An Investigation of Metaphor, Physicality, Play and Visuality As Tools for Enhancing Student Learning and Perception
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LANGUAGES OF ENGAGEMENT: AN INVESTIGATION OF METAPHOR, PHYSICALITY, PLAY AND VISUALITY AS TOOLS FOR ENHANCING STUDENT LEARNING AND PERCEPTION DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of the Ohio State University By Terry Hermsen, M.F.A ***** The Ohio State University 2003 Dissertation Committee: Professor Sydney Walker, Adviser Professor Michael Parsons Approved by Professor Terry Barrett ____________________ Professor Amy Shuman adviser Professor Stuart Lishan Art Education Graduate Program ABSTRACT Robert Frost once speculated on the relationship between poetry and thought, conjecturing that all thinking was grounded in metaphor. Many people never took him seriously. Now, thanks to the work of many theorists in a number of diverse fields, from linguistics to philosophy to cognitive science, we can say with some certainty that he was right. Sentences build themselves around analogies; thought creates visual pictures in our brains; metaphors shape our ways of seeing the world. All of this appears to be done mostly unconsciously, as we filter messages, both verbal and visual, from our environment and shape those signs and clues into world-responses. The work which hasn’t been done thoroughly enough yet is how to apply this central understanding to education. That means investigating metaphor as a means of linking the whole of learning. As one step toward to such a curricular move, this study first traces some of the key theorists involved with what might be called the metaphor revolution and connects them to some related studies in the area of the physicality (the body and its contact with its surrounding ii world shapes our perception); playfulness (play’s role in childhood, art, and society in general); and visuality (the role of visual imagery in the shaping of thought and consciousness). Secondly, I follow the progress of two high school classes as I introduce them to some of the key concepts in poetry, emphasizing the above concepts. Through writing poems about literature, about their home town environment, about sports activities, elemental memory, and visual images, I trace some ways the above concepts influence their writing, their thinking and their perception by means of my own analysis of the text of their poems and their own analysis of their responses via interviews. By the close of the study, I propose a kind of working “generative cycle” revolving between each of the four categories, so that metaphoric thought breaks down into a four-tiered process, drawing on many sides of experience and contributing at the same time to the creation of that experience, all to the end of students attaining what I’ve called a “more engaged world view,” that is, a more conscious involvement with their own perceptive consciousness. iii Dedicated to Leslie Beyer-Hermsen who brings each day its stories iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation would not have been possible without the inspiration of many fine professors at the Ohio State University, particularly my adviser, Sydney Walker, who helped shape its development from the beginning, supplying many key concepts, useful quizzical looks, and amidst tuna lunches (with carrots) passed me formulas, questions, and held me to a standard of inquiry and importance I might otherwise have shirked. Many others include: Michael Parsons, whose conceptual breadth and attention to how much can hang on a single word caused me to rethink much of my relationship to language and thinking; Terry Barrett, who more than anyone got me seeing images, enjoying more than I can say the way words can shape one’s response to a painting or a photograph—and still never fully grasp its presence; Amy Shuman, who made me see all the gestures of the world as signs and meanings, and through the inspiration of her own commitment to the relevance of folklore made me want to know the students and their lives in ways I’d never thought of before; and of course Stuart Lishan, with whom many of these lessons first took root, who brings me back to poetry each time we get to teach together, each time I hear him speak about a poet he loves. v Other inspiring teachers include: Anna Soter, with whom many “teas” were spent during the early stages of shaping this research; Barbara Gloseclose, who gave me a love of still-lifes that informs my seeing; and my MFA adviser, Mark Doty, whose total immersion in poetry remains my model to this day. I want to thank Mary Campbell Zopf, Vonnie Sanford, and Bob Fox from the Ohio Arts Council, who long supported my work in the Artists in Education program; as well as Marcia Dickson, Scott DeWitt, and Dominic Dottavio of the Ohio State University in Marion, who financially and logistically supported five years of outreach into surrounding county schools, including Mt. Gilead High School; and finally, Cindy Fidler, English teacher, Deb Claus, principal, and most, most especially, Jill Grubb, English teacher, at Mt. Gilead High School, who gave me insights into the students, supplied me with lots of time in her classroom to explore ideas, gave me honest and useful feedback, and helped plan and discuss each and every lesson, locating cameras, making calls, arranging field trips, and more than anything else, caring about poetry as an art for investigating the world, and letting that concern inspire her students. Oh—-none of this would have been possible without the love, moral support and time of my wife, Leslie Beyer- Hermsen, who arranged for me to have many weekends without vi childcare in order to concentrate on this project. Much thanks is due to her parents, Carl and Roberta Beyer, who also frequently watched the children during the many months of researching, writing, and planning; as well as to those children themselves, Noel and Noah, for being their own kind of wild inspiring selves; and to my oldest daughter, Isa, who listened to my ideas as they unfolded, and who has always convinced me that poetry stretches way beyond its traditional boundaries and into the whole of our lives. Many other friends contributed to my teaching ideas over these years of teaching poetry in the schools: Leah Buturain, who has a knack for kindly asking hard questions; Jann Gallagher, who invited me into her classroom early on to try numerous experiments in writing; David Hassler, with whom I shared many conversations on “what this is all about anyway”; Bill Walker, life-long musician, whose dedication to his art and the clarity of his teaching continues to mesmerize me; and Colleen Webster, who lives her love for her students and for poetry—thanks for our many conversations about the necessary links between poetry, visual art and growing students’ knowledge of the natural world. Who would have thought we would all have shared so much these twenty years? Finally, immeasurable thanks are due to all of the students I worked with in the classes, whose names and faces vii I believe I will remember always, and whose lives give back to mine, as I hope mine will for theirs. Thank you for trying all these ideas out with such enthusiasm, honesty, and care. viii VITA November 15, 1950 …………………………………………Born, Hinsdale, Illinois 1989 …………………………………………………………M.F.A. (Poetry), Goddard College 1979-present………………………Artist in Education, Ohio Arts Council 1988-1991 …………………………………Visiting Poet for DepARTures Program Columbus Museum of Art 1995-2000 …………………………Guest Writer for Writing That Connects, The Ohio State University-Marion 2000-2003 …………Graduate Teaching Assistant in Art Education, The Ohio State University PUBLICATIONS Related Publications 1. Terry Hermsen, CHILD ALOFT IN OHIO THEATRE, chapbook. Huron, Ohio: Bottom Dog Press, 1995. 2. Terry Hermsen, 36 SPOKES: THE BICYCLE POEMS, chapbook. Huron, Ohio: Bottom Dog Press, 1985. 3. Terry Hermsen and Bob Fox, editors. TEACHING WRITING FROM A WRITER’S POINT OF VIEW. Champaign, Illinois: National Council of Teachers of English, 1998. 4. Terry Hermsen and David Lee Garrison, editors. O TASTE AND SEE: FOOD POEMS. Huron, Ohio: Bottom Dog Press, 2003. 5. Terry Hermsen, “Landscapes Strange and Manifold as Morning: The Poetry of Mary Oliver” Columbus, Ohio: Ohioana Quarterly, 2002. 6. Terry Hermsen, “Earth, Water, Fire and Air: An Exercise in Creative Memory” in ALPHABET OF THE TREES. New York: Teachers & Writers, 2000. ix 7. Terry Hermsen, “How To Do a Poetry Night Hike” in Teachers & Writers Collaborative. New York: T & W, 1997. 8. Terry Hermsen, “The Poem in the Painting” in Teachers & Writers Collaborative. New York: T & W, 1994. 9. “Pegasus” in ORPHEUS AND COMPANY: CONTEMPORARY POEMS ABOUT MYTH. Ed. Deborah De Nicola. Hanover, New Hampshire: New England , 1999. 10. Poems in: South Dakota Review, Antigonish, Descant, Orion, The Journal, Outerbridge, and numerous other magazines. FIELD OF STUDY Major Field: Art Education x TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………ii Dedication …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………iv Acknowledgments ………………………………………………………………………………………………………v Vita ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………vii List of Figures ………………………………………………………………………………………………………x Chapters: I. FOCUS OF THE STUDY CHAPTER 1: INTERDISCIPLINARY LEARNING: POETRY AND VISUAL ART 1.1 Introduction: A Boy Named Philip 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem: The Four Disengagements 5 1.3 Expanding the Artists-in-the-Schools Residency: Toward a Deeper Collaboration 7 1.4 Teaching Poetry as a Visual Art 11 1.5 A Framework for the Investigation 15 1.6 Momentary Festivals: A