On “The Hemispheres of the Brain”

Over the last few decades, there has been an unfortunate change in the education system -  it’s out to make money rather than to teach; especially at the collegiate level. The passage speaks of the “tortoise mind”, which are a sect of people interested in questions as much as they are the answers to those questions, and how they learn by questioning the world around them. Once upon a time, this is what the collegiate level of education was – the students questioned the teacher, challenged the teacher even, and everyone was able to learn as a result. They learned through using the tortoise minds. Now, however, college is a business, and they discourage this method of learning. Students are expected to repeat the answers the professor wants them to, and then they promptly forget it in favor of the next class. We are no longer able to explore our opportunities, embrace our chances to learn from masters in our field, and take risks – we are to produce what we’re told to produce and move on.

For example, in one of my classes this semester I am retaking a class from a previous semester for a better grade (life unfortunately got in the way the first time around). I know the material, and am confident in my knowledge. However, the instructor is a PhD student who hadn’t so much as looked at the slides she was presenting beforehand, and consistently mis-defined and gave improper examples of the principles she was covering. I’m unable to challenge her, ask her why she believes her answers to be correct, for fear of my grade – at $1000 a class, when I’m struggling to pull my GPA up from real life issues, I have to keep my head down, provide the answers she wants me to provide, and feel bad for the freshmen in the class who don’t know better.

I truly wish the tortoise mind was more accepted in education; we would all be better off for it.

What is Drawing?

What is drawing to me? Drawing is the act of creating a visual representation of something, be it an idea, a feeling, or an object. It is a way to express something without the limitations that words provide – if something can’t be communicated through a spoken or written language, it can be communicated through art. There is no right or wrong subject matter, simply what the artist chooses to express. Good and bad drawings are subjective – to one person, a drawing may simply be horrible, but to another, while the drawing may still be technically bad, they might find it a work of art, even if it’s a simple sketch. I feel that to be categorized as a drawing rather than as another form of artwork, it must be done in a medium such as graphite, charcoal, pastels, or ink (be it pen or marker), rather than a medium such as paint. Different artists have different areas they excel at – some may be better at abstract or unrealistic works, while others may prefer to draw a technically accurate still life – but no one type of drawing is better than another.