STORY

You spend so much time and energy trying to hide who you really areand in the end, who are you? It is all very confusing. All the while you really just want to be you, without any fears. We LDs live a life of deceit pretending to be like others and shame not wanting to be who we are (Rodis, Boscardin & Garrod, 2001, p. 25)

INTRODUCTION I have always found inspiration through my life experiences and through the stories of people around me. I traveled through Egypt, Jordan and Israel in between my Fieldwork class and Apprentice Teaching term over the winter break, and my traveling experiences greatly influenced the curriculum I designed for my action research project. While traveling in these countries, I began to question the idea of freedom and what it meant to live an honest, happy life. The bus route to Bethlehem was scenic
Figure 1: Untitled Graffiti on West Bank Wall, Bethlehem. Jan. 2011. Personal photograph by author. JPEG file.

until I saw the giant wall separating the Palestinians and Israelis. When I crossed the border to the West Bank, I was heartbroken and utterly shattered by the devastating reality Palestinians face daily in Israel and the Palestinian territories. The wall in Bethlehem, like the Berlin Wall, is full of powerful graffiti work (Figure 1), including works of UK artist Banksy, and empowering

personal testimonies by Palestinians about the impact of the wall in their lives (Figure 2). I heard gunshots going off just like fireworks as I stood by this wall. Tension loomed everywhere. In Hebron, it shook me to my core to see dried blood stained walls, bullet holes on storefronts and water tanks, and houses demolished to the ground. This scene screamed the story of violence and the cruelty of humanity. Fear of death was in the air. I couldnt help but question what it means to have freedom and peace rather than the realities of terror and death these people face every single day. When I arrived home I was overwhelmed and was still trying to digest everything I had seen and experienced in my trip. I wanted to share with my students what I saw and experienced in the West Bank. I was also curious to see how students with various disabilities encounter and create limits in their lives and how they would reflect critically upon and symbolize their limitations. Consequently, I was inspired to do a wall of limits project with my students at Thames High School.
Figure 2: Untitled Graffiti on West Bank Wall, Bethlehem. Jan. 2011. Personal photograph by author. JPEG file.

LESSON: THE WALL OF LIMITS

The wall of limits lesson looked at the controversial security wall between Israel and the West Bank. I started the lesson showing a map of the world and I asked my students if they knew where Israel and Palestine territories were. No one knew. Then I showed them another world map with Israel and Palestine territories highlighted. The students were very focused and

attentive as I showed the next slide of a regional map of Israel and Palestine territories with the wall going along the country. I engaged students in the topic by sharing the two conflicting views of the West Bank wall. The wall was built for Israels safety, but Palestinians feel their freedom is restricted and they have been cut off from their own land and resources that they relied on for daily living. My students argued for both sides: I dont know about you but I would want to feel safe at home, How can someone kick you out from your own property? I will put a big wall up too if my familys safety was at risk, Who decides whats right and whats wrong? etc. Thus we discussed and analyzed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I also talked to my students about how it feels in the US, where we do not have to cross barriers or walls to travel to another city or state. I asked them to pretend there was a wall going through Chicago, and how that would change their view of freedom. Students had a lot to say about this: Oh, I wont be able to see my friend, I guess I couldnt visit my family easily, I cant imagine having a wall through Chicago, That would be crazy, etc. During my slideshow presentation for the lesson, students saw numerous images of photographs I took of the West Bank Wall and saw empowering personal messages by Palestinians and graffiti work as a result of the wall. A few of the images are shown in Figures 3, 4, 5, & 6. In build bridges, not walls (Figure 3), students saw the slogan as a call to others for peace and unity. In the image of blue tree stumps with their roots exposed in the air (Figure 4), students felt it conveyed how growth and progress have been shunt down pointing to the devastating situation at large. Another image had a white dove with olive leaves flying over the city of Jerusalem with all the walls crumbling down (Figure 5). White dove with olive leaves is a

Figure 3, 4, 5, 6 (from top to bottom and left to right respectively): Untitled Graffiti on
West Bank Wall, Bethlehem. Jan. 2011. Personal photograph by author. JPEG file.

symbol of peace and students felt this piece vividly states the need for people to come together as one. The next picture had two children, a boy and a girl, holding hands while a helicopter drop hearts between them. Beneath the image, the stenciled text states call for humanity (Figure 6). This image made a strong statement to my students because it subtly asked the viewer to imagine hearts being dropped instead of bombs and how that would change lives of people on both sides of the wall. Above all, the image juxtaposed against the reality of the location gave the piece a universal resonance. Also the text call for humanity, is an outcry to others for help. My students were excited to see these images and analyzed the content behind each one thoroughly. It gave them a greater understanding of the situation and showed them how narrative art using powerful slogans, images from daily life, and other symbolic elements can be used to empower and to promote change in peoples daily lives. They also saw international graffiti artists responses to the Wall, including UK artist, Banksy.

Banksy and his works Banksy, a well-known graffiti artist from Bristol, UK, whose real name and identity is still a mystery. His pieces generally address serious social and political issues with a keen sense of humor and satire. He uses satirical street art on public surfaces like walls and streets using a unique stenciling technique to convey his messages. His black and white stenciled images are simple and at times whimsical, full of metaphors, forcing the viewer to look at the situation in a poignant manner. Banksys graffiti works on the West Bank wall (Figure 7, 8, 9) are provocative and controversial and in line with his other social commentary pieces. For example, Unwelcome Intervention (Figure 7) depicts two children with buckets and a shovel, with a crack in the wall

showing a serene beach scene. As the title suggests the wall is an unwelcome intervention to the Palestinians. The children, both stenciled in black and white, seem to be blissfully playing on the concrete side of the wall instead of at the beach. There is a huge contrast in colors between the bright, sunny beach and the dull, grey color of the boys and the cold wall portraying hopelessness. The image suggests children to be blocked off from enjoying good things in life by being on the other side of the wall and are forced to make the best of their situation. The crack through the wall looks into a better world and simultaneously creates an ironic statement that things are better on the other side. The yellow bucket situated in between the boys could be symbolic to possibilities and happiness. Through this image, Banksy is suggesting tearing the wall down to let peace and serenity peek in. In his A Balloon Debate (Figure 8), a black stencil image of a girl is shown flying up with a bunch of balloons. A balloon debate is a debate in which speakers are imagined flying in a hot air balloon that is about to crash due to extra passengers and someone must be thrown out of the balloon for everyones survival. Banksys balloon debate portrays a girl flying high and perhaps could fly over the barrier with hope. It provokes a wistful look at freedom long gone by placing it on the wall. Also, in a typical balloon debate there are many passengers and one balloon, in contrast to Banksys work, there is only one passenger and many balloons. It implies that the girl will be safe even if one balloon crashes, balloon symbolic of hope, since she has others that will bring her back to her place. Also, it suggests that no one needs to be thrown out of the balloon in this debate for others survival, hinting on unity and togetherness since there are multiple balloons to keep the journey safe and sound.

Figure 7: Banksy. Unwelcome Intervention. 2005. Graffiti. Guardian News and Media Limited Web. 11 Jul 2011.<http://arts.guardian.co.uk/pictures/i mage/0,8543,-10405256016,00.html>. Figure 8: Banksy. A Balloon Debate. 2005. Graffiti. Guardian News and Media Limited Web. 11 Jul 2011. <http://arts.guardian.co.uk/pictures/image/ 0,8543,-10405256016,00.html>.

Figure 9: Banksy. Stable Conditions. 2005. Graffiti. Guardian News and Media Limited Web. 11 Jul 2011. <http://arts.guardian.co.uk/pictures/imag e/0,8543,-10405256016,00.html>.

Banksys Stable Conditions (Figure 9) shows an image of a horse with its head and legs showing through the two cut outs on the wall. According to Guardian News and Media Limited 2011, this piece compares the West Bank wall to an open prison with no freedom but just enough space to breath. The title Stable Conditions implies the conditions inside the wall are Stable like, when like the horse, people are also cut off from being free and restricted to live as they wish. This piece tells the grim reality of the immediate situation and forces the viewer to face what is happening as a result of the wall. Learning about Banksy and discussing his references on his work to the social and political issues at West Bank wall were crucial for my students. First of all, students learned about using graffiti art as a tool to open dialogue about serious matters. Secondly, through studying Banksys pieces, students learned about composition and using symbolic images in a simple but direct manner to convey messages effectively. Most importantly, students were able to see how Banksy successfully used his works as a means to convey his thoughts and feelings toward the wall and made viewers think about the situation in Israel and Palestine territories.

The Wall of Limits: The Processes After learning about Banksy and other graffiti artists and stencil techniques, the project turned personal. I invited the students to reflect on the limits and barriers they encounter in their everyday lives. The reflection went along with a bunch of guided questions such as these that I assigned for homework one per day: Draw or write one thing you would like to see change in the world, why? State one thing you have been most ignorant about in your life? Draw or write about an event when you made a mistake and couldnt forgive yourself, why not? Draw or write when you resented someone for doing you wrong, why? How can these things limit you from having a

fulfilled life? These were all personal questions and assigning them as homework gave the students ample time to reflect and write and also held them accountable for being prepared to class. There was one incident I had a student got angry about what she wrote and refused to show her homework. Another instance, I had a student show me his homework and said, Ms.George, I dont want you to think badly of me after reading this! I had to make it clear to my students that I am not judging them based on what they wrote but rather it was an exercise for them to reflect on limits that they came across everyday. All in all, students responded to my assignment in multiple levels. If someone drew a response, I would ask them to tell me what they drew and why. Some were thoughtful and reflective while others did the assignment but needed more input. To the latter group, I would ask questions for clarification and understanding and say, Oh, I dont understand what you mean by that, could you explain to me? I realized I was learning a lot of things about my students and how I need to navigate in the classroom while I was teaching. In addition, I also talked to the students about physical and mental defensive walls that we all put up daily, which stop us from living a joyful life. I said to one class, pretend Ryan is mad at Emily for telling on him to the teacher and getting an in-school suspension. Instead of working things out by talking about what is bothering him, Ryan chooses to put his defensive wall up. When Emily asks him something he would respond aggressively, raising his voice, letting her know that he is still angry with her. Emily is not willing to apologize when Ryan continues to attack her. Now, they are both being defensive with their walls high up. Thus, using pretend analogies, we discussed how mental walls could make one feel just as physical walls do, by denying us access to an emotional space, and thus hindering personal progress and growth. Through this project, students explored the idea of freedom and what freedom means to

them. My approach focused on emphasizing their strengths and capabilities, but also critically reflecting on situations in their world. Students also learned to think critically about what happens when freedom is restricted, or when mental walls or barriers are built for personal safety and protection due to fear, anger, and hate. By creating and transforming a wall of limits, students learned ways of exploring boundaries and limitations while making artwork. Their first assignment for the Wall of Limits lesson was to draw or write one thing they are fearful of or is a negative in their life. One student, Stephanie, filled out a whole sheet of paper with all the things she was fearful of (Figure 10). She listed getting hurt, tigers, monkeys, snakes, rats, flying etc. Then, I asked her to pick one that is the scariest of all and she chose flying. Next, I asked students to find positive alternatives to their fearful thing. They had the option of drawing or writing down their positive alternatives and once they had a concrete solution, students had to transfer their solution into a shape that could be used as a stencil. This activity required creating a positive imagery toward something they had a negative connotation with and through finding other possibilities students learned to change their perspective. For instance, Stephanie was afraid of flying in an airplane but she loved birds more importantly because they had beautiful wings. So her positive symbol for flying was a pair of wings. Jack was afraid of seizures. He said he gets them all the time. So, his creative possibility
Figure 10: Stephanie. Wall of limits (a list of fearful things). Pencil. March 2011. JPEG file.

for seizures was his pillow and blanket that kept him safe (Figure 11). Another student, Sam, has MS and was in a power chair. He was scared of zombies, so his image was the shoes zombies wear, because one day he hopes to walk in one of their shoes (Figure 12). Rodney was afraid of guns and shooting in neighborhoods around him. His safe place was playing basketball (Figure 13). He hoped he could visit his neighborhoods and play basketball out in the open parks one day. There upon, students used symbolic elements and narrative accounts to make sense of their lives, and their reactions varied from being scared and confused by what they found, to coming up with creative ways of conquering fears and finding ways around their limits. They were surprised to find creative possibilities in situations they though were impossible.

Figure 11: Jack. Wall of limits (stencil). Charcoal & Stencils. April 2011. JPEG file.

Figure 12: Sam. Wall of limits (stencil). Charcoal & Stencils. April 2011. JPEG file.

Figure 13: Rodney. Wall of limits (stencil). Charcoal & Stencils. April 2011. JPEG file.

Following the brainstorming, and changing negative, fearful things into positive personal symbols, students learned to create stencils based on their positive symbol (Appendix A). They were extremely enthusiastic to create stencils after watching a short clip of Banksys Exit Through the Gift Shop documentary, which highlighted his process and stencil techniques. Throughout the stencil making process, the objective for the activity was keeping the image as simple as possible while creating curiosity. Several students needed help cutting out their shapes and they promptly requested help. There were some students who couldnt follow through their lines while cutting and ended up with different stencils than they hoped for. They were content with it and I did not ask them to change their image, re-cut another stencil or make a stencil for them, it was important for me to have them own their project. I always extended my help in activities, nevertheless, I let students decide what they want and if or when they needed help rather than assuming and interrupting their natural learning process. The next day, students learned about reverse graffiti. Reverse graffiti or scrubbing, is a technique where artists remove paint or dirt from a wall to create an artwork using scrub brushes, scrapers and pressure hoses. Students looked at reverse graffiti work done

Figure 11: Jack. Wall of limits (positive symbol). Pencil drawing. March 2011. JPEG file.

by artists such as Dutch Ink and Moose. Moose is a Californian artist (Figure 14) and Dutch Ink is a group based in South Africa (Figure 15). Their work is described as environmental art where they create art on public spaces by scrubbing out the grime and dirt on walls. The message behind their work are also suggestive of being environmentally conscious and swiftly brings viewers attention to pollution, consumption and other social issues. The students, influenced by Dutch Ink and Mooses techniques, made their reverse graffiti work on charcoal covered sheets (Figure 16, 17) and used their positive symbol stencil to erase out their shapes using an eraser (Figure 18) as if they were scrubbing out their symbol on a grimy wall.

Figure 14: Moose. Go Gently. 2010. Reverse Graffiti. Inhabitant.com Web. 11 Jul 2011. <http://inhabitat.com/re verse-graffiti/>. Figure 15: Dutch Ink. Timeline of Westville. 2010. Reverse Graffiti. Inhabitant.com. Web. 11 Jul 2011. <http://inhabitat.com/reve rse-graffiti-south-africanartists-tag-walls-byscrubbing-them-clean/>.

Figure 16 & 17: Wall of limits (reverse graffiti technique using stencils). Charcoal. March 2011. JPEG file.

Figure 18: A Collection of Student Work. Wall of limits (reverse graffiti). Charcoal & Stencils. April 2011. JPEG file.

Finally, the class was ready to create a wall installation. Students were thrilled to work directly on a giant wall covered with white paper. Every student got a turn to dirty up the white paper with charcoal by rubbing, smudging and blending it on heavily. Students who couldnt press with charcoal had hand over hand help by an aid or by me. They all worked together diligently to create a grimy, dirty wall and it was an interactive team process. By the end of the day, the wall was fully covered with black charcoal and ready for scrubbing. Our agenda for the next day was trying out reverse graffiti technique directly on the wall by scrubbing charcoal using an eraser and positive symbol stencils students made the previous day. Without doubt, charcoal is a great medium but a messy one using it was a very tedious and challenging task for my students and myself. I announced to every
Figure 19: Wall of limits (in process). Charcoal. March 2011. JPEG file.

class in the beginning that everyone gets a chance to clean up thoroughly at the sink and sponge clean everything at the end of class. Even then, some students still needed constant reminders. They would get distracted using charcoal because it would get on their hands, their aprons and on their clothes (Figure 19). I had to reassure students that it was not something to be fearful of and that it will wash away. Students learned not to be afraid of charcoal that day and I learned a great lesson about limitations. In addition to dirtying up the wall, students started tracking charcoal all over the art

room and in the hallways. The school seemed to be big in cleanliness policy and on a typical school day custodians are usually out mopping and cleaning hallways and classrooms. Unbeknownst to me, my charcoal activity started to trace itself from the art room to the hallways in the form of charcoal footprints. The custodians were livid and they wanted to know why I was using charcoal in the art room and asked to stop using the medium. They also scheduled and repainted the whole art room floor as a result of charcoal smudges. Thats when I understood why none of my students had any prior experience using charcoal at the school. I stopped using charcoal, spray fixed all the charcoal embedded work in the hope that I can still carry out my lesson successfully. That was one of the toughest days of my apprentice teaching. The next day, I tied what I was going through with the wall of limits project and articulated with my students how in life things that shape our characters most effectively are the barriers, challenges, limitations, and unpleasant surprises. I asked them to use this as a learning moment to embrace the difficulties we encounter everyday and look on the bright side. I recommended using different modes of perspective and patient persistence instead of giving up so that the situation may offer many chances to test ourselves and learn about the world around us. I explained to them that a reverse graffiti technique happening directly on the wall was out of the question since we cant use charcoal any longer and the charcoal was spray fixed with fixatives so its sealed and dry on paper. So much excitement was built up over creating reverse graffiti onto the charcoal wall, some students were disappointed by the changes. I had to make it clear to the class that we will keep moving forward with our wall installation project with different materials and that it would still be a challenging project with all the activities that are ahead. My students trusted me and concurred to our new plans. With their support, I moved right along with my lesson adopting non-charcoal media activities.

Figure 21: Student Work. Wall of limits (stencil). Oil Pastels & Stencils. April 2011. JPEG file.

Figure 20: Student Work. Wall of limits (stencil). Oil Pastels & Stencils. April 2011. JPEG file.

To finish up the project, students used oil pastels, collage techniques and stencils. They placed their positive symbols stencil on the wall background and created colorful oil pastel outlines directly on to the charcoal-fixed wall (Figure 20). Then they were assigned to group charcoal-fixed positive stencil images they made and adhered them on top of the background (Figure 21). Students added, overlapped and extracted images from the wall throughout the process to create a cohesive, harmonious installation piece. They learned about composition, repetition, pattern, form, and creating a collage during the process. Afterwards, students created collages stating positive slogans with imagery from magazines and foam letters (Figure 22). Some of the slogans read like this: No place like home, No boundaries, the choices are really yours, Global soul etc. Students also pasted to the wall some of the cut out stencils they used for the images (Figure 23, see red stencils on the finished wall installation) thus creating random layers like a graffiti wall. At last, they took the wall installation down, cut them into vertical strips to simulate the West Bank wall, glued it down on a green sheet spacing each strip well

enough to have the background color show through and hung it back on the classroom wall. The installation piece was finally complete and ready for show. In the end, students successfully created a wall installation piece in response to the disputes and challenges that come with having no freedom when there is a barrier. It was a great way for me to start building a rapport with them as we shared our thoughts and reflections and struggled to find positive resolutions to their fearful events. As a result of this project, students started to question events that were linked with lack of freedom and limitations in their daily lives and reflected on ways things could improve in the future. Similarly, the wall of limits project gave me an insight into students lives, their fears and how they perceive the world around them.
Figure 22: Student Work. Wall of limits (collage). Magazine cut outs & Foam Letters. April 2011. JPEG file.

Figure 23: Thames High School. Wall of Limits. Installation. March 2011. JPEG file.

Some of the concepts that influenced my action research project at Thames High School are the deficit model, differentiated instruction and critical definitions of disability. I will now describe some significant anecdotes that occurred during my teaching time at the high school that will be useful in illustrating these concepts.

Not a Deficit Model: Criticality in Exploring Boundaries and Limitations Through a Wall Installation My approach with my high school students was an alternative to the deficit model approach, which emphasizes students limitations. In a deficit approach to learning, content is memorized and repeated. Too often, educators assume that students with disabilities are incapable of critical thinking. Instead, in my approach to focusing on students strengths and capabilities, I used three methods: personal stories, differentiated instruction and invitation to the students to learn about history through art making. Nyman and Jenkins (1999) recommended using narrative accounts in art education as the basis of meaningful learning assessment. Similarly, I used personal stories as
Figure 24: Wall of Limits (detail). Installation. March 2011. JPEG file.

narrative accounts, integrating experiences and events from students everyday lives in my

projects (Figure 24). Moreover, I facilitated differentiated instruction to implement meaningful learning. Nyman and Jenkins (1999) also advise utilizing stories and narratives in the art education process as a natural extension of historical storytelling (p. 4). I did this through teaching students about the West Bank Wall so that they learned about history while reflecting on critical social issues. Through the wall project, by looking at the way the artists were working on the West Bank Wall, I negotiated a space for my students to talk critically about their own limitations and freedoms and gave a voice to the students struggles. As the class was working on the wall of limits project, one of the homework assignments I gave the students was, If you could go back in time, and do one thing over, what would it be? Stacy said she wished she could go to a normal school. I asked her what she meant by that and she laughed it off saying she didnt know. When I first started my Apprentice Teaching, I didnt know whom Stacy was because she
Figure 25: Stacy. Object of frustration. CD cover. April 2011. JPEG file.

was absent so frequently. I noticed that she was showing up to class more often toward my second week at the high school and was becoming an active participant in my classroom. She is generally very quiet and shy so it was easy to not feel her presence among the other students,

who had high energy. She was always willing to give things a try and would timidly ask for help if needed. She didnt socialize much with her classmates unless it was absolutely necessary. She would work hard and stay focused all throughout the class period, always pushing her limits with her artwork by putting in extra time and taking it a step further (Figure 25). I wondered after our conversation about going to a normal school, what normalcy meant in her world. Earlier, in my Literature Review: Addendum, I discussed the story of Lynn Pelkey, who remembers wanting to be in a normal class. Was Stacy feeling less than, like Lynn Pelkey, and feeling stupid? Did her world include social support, people who understood her struggles and teachers who werent underestimating her potential? Did she want a critical opportunity to participate in her own learning? Did my projects make her think critically and inspire her to wonder if there is more to learning than memorizing and doing repetitive tasks?

Differentiated Instruction: Resolutions and Applications in Teaching and Learning Through Touch Sculptures Being a keen observer and learner both inside and outside the classroom, I saw a lot of students use anger as a defense mechanism daily. I sensed in my students a lot of unresolved, bottled up emotions that they stored inside. The students emotional struggles seemed to hinder their progress in moving forward with their learning. For example, as Schiller (1999) writes, typically, life-skills based special education curricula are what mostly happens during the school year, where students learn a skill or trade that will further their ability to find a job when they graduate from the high school. I did not want to concentrate on teaching students life skills when there was a need for these urgent emotional issues to be addressed through curriculum. Instead, I designed a feel it out: resolutions through touch sculpture project

incorporating a multidimensional perspective in my lesson plan. After reflecting on my lessons, I realized my projects at Thames High School were not as inclusive as I thought; two blind students in my first period class were not able to participate fully since the earlier projects required seeing as an active component. Hence, my feel it out touch sculpture project was inspired by the bottled up emotions students were carrying around at the high school, as well as by the two blind students. I wanted to create a project that was inclusive all-around and would meet the needs of all of my students. Further, we looked at artist Svava Juliusson and how she effectively uses recycled, nontraditional materials for her sculptures to create a narrative of her surroundings. According to svavathordis website the artist was born in Iceland, immigrating to Canada at age ten. Many of her work starts with personal narratives that were transferred into objects. Her current body of work is a reaction to the accumulation of art-making materials (styrofoam balls, bungee cords, scraps of linoleum, shards of plaster, cable ties etc,) in her home and studio. Ideas around transformation are central to her work and the artwork is rooted in her interest in using and manipulating traditional sculptural techniques with non-traditional materials. For instance, her Blackbird, and Sko! (everything happens all at once) are made of cable ties, which are tied together to create clusters (Figure 26, 27). Her sculpture, Svona in Icelandic mean this way and it looks like a wing and is also made of cable ties (Figure 28). Svona resemble things viewers might associate with a wing or a cloud, or a movement or change. The piece is about idea of transformation and it could be a reflection about her migration to Canada when she was young.

Figure 26: Svava Juliusson. Blackbird. 2010. Sculpture. Svavathordis Web. 11 Jul 2011.

Figure 27: Svava Juliusson. Sko! (everything happens all at once). 2008. Sculpture. Tinku Tales Web. 11 Jul 2011.

Figure 28: Svava Juliusson. Svona. 2008. Sculpture. Brayham Contemporary Art Web. 11 Jul 2011.

My feel it out touch sculpture project used found objects such as eggshells, recycled wood chunks, and tissue paper in addition to Braille to create a relief sculpture that students could touch/feel while letting their feelings out. Through this project students were able to explore and discuss everyday frustrations in the process of making sculpture with non-traditional sculpting techniques and materials. Students were encouraged to take their emotions out on the eggshells and crack them during the process. Both of my blind students, Linda and Jaime, were able to participate in this project. Linda was proficient in Braille. She was able to show the class how to use a Braille machine (Figure 29), and she typed all the titles of the touch sculptures in Braille, which was an important addition to the relief piece. In the end, through this project, students found creative ways of dealing with their daily frustrations while creating a tactile, touch sculpture that required them to feel the surface rather than simply view an object, and have a multi-sensory level experience.

Figure 29: Braille Machine, Chicago. Apr. 2011. Personal photograph by author. JPEG file.

Figure 30: Eggshells, Chicago. Apr. 2011. Personal photograph by author. JPEG file.

One of the students, Andrew, who was diagnosed with ADHD, thoroughly enjoyed letting out his frustrations and rage on his eggshells, similar to Oliver Queens experience of venting his anger onto his toys. Andrew was very pleasant to me and was extremely caring but had a hostile, violent temperament toward others, and had no problem attacking anyone at any point for any reason. He was constantly misunderstood by his erratic and spontaneous nature that turned into a violent rage when he was attacked. I noticed after the cracking the eggshells activity was over, he was so engaged in the process, he went to the eggshell bin (Figure 30), took eggshells over to the trash can, smashed them, and said out loud, Ms. George, I am taking all my frustrations out. I believed him. Another student suggested that there should be eggshells to crack at the beginning of every class to let them calm down; this confirmed my belief in students needing an outlet to let out bottled up emotions constructively.

Figure 31: Stacy. The way I am. Touch Sculpture. April 2011. JPEG file.

Figure 32: Blake. Mystery solvers. Touch sculpture. April 2011. JPEG file.

I believe the hands-on experience with the idea of cracking something while diffusing an event/emotion can be a fun, critical process that gets students thinking about different ways of dealing with unsettling emotions (Figure 31, 32). I focused on creating a differentiated content/process/product/learning environment and curriculum that would facilitate the students process of letting out frustrations, confusion, anger, hate, sadness and embarrassment effectively while learning about new strategies that they could apply to different arenas in their life. In my Discussion Section, I will comment on how the project represents a unique approach to instruction for students with disabilities using differentiated instruction, and elaborate on the new things my students learned during my apprenticeship.

Definitions and Assumptions of Disability: a Teachable Moment Through a differentiated art curriculum, Guay (1999) affirms students are provided with ideas that enable each special needs student to creatively express, through art, the ideas and encounters of his or her life experiences and to meaningfully respond to their own art and the art of others (p. 9). Here we see that it is crucial to implement differentiated teaching strategies to create an inclusive classroom so everyones needs are met. As Guay reminds us about the benefits of a differentiated curriculum, my own assumptions about cognitive disability started to become evident during student teaching. I got to know my students and realized the term cognitive disability, was a common diagnosis associated with various mild to extreme disabilities. For example, during a rubbing project, I was unaware of a students physical disability and assumed because he was capable of writing and using his hands that he would have the upper body strength to do a rubbing activity. Incidentally, I was embarrassed and angry with myself for not being sensitive and remaining ignorant of his needs and his particular disability.

From this event, I learned what I would do differently next time. In my next teaching session, I applied different approaches in teaching to reach students of various disabilities to create an all-inclusive classroom. For example, I differentiated product by giving options for students to apply content in multiple ways for different outcomes. I realized the rubbing project I mentioned above would have been more successful if it was a group project so students can take turns during the activity, putting emphasis on ability, while learning to work together. I started to partner students for projects that required physical flexibility and so things can be done with the help and ideas of a team. Simultaneously, I learned to meet students at their level, by nourishing their strengths, and by creating a safe environment for learning to take place. In my Discussion Section, I will render in detail on how applying different strategies in teaching can create an inclusive classroom.

Figure 33: Ralph. Silent narratives of everyday frustrations. Text: I had a fight with my parent and he told me to go to my bedroom. April 2011. JPEG file.

Critical Definitions of Disability Through Graphic Representations of Frustrating Events I wanted my students to address the social perceptions of ability and disability through opening a dialogue about frustrating events they encounter in their everyday life (Figure 33). The critical focus of this project was inspired by an event that I witnessed on my way home from teaching. One of my students, Steve, was on the bus that I took. He got so excited when he saw me and started to turn around from his seat to talk to me. He had very little knowledge of personal and private space. As he was shifting around to talk to me, he was in the passengers personal space. The elderly passenger was outraged at Steves behavior and started to call out all sorts of profanities thinking he was a regular high school kid with no respect for others. Steve was hurt and his anger got the best of him. He stood his ground and started to throw back insults at the passenger and this continued on until Steve got out at his stop. I was shocked; hurt by the struggle Steve had to face that day and all the struggles that await him throughout his life. Later I told Steve to be careful of situations like that and watch out for himself and he replied back, I have to take care of myself. The following day we started a silent narratives of everyday frustrations project based on artist Soledad Ariass audible patterns artwork. Soledad Arias is a New York based artist who was born in Buenos Aries, Argentina. As Soledad Arias website 2011 states, she strongly believes that what we dont see is just as important as what we perceive. Her silent audible patterns are a form of subtitled visual narratives of recorded words that were derived from a series of videos, snippets, and plays. For example, her work titled [lullaby] is a visual narrative of words in abstraction (Figure 34). Viewers can visualize the audible moment and is immediately engaged with a dialogue of a moment thats passed. The piece brings a heightened awareness of everyday life and invites viewer to slow down and fully experience things around

Figure 34: Soledad Arias. [lullaby]. 2008. piezo us. She uses the quiet power of audible Lies Web 11 Jul a greater appreciation of things we pigment print. Art patterns to create 2011 <http://www.artlies.org/article.php? might not see or fail to see in our hectic life.

It was important for students in my classroom to learn about Soledad Arias because her work was bursting with all the elements and objectives of my lesson planthere was narration, reflection, interpretation, stories recreated and a true connection to our place in the world. To start our lesson on silent narratives of everyday frustrations project, students were asked to think of a frustrating experience as a base to create a graphic representation of the event on paper. Students learned about how artist Soledad created her silent narratives transforming words into graphic forms using lines that simulate high and low pitch. Students used short vertical lines and long vertical lines to show the pitch and mood of an event, short lines expressing a quieter tone and long lines portraying an intense exchange. Steve, who inspired me to do this lesson with the frustrating event on the bus, looked at me and said, You saw what happened. I agreed that I had, but I still wanted him to reflect on what happened and tell the story from his point of view. He worked on his project and told me, I was angry at the man for yelling at me, so I yelled back and then I calmed down on my way home.

Figure 35: Steve. Silent narratives of everyday frustrations. Text: I was feeling mad on the bus and wanted to fight someone, then I calmed down. April 2011. JPEG file.

Social perceptions of disability are particularly isolating for children with learning disabilities because they know they are different, but their differences are not visible. Through Steves artwork (Figure 35), it was wonderful to see the incident and what he was experiencing from his perspective. The project also empowered him to voice his opinion and reflect on what happened. The silent narratives of everyday frustrations project encouraged students to portray frustrated feelings on an object by creating motion while examining patterns of their behavior (Figure 36, & 37). In my Discussion Section, I will draw connections between the students work and their reflections on social perceptions of disabilities.

Figure 36: Scott. Silent narratives of everyday frustrations. Text: I got mad at my friend. April 2011. JPEG file.

Figure 37: Steve. Silent narratives of everyday frustrations. Text: I got mad at this girl that told me she did not wanted to be my friend anymore. I got mad at her why would she say that to me I thought to myself I did not do anything to her then at 9th period she told me about it and it calm me down she told me that a guy told her that but it was a lie then we became friends again. April 2011. JPEG file.

CONCLUSION Teaching while learning was a very challenging experience. I was wishing and hoping that I was doing the right thing for my students. I was torn between showing empathy to the students challenges while empowering them to focus on their strengths. As an action researcher/learner/observer, I figured out ways to use differentiated instruction to create an inclusive classroom. I used traditional and non-traditional art objects as a means for art making and gave a range of options to students to tell their stories. Some students became increasingly attached to my projects and were motivated to cooperate as they began to see the positive results of their efforts. Throughout my time at the high school, I was constantly on alert for what was happening in my classes, and in the end I made adaptations to my lessons in order to create a diverse, unique curriculum to meet the particular needs of this group of art students. In my Discussion section, I will comment upon how this approach to differentiating instruction in an art project, by focusing on exploring personal freedoms and limits, represents a critical approach to art education. Because this approach to art education focused on emotions, it might be perceived as therapeutic. Therefore, also in my Discussion section, I will show how my approach goes beyond therapeutic interventions and moves toward valuing and cultivating students critical capacities in art education.

DISCUSSION
Journal entry for the 4th week at Thames High School: At Thames, students are assigned homework every single class including art. It teaches them responsibility and accountability for their homework grade. Students reading and writing skills vary vastly so they have a choice to write or draw their assignment as well as orally repeat them if need to be. One day, when I was going around checking homework (the homework was about being ignorant about one thing in your life), one of the students said, I dont want you to think badly of me after reading this. And he was so nervous about showing me his work. So I made a class announcement saying this was a self-reflection assignment and that I am not going to be judging them based on what they wrote. I said I also say and do ignorant things too so I am not going to think you are a horrible person after reading your reflections. I am getting to know my students more and more every day. They are dealing with everything a teenager deals with daily no matter what their disabilities are. Some wants to be in the clique with the cool kids, some worry a lot what others think about them and some are very afraid of failures and would rather give up than try to do something and fail. I realized constant positive reinforcement and having high expectations are a must to keep them moving forward. Their lives are filled with so many conflicts and challenges; fortunately I get to hear about them and learn about who they are as we do art based on their everyday experiences. INTRODUCTION Storytelling is a crucial part of all of us. Since it is mostly an undocumented, natural process in our everyday lives, developing a critical approach to working with students with disabilities, using storytelling in educational context was a challenge. The students, however, showed me what was possible, and what they were capable of. Their stories and experiences

served as a catalyst for my lesson plans. As a result, my curriculum took shape and the art making process helped the students to find and express through storytelling the meanings and critical significance in their personal experiences. In my curriculum I used a variety of artists, different concepts and techniques to reach my goal for each lesson. In The Wall of Limits project, it was crucial for students to learn about artists such as Banksy, Dutch Ink and Moose. Through these artists work, students learned about graffiti, graffiti techniques, using stencils and reverse graffiti and how to use graffiti as a tool to open discussions on issues that affect them in their everyday lives. Students also learned to use charcoal and oil pastels effectively as they learned about composition, contrast, repetition, pattern, value, layering techniques, and how to use symbolic images to create a personal narrative. Artist Svava Juliusson was a great inspiration for the Touch sculpture project. Her sculptures made with non-traditional materials were symbolic to the idea of transformation, which was fitting toward the goals and objectives of my lesson. I was asking the students to create a sculpture using non-traditional materials like eggshells, recycled wood chunks and tissue paper while letting their emotions out. My goal was to have a multi-sensory level experience with the touch sculptures. By creating a tangible thing that embodies an emotion and having students reflect and interpret an event by letting it out I fused my project with Svavas idea of transformation in her work. Through the process and techniques of this project students learned about creating a relief sculpture, and the elements and principles of sculpture such as scale, space and mass, shape, texture etc. They were also exposed to non-traditional sculpting materials and were challenged to create a relief sculpture that is interactive. Further students got a lesson about the history of Braille, did group exercises on Braille alphabets, saw how Braille machine

operates and earned a greater appreciation toward the challenges and abilities the blind students face. Artist Soledad Arias influenced the Silent Narratives of Everyday Frustrations project. Her audible patterns work focused on visual narratives of sounds from the past bringing a fuller awareness to a moment thats passed but still exists visually. Like Soledad Arias, students learned to reflect, interpret and narrate a moment from their past. They learned about abstract art, form, shape, line, high pitch, low pitch and finally how to create and transcribe an audible narration visually. This project empowered the students by giving them a voice to their story and encouraged them to look at frustrating situations with multiple perspectives. To align my Discussion section with my Story section, I am again using my key terms -the deficit model, differentiated instruction and critical definitions of disability -- to analyze in some depth the key events that happened at the high school.

Analyzing the Alternative to the Deficit Model The term deficit model refers to labeling of children with learning disabilities, in the words of Lynn Pelkey, as less than. According to Lisa Delpit (2001), this causes students with disabilities to believe they are less capable than others since the deficit model focuses on LD students weakness rather than on nurturing their strengths. An alternative to the deficit model, my approach focused on students strengths and capabilities. Through the wall of limits project, students with disabilities were able to learn about a global conflict as well as to think critically about what happens when freedom is restricted or when physical and mental barriers hinder our personal growth. In addition, by discussing and analyzing the Israeli-Palestine conflict, students were able to take into account multiple perspectives of a complicated issue.

They were also able to make connections between the Palestinians experience of constraint and the limits they encounter in their daily lives. Michalko (2002) calls out to people with disabilities to take ownership and to make a place for disabilitythrough imitating belongingness and acting as if we belong in the world of the normal (p.173). He points toward creating a collective identity and a disability culture. The Wall of Limits project promoted a unique social movement building, as Michalko suggests, in both functional and structural level. The students brought their stories and worked individually and in groups to create a collective identity with their wall installation and made a place for disability in the art room. Students were really proud to have their wall installation up. They would come to the class and point out which part they made and how they made it. I was really impressed at how some students remembered the techniques we used and how often they would reference one of the artists we learned to elaborate their conversation about the project to an outsider. Further, the piece was talking about their struggles and fears, them coming out as disabled, and not ridiculed for exposing who they are. When visitors came to the classroom, they would see the wall installation from far and would gravitate closer to see what was going on. I heard responses like, Oh, thats cool! Its huge What is this about? It looks intense etc. It put emphasis on ability and created a space for critical awareness to a disability culture in narrative form. Personal boundaries here are also social boundaries in this case. I helped my students foster this insight by implementing art lessons that taught them to learn to connect with the world around them using narrative approach in their art making. Students explored their own limitations and boundaries, mental walls and barriers, and connected what they were learning in the art room with stories and events from their real life. Subsequently, students were also able to

reflect on their own fears and struggles. I used three different methods, as suggested by Nyman and Jenkins (1999), to implement ownership and responsibility in students learning. I used personal stories and everyday life events as narrative accounts, I differentiated instruction for meaningful learning, and I invited students to learn about history and global conflict through art making. As a result, the wall of limits project helped students to make a connection between their everyday lives and the larger world, and also introduced criticality to their learning. I have learned that by integrating a critical curriculum, giving students the support they require, and enforcing an inclusive classroom through differentiated instruction, teachers can focus on strengths and positive attributes rather than the negative ones. Also, this approach can create a safe space for students like Stacy, who wants to feel normal. I speculate here, but as a researcher looking at her comments and artwork, this is my interpretation. I hope I gave Stacy an opportunity to see the good in herself, to start accepting herself for what she can do rather than what she cannot do in her quest to find normalcy in her life.

Looking at Differentiated Instruction in Depth To teach students with various disabilities, as Nyman and Jenkins (1999) stated, my challenge laid in presenting information in such a way that (LD) students can understand and integrate it, as well as in being flexible and willing to adjust materials to proper levels and approaches (p. 2). We can conclude from this that teachers need to be attentive to all the needs and strengths and weaknesses of each student in order to have a successful classroom. In a school, where some students had physical disabilities I adapted my lessons to meet their needs in numerous ways: I gave an array of choices in tools and medium that will work best for the individuals situation, I used adaptive tools and equipments with students with physical

disabilities, gave oral reviews, used visual media constantly, had students work with partners, and allowed students to volunteer responses and offer choices for responses. Thus, in my classroom, I learned to meet students at their level, by nourishing their strengths, and presenting class materials in an accessible manner so that students could learn the content in a safe space that would enhance their learning experience to its utmost potential. This required using different approaches in teaching to reach students of various disabilities; in other words, a differentiated instructional method was necessary to create an all-inclusive classroom. I used four different methods of differentiated learning in my classroom: differentiated content, differentiated process, differentiated product and differentiated learning environment, as the occasion called for it. I used a wide variety of options to teach what the students needed to learn by providing aids to keep the content accessible. I created a specialized curriculum related to the Thames High School student population, which was practical, fun, and critical at the same time. I used differentiated content by incorporating lessons that addressed students needs and issues that they encountered in their daily lives. This can be seen in my Silent Narratives of Frustration project where students chose the content of their own stories. Thus, by using relevant material that was applicable to the student body, I invited students to participate in a topic that they could all relate to. I used differentiated process and presented activities that met students at their level. For example, I adapted my power points using additional visual guides in the classroom. I also encouraged active involvement, implemented multi-sensory approaches (using traditional and non-traditional art materials), provided hands-on experience and gave clear step-by-step instructions. I waited for visual and verbal cues to make sure everyone understood what I was saying and why I was saying what I was saying. I also had student self-assessment sheets for everyone to make sure they knew what the objectives and goals of a lesson was and

thus also created a venue for them to do self-evaluations. I differentiated product by giving options for students to apply content in multiple ways for different outcomes. I also assigned homework that asked specific questions based on my lesson. I partnered students for group projects. Finally, I used a differentiated learning environment technique by providing a safe learning space for students that promoted different learning styles. I was able to incorporate all four differentiated learning methods in my classroom through my feel it out touch sculpture project. Through creating a relief sculpture students were able to explore and discuss everyday frustrations in the process of art making; thus, I made use of differentiated content in my lesson. As I mentioned in my Story Section, I sensed in my students a lot of unresolved, bottled up emotions that hindered their progress and movement through the world. I tried to meet my students at their level, and gave them a venue to let their bottled up emotions out through using found objects and materials like eggshells, recycled wood chunks and scraps of white tissue paper. Thus I used differentiated process in my practice, working with the students understandings and skills while providing different levels of support. I also applied differentiated product in my lesson by incorporating Braille as a major component of the sculpture. Students were able to touch the sculpture and read out the transmitted emotions similar to someone who is familiar with Braille. Students also learned about Braille and watched Linda type on a Braille machine. Moreover, incorporating Braille text for title in their final piece added a multi-dimensional aspect to the touch sculptures tangible quality and merged different media together. Lastly, I created a differentiated learning environment in which students felt safe to let their frustrations out and were not judged or labeled as they did so. Students were able to gain insight into their unsettling personal situations through expressing those feelings and coming up with creative solutions. Thus the project

diverged from being a therapeutic setting to becoming a learning environment where critical reflections and processes could take place.

Examining Critical Definitions of Disability Social constructions of disability were apparent in my experience at Thames High School. I realized other peoples interpretations of what disability is varied according to situations and circumstances. As Longmore (2003) mentions, we as a society, have refused to acknowledge disability as a normal part of life. This is evident in the limited accommodations and accessibility for people with disability in physical spaces. Further, segregating and dehumanizing the disabled for what they lack, and disregarding their voices and opinions in social spaces for not fitting the norm, limits the experience of the disabled in the non-disabled world. This can be seen in the charcoal incident, which was one of the big challenges of working on the wall project. I had to respect the norms of the school, make compromises, and change my plan for the lesson. I stopped using charcoal, spray fixed all the charcoal embedded work and found other ways to complete the project. It was a learning moment for me, ironically enough, a learning moment of limitations, imposed by the external environment. This experience shows how external environment can sometimes disenable all of us regardless of disability. I was disappointed by not being able to complete the project as I hoped for, afraid of how my students will react to a major shift to the project, and confused at being reprimanded by the school custodian for using a traditional art medium. It was not my students or my limitation that caused the conflict, it was the custodians disapproval toward the material that led to a change in the project. Nonetheless, I knew I had to sway with the changes, remain optimistic and maintain my

enthusiasm and effort despite delays and setbacks. I am speculating here, but from this experience, I believe Thames High School has different school policies due to the student population and has different levels of priorities and expectations from their students and learning and using charcoal in the art room was clearly not one of them. According to Delpit (2001), when children show learning challenges, they are misunderstood for their disability; they are accused of being lazy, not capable, or disruptive. Here we see that students with disabilities are harshly judged and criticized at a personal level due to others limitation toward a better understanding of the particular disability. Through the Silent Narratives of Frustration project, I focused my lesson on facilitating a process of empowerment and as Michalko (2002) suggested made a place for disability. The students were able to develop a critical awareness by being self-reflective of their actions and thus were able to take ownership of their experience. They asked questions such as: How does this event affects me? What is the right thing to do? What can I learn from this event? What are some morals and values that are important to me? Further, the students, as Witherell (1995) states were able to see themselves as both participants and creators of the narrative world (p.46). They were asked to reflect on a frustrating event and through transforming it into a visual narrative and creating meaning to their experience through art making students became participants and creators simultaneously. My student Steves story of his confrontation on the bus told of assumptions and judgments about the disabled population. It was not Steves limitation that caused the incident on the bus, but the passengers limited knowledge regarding disability that caused the tension. Through the graphic representation of a frustrating event project, Steve and other students were able to gain agency to interpret their own lives. Thus, I focused on students strengths rather than

weaknesses in my project. I also used differentiated instruction to emphasize students strength in my methods of teaching, progressing from one of providing services in segregated facilities to a much more inclusive notion of empowerment and self-advocacy (Patton, Blackborn, & Fad, 1996, p. 308). In order to create an inclusive classroom that promoted empowering ways to live with disability, it was crucial for my action research that I talk about issues at hand, put emphasis on students strengths and capabilities, and provide reflective, critical projects that would benefit both disabled and able-bodied students alike. CONCLUSION My approach to teaching students with disabilities combined differentiated instruction and critical exploration of social perception of disabilities. In the process I became aware of my own biases and assumptions, societys attitudes toward disability and the strengths of students with disabilities. As Smith & Erevelles (2004) suggest, to create a human community we need to start being critically self-reflective of our perceptions toward disability, in order to accommodate people with disabilities. This statement shows how everyone needs to take ownership to the lack of accommodation and accessibility resources for people with disabilities. They advice to take a stand on facilitating this process by examining our speculations and normalizing attitudes in the social construction of disability. This process of developing critical awareness of social constructions of disability is particularly important for teachers, because our assumptions and biases about disability shape our perceptions of students capabilities. Art educators can challenge themselves to reflect critically on social construction of disability, in order to create enabling learning environments for our students.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Since my research site was Thames High School, a special education school where all students had cognitive disabilities and some had physical disabilities, I am referring my recommendations to the particular group that I researched, students with disabilities, although I believe my research findings can benefit any classroom, to all students and to teachers who teach other subjects than art. Through my action research project, I learned that differentiated instruction is important when working with students. It is essential to interrelate ideas and themes and issues in our curriculum to meet the needs of all students in our classrooms. By integrating a critical curriculum and enforcing an inclusive classroom, teachers can focus on students strengths and positive attributes rather than negative ones. One of the successful ways of approaching this is to create an enabling environment by giving students the support they require. Lisa Delpit (2001) suggests a few ways to accomplish this: By presenting (students) with a challenging course, letting them know that they could succeed, providing them with extra help and teaching them to problem solve collaboratively (p. 161). By implementing these strategies in the art room, art educators can create an enabling curriculum that is an alternative to the deficit model to help students to reach their potential. From my experience, I learned that it is crucial that art educators give students opportunities to comment on events that are relevant to them, including perceptions of disability and other issues that affect their day-to-day lives. This will give students an opportunity to apply knowledge from one situation to another. I learned that an art education curriculum grounded in student experience provides students a safe place to work through daily situations, and also gives students a venue to bring personal meaning to their artwork. Students also need to learn to connect with the world around them so they are able to

understand themselves better and, therefore, connect with others more fluidly. They need to be taught to question and analyze global and local issues in order to find their voices and form critical opinions on issues that they are passionate about. As a result, students may be able to apply the knowledge and information they learn to solve day-to-day problems or find solutions in their everyday lives. Flexibility was another one of the major strategies I learned while working with students in my classroom. Also, having the willingness to change and adapt as I reflected on my practice was vital for my students and for me to feel successful and secure during my Apprentice Teaching. I found that learning about what it is like to live with a disability from the perspective of students was crucial to building a trusting classroom community for students, who needed a non-judgmental place to bring their stories. In short, art educators need to explore critical definitions of disability and use those ideas to understand their own biases and interpretations of what students are capable of. This kind of study will allow educators to develop and to create alternate approaches to the deficit model, thus making room for students to demonstrate their capabilities and reach to their potential. To conclude, my research grounded in personal experiences and stories gave tools for students to express their fears, dreams, frustrations, and conflicts, and a place to struggle against personal and social limits, and surpass them.

REFERENCES
Bearne, E. (1943). Visual approaches to teaching writing. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Brooks-Gunn, J., & Duncan, G. J. (Eds.). (1997). Consequences of growing up poor. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation. Chicago Public Schools. (2011). Schools. Retrieved January 20, 2011 from http://www.cps.edu/Schools/Pages/school.aspx?id=609766 Eisner, E. W., & Day, M.D. (Eds.). (2004). Handbook of research and policy in art education. Mahwah, NJ: National Art Education Association. Erler, C. (Fall 2008). Targeting Plan Colombia: A Critical Analysis of Ideological and Political Visual Narratives by the Beehive Collective and the Drug Enforcement Administration Museum. Studies in Art Education, 50(1), 83-97. Fielder, G. (2011). Art Lies. Soledad Arias. Retrieved July 11, 2011 from http://www.artlies.org/article.php?id=1738&issue=61&s=1 Freyermuth, V. K. (2006). Narratives as Revealing Portraits of Holistic Art Education. Visual Arts Research, 32(1), 64-70. Goldberg, B. (March 2005). Art of the Narrative: Interpreting Visual Stories. Art Education, 58(2), 25-32. GreatSchools Inc. (2011). Chicago Public Schools. Retrieved January 20, 2011 from http://www.greatschools.org/illinois/chicago/Chicago-Public-Schools/ Hafeli, M. (Fall 2002). Angels, Wings, and Hester Prynne: The Place of Content in Teaching Adolescent Artists. Studies in Art Education, 44(1), 28-46.

Johnson, S. (2006). Holistic Art Instruction and Narrative Thinking. Visual Arts Research, 32(1), 35-40. Manifold, M. C. (Spring 2009). What Art Educators Can Learn from the Fan-based Artmaking of Adolescents and Young Adults. Studies in Art Education, 50(3), 257-71. McEwan, H., & Egan, K. (Eds.). (1995). Narrative in teaching, learning, and research. New York, NY: Teachers College Press. Michalko, R. (2002). The difference that disability makes, Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.

Nyman, & A. M. Jenkins (1999) Issues and approaches to art for students with special needs (pp.7-16). Reston, Virginia: The National Art Education Association. Pano Rodis, Andrew Garrod, Mary Lynn Boscardin (2001), Learning Disabilities and Life Stories. University of Massachusetts at Amherst and Dartmouth College Patton, J.R., Blackborn, J.M., & Fad, K.S. (1996). Exceptional individuals in focus (6th ed.).Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc. Rossman, G.B., & Rallis, S.F. (2003). Learning in the field: An introduction to qualitative research (2ne ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. Russell, M. (1998). Beyond ramps: Disability at the end of the social contract. Bangor, Common Courage Press. Schiller, M. (n.d.). Access to art education: Ethical and legal perspectives. In A. L. Steinberg, S.R., & Kincheloe, J.L. (1998). Students as researchers: Creating classrooms that matter. Bristol, PA: Falmer Press. ME:

Steinberg, S.R., & Kincheloe, J.L. (2003). Teachers as Researchers: Students as researchers. New York: Rutledge. Svavathordis. (2011). Retrieved July 11, 2011 from http://svavathordis.blogspot.com/view/timeslide Tomlinson, C. A. "Differentiation of Instruction in the Elementary Grades." ERIC Digest. ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education. August, 2000. Tyner, K. (September/October 2009). Media Literacy and the Tyranny of the Narrative [Part of a special issue on media literacy]. Afterimage, 37(2), 3-10. Walkup, N. (March 2006). What's the Story?. School Arts, 105(7), 4. Zander, M. J. (2007). Tell Me a Story: The Power of Narrative in the Practice of Teaching Art. Studies in Art Education, 48(2), 189-203.

APPENDIX A
Wall of limits exploring boundaries and limitations: an installation project using reverse graffiti and positive slogans GRADE LEVEL High School TIMELINE Four 40-minute class periods DESCRIPTION Freedom is the opportunity to own our own destiny, within the limits of reason and morality. It is the need to loosen up and throw off the shackles of circumstances and situations that hold us back and live fully. We enjoy all kinds of freedom here in the United States. No one puts up walls to keep us contained within any boundaries. We are free to live in the location of our choice, but we are also free to move from state to state with no restrictions. This lesson looks at the controversial security wall between Israel and West Bank. It engages students to analyze the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the two conflicting views of West bank Wall. Through this peace wall project, students will explore the idea of freedom and what it means to them and learned to think critically about what happens when their freedom is taken away. Students will also connect to the wall idea discussing the Mexican border and will discuss how it impacts us in our nation. Students will look at graffiti artists response on the West Bank Wall including UK artist, Banksy. They will also learn reverse graffiti techniques inspired by artists Moose and Dutch Ink. Students will learn and create a peace wall installation in response to the disputes and challenges that come about having no freedom when there is a barrier, whether it is physical or mental walls that stops them from living a joyful life. OBJECTIVES Students are able to create reverse graffiti technique and oil pastel techniques in their installation. (27.B.5) Students are able to create personal symbols, positive slogans and imagery on a wall like installation. (26.A.4e) Students will be able to show an understanding of peaceful ways to gain freedom while creating an installation. (25.A.5) STATE GOALS/BENCHMARKS STATE GOAL 27: Understand the role of the arts in civilizations, past and present. 27.B. Understand how the arts shape and reflect history, society and everyday life. 27.B.5. Analyze how the arts shape and reflect ideas, issues or themes in a particular culture or historical period. STATE GOAL 26: Through creating and performing, understand how works of art are produced. 26.A. Understand processes, traditional tools and modern technologies used in the arts. 26.A.4e. Analyze and evaluate how tools/technologies and processes combine to convey

meaning. STATE GOAL 25. Know the language of the arts. 25.A. Understand the sensory elements, organizational principles and expressive qualities of the arts. 25.A.5. Analyze and evaluate student and professional works for how aesthetic qualities are used to convey intent, expressive ideas and/or meaning. MOTIVATION/ACTIVITIES Measure Prior Knowledge Students will be asked what freedom means to them and what the barriers are from stopping them from being free. Exemplars

Procedure Day 1: PowerPoint lecture and discussion: 15 minutes Guided demo/: 20 minutes Clean up: 5 minutes Students will explore the idea of freedom and what it means to them and ask themselves why they are free, whether they enjoy it, and are they thankful for the freedom they have. Students will watch PowerPoint for the lesson. Students will see a visual guide to creating a dirty wall using charcoal and smudging over it. Students are assigned to start building a dirty wall using charcoal.

Day 2: PowerPoint lecture and discussion: 5 minutes Create stencils: 15 minutes Create reverse graffiti on paper using stencils: 15 minutes Clean up: 5 minutes Students will learn about reverse graffiti artists such as Dutch Ink and Moose and their techniques of creating reverse graffiti as public art. Students will watch PowerPoint of reverse graffiti. Students will see visual guide to reverse graffiti on paper. Teacher will show how to use a stencil and create reverse graffiti by erasing the shape inside, rubbing off charcoal and creating a form. Students will brainstorm and come up with a symbolic element from their life by transforming a negative, fearful thing from their daily life into a positive image. Students will start sketching an object for stencil image on cardstock paper. Students are assigned to cut out their stencil image with scissors. Next, students will place their stencil on their dirty wall strip, erase out the shape inside with an eraser creating reverse graffiti. Students can also use the scratching clay tool to scratch out charcoal. Teacher will show how to make multiple copies of an object using a stencil thus making a pattern of their stencils. Students will repeat the process making multiple copies of their stencil on their dirty wall. Students can use oil pastels with their stencils. Day 3: PowerPoint lecture and discussion: 5 minutes Create collage: 25 minutes Clean up: 10 minutes Students will look at a PowerPoint of several artists' response on the West Bank Barrier including UK artist, Banksy. Students will learn to create a wall like installation in response to the disputes and challenges that come about having no freedom when there is a barrier, whether physical or mental walls. Students will watch a demonstration on creating a collage and how to glue pieces together Students have a choice to create a collage on their dirty wall with cutout stencil pieces. When finished students will cut their wall into two vertical strips. Then they will install the piece back to the wall making sure there is a little space between each strip. Day 4: Finish project: 30 minutes Clean up: 10 minutes Teacher will show how to punch holes on top of paper so students can put wire on top of the wall creating a barbwire like piece. Teacher will also demonstrate how to braid two wires and manipulate it by twisting and

turning to create a barbwire like look. Students will punch holes on top of their wall. Next step, they will braid wire, cut them in sections, and start looping it and connecting it through the holes creating a barbwire on their wall. Students can swap their stencils with their peers and add different images to their wall using oil pastels. Finish the project. Fill out student self-assessment sheet.

Day 5: Critique Fill out peer assessment sheet. Students will take turns sharing their peer assessment. Students will reflect on the installation project and its process. Teacher will guide the discussion making sure students stay focused to the topic and are being respectful and critical with their responses. Step-By-Step Visual: Day 1: Creating a dirty wall by rubbing it on the floor and using charcoal and smudging it with eraser.

Day 2: How to use a stencil to create reverse graffiti

Step 1: Sketch an object Step 2: Cut out your object with scissors that could symbolize freedom and peace on cardstock paper

Step 3: Place stencil on the dirty wall strip continue >

Step 4: Erase out the shape with an eraser creating a simulating reverse graffiti technique

Step 5: Make multiple copies of your object on the wall

Day 3: Cut the wall into strips and put a backing paper

Step 1: Fold your paper in half

Step 2: Open it up and cut through the crease lines

Step 3: Use glue stick and paste each strip onto the white/black cardstock paper.

Step 4: When you are done, your wall should look like this with white/black backing paper showing through the spaces.

Day 4: Using wire and making it look like barbwire

Step 1: get two strips of wire and twist them together Supplemental Materials

Step 2: cut them in sections, and start looping it and connecting it through the holes

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Visual stencil sheet per table Materials and Equipment list *(for a class of 30 students) 30 6 x 9 white paper (for dirty wall) 30 pencils 30 erasers 30 scissors 30 glue sticks 30 4 x 8 white/black strips of backing paper 180 12 wire ADAPTATION FOR EXCEPTIONAL STUDENTS, DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION PowerPoint and visual aids, step by step guided demonstration, oral review

LITERACY BUILDING/LANGUAGE ARTS INTEGRATION Vocabulary Collage: A picture or design created by adhering flat elements such as newspaper, photographs, string, etc. to a flat surface and the result becomes three-dimensional (This term will be introduced and demonstrated on Day 3 when students glue their stencil pieces on to the wall). Freedom: the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint (This term will be introduced and defined on Day 1 when students watch the PowerPoint). Overlap: When one thing lies over, partly covering something else. Depicting this is one of the most important means of conveying an illusion of depth (This term will be introduced and demonstrated on Day 2 while students make multiple copies of their stencil). Pattern: The repetition of anything like shapes, lines or colors (This term will be introduced and demonstrated on Day 2 after students cut out their stencils). Form: refers to the shape, visual appearance of an object. (This term will be introduced, demonstrated on Day 2 when students brainstorm different objects to create a stencil). *All the terms will be evaluated the last day of the project for assessment. Writing, Research, and Reflection Students will use the new vocabulary terms they learned to refer to each process. Teacher will also carry on discussions during PowerPoint presentation allowing students to volunteer responses and offer choices for responses. VISUAL CULTURE /ANNOTATED IMAGES See Figures 1 through 3 on pages 32, 33, and 34.

MEASURING STUDENT OUTCOME Assessment A Clearly depicts a dirty wall Inventive with creating an image for stencil Used eraser/ scratching clay tool well to create B Somewhat clearly depicts a dirty wall Imaginative with creating an image for stencil Used eraser / scratching clay tool somewhat C Wall is clean D There is no wall

Common pick of an image for stencil

Imitatively picked an image for stencil

Used eraser/ scratching clay tool poorly to create

No use of eraser/ scratching clay tool

reverse graffiti Student used wire exceptionally Student worked consistently throughout period with care and focus

to create reverse graffiti Student used wire ok Student worked usually throughout period with care and focus

reverse graffiti Student used wire carelessly Student worked occasionally throughout period with care and focus No use of wire Student worked rarely throughout period with care and focus

Student Self-Assessment (Please circle your choices): I made a dirty wall using charcoal/rubbings on paper I sketched an image for my stencil My image symbolizes freedom and peace for me I cut out my image and made a stencil I used an eraser to create reverse graffiti I created a pattern with my stencil on the wall I cut my wall into two (or four) vertical strips I glued all my strips on a 4 x 9 strip I punched holes on top of my wall strips I used a wire and braided it to look like barb wire I looped and connected my wire through the holes on top of the wall These projects made me think about the idea of freedom critically I completed my student self assessment sheet Peer assessment sheet

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO

Your Name_______________________________ Peers name ___________________________

Write one compliment (something positive) and one critical feedback (something the student could improve) to your peer about their wall piece. One compliment (for example, your stencil image of feather shows you like to be free to move like a feather):

One critical feedback (for example, you could incorporate both negative and positive stencils to your wall):

 Closure/Reflection Teacher will display finished pieces in the school hallway creating a giant wall with everyones wall pieces. Students will take their wall pieces home and will share with parents what they learned about West Bank Wall, Banksy, reverse graffiti techniques and talk about the processes of a finished wall piece using wire and collage material if necessary. Students will also reflect upon what freedom means to them personally. RESOURCES About Israel-Palestine conflict http://www.pbs.org/newshour/indepth_coverage/middle_east/conflict/map_westbank.html For Banksys work on West Bank Wall http://arts.guardian.co.uk/pictures/image/0,8543,-10105256016,00.html About reverse graffiti http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/featured/35-greatest-works-of-reverse-graffiti/1949 SOCIAL JUSTICE THEME Self Awareness toward personal and global freedom