The Elder’s Wish


Author Chi-Yi Liu
The Elder’s Wish

The Elder’s Wish

An elder from the tribe was invited to give a lecture in Mr. Liu’s class. When he talked about the young and old generations in the tribe, he was sad to tell that there had been a cultural gap between the two. Mr. Liu thus decided to revive the tribal tradition of making tree bark clothes, helping the students to understand their own culture. The lesson led the kids to learn the knowledge of trees and understand why people needed to make tree bark clothes in the old times. They practically experienced how to soften tree bark, and used the local materials and techniques to make items that can fit contemporary needs. To pass on the aboriginal culture, the lesson revealed the lifestyle of the tribes and presented the wisdom of ancestors taking good advantage of natural materials from daily life. And it also encouraged the kids to keep discovering new possibilities within traditional craftsmanship.

VIEW ONLINE

Previous

The Fascinating Color-Wrapping in the Flowery World

Next

Looking for the Ideal Window

Recommend

  • If Memory Has Colors
    • Colors
    • Gen-ed

    If Memory Has Colors

    Mrs. Lin had lectured at Hsiyu Junior High School for over a year. At first, the student showed less confidence in the art class because there hadn’t been a regular art teacher in the school, and they hadn’t received much art training before. But to her surprise, Mrs. Lin discovered the children, living on the Penghu island and endowed with great knowledge of oceans, were keen to distinguish the colors in their everyday scenery. By identifying the colors, mixing colors of paints, and relating the color to their personal memories, the students depicted the flexible sceneries and the poetic moments of this island. In the color charts they drew, the intimate bond between them and their hometown was also vividly shown. For the children who were about to leave the island, the lesson was a precious gift from Mrs. Lin, who was born in Penghu as well. She wished when they are apart, by reminiscing about the colors, they can remember their beautiful hometown.

  • Surprises from the Corner
    • Texture
    • Gen-ed

    Surprises from the Corner

    The art and design course of Jinhua Junior High School, Kang-Ching-Lung Streets Project, were developed by all the art teachers in the school. To take a closer look at where they live, the teachers and the students walked out of the classroom, planned the routes for exploration, and conducted field studies in the neighborhood around campus. By wandering on the streets, observing and recording various architectures built in different ages, they were impressed with the findings: there were so many different styles, forms and textures of buildings on the streets. Back in school, they moved forward to discuss the suitability of materials and tried to find a better replacement for the buildings. Slowing down the pace and paying more attention to the details on the way to school, the students were amazed at what had been overlooked by them before.

  • Small Board Games, Big Dreams
    • Colors
    • Gen-ed

    Small Board Games, Big Dreams

    This art and design course of Yu-Shan Public Junior High School was developed from the school-based curriculum, climbing Mt. Jade, the students climbing the highest mountain in Taiwan on different levels of routes in different grades. Mr. Chang hoped to help the children cultivate aesthetic sensibility from their life experiences. Therefore, he encouraged the students to design a board game with the inspiration of their journeys in the mountains. With intense participation and great teamwork, the students took good advantage of the design principles and completed their creative and original works.

  • The Picnic Lesson in Everyday Life
    • Composition
    • Gen-ed

    The Picnic Lesson in Everyday Life

    After the art and design course last semester, Mrs. Chen expected to take the students to sense more beauty in life. She thus came up with a new lesson, The Picnic Lesson in Everyday Life, which brought food and life to the class. The students prepared food by themselves, and during the process, they applied the concepts of art and design to their work. Mrs. Chen invited a Home Economics teacher to interdisciplinary cooperated with her. They translated the compositional design rules: dots, lines and planes into knife skills: dicing, julienning and slicing. With different thinking of making food, the students created amazing dishes which they even couldn’t believe were made by their own hands. The most important part of the lesson was encouraging the students to walk out of the classroom to physically experience things in life with all senses.