a place to live on our current only home, planet Earth.

References

BBC Four (Levin, R.). (2014). The magic of mushrooms [Documentary]. Available

from https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b041m6fh

Chung, S.K., & Li, D. (2017). Art in daily living: the playful work of Tin Wong. Art

Education, 70(5), 57-62.

Everette, N. (2010). Museum-worthy garbage: The art of over-consumption. Discover

Magazine. Retrieved from

http://discovermagazine.com/galleries/zen-photo/g/garbage-art

Joyce, C. (Producer). (2019, March 13). All Things Considered [Audio Podcast].

Retrieved from

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/03/13/702501726/where-will-

your-plastic-trash-go-now-that-china-doesnt-want-it

McCarthy, J. (March, 2019). Trader Joe’s makes massive commitment to phase out

plastic. Retrieved from

https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/trader-joes-plastic

waste/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_content=global&utm_
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XaYZSOduw8z0MCgCJ0OQio6wXvBZHNaRhhJ9GjqUvtV4Gi2AyuyLI

San Francisco becomes first city to ban the sale of plastic bottles. (March, 2019).

Retrieved from

http://www.thescinewsreporter.com/2019/03/san-francisco-becomes-first-city-to-

ban.html

Sang, A.N.H. (2010). Plastic bags and environmental pollution. Art Education, 63(6),

39-43.

Shaw, A. (2019, April). 35 ways you can save the ocean from plastic. National

Geographic Kids, 28-31.

Shin, J. (2018). Jean Shin. Retrieved from

http://www.jeanshin.com/index.htm

Taylor, P.G. (1997). It all started with the trash: taking steps towards sustainable art

education. Art Education, 50, 13-18.

Thompson, R. (1978). The art teacher and environmental education-A Scottish

viewpoint. Art Education, 31(4), 19-21.