The Picnic Lesson in Everyday Life

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.

In Chu-Jen Junior High School, every class has set up its own reading corners in the classroom for years. However, not every class could design a satisfied reading corner that met all expectations of the students. Because they only had a little budget, and most of the three-tiered shelves on the market were standardized, their options were limited. Mrs. Hsu, therefore, came up with an idea. Introducing the concepts of proportion and positive/negative space to the class, she asked the students to use them to design shelves both for functional and decorative purposes. The outcome of the kids was out of Mrs. Hsu’s expectations. Their design drafts showed their creativity and diversity. At last, the students and the teacher even brought one of the drafts into reality and finally made their own bookshelves.

“Aesthetics should spread naturally like particles spread in the air.” The art classroom at National Hsinchu Senior High School was the best place on campus for teachers and students to indulge in art and design. Setting up the space, Mrs. Wu expected it could be a hub to stimulate the transport of art and design. Inspired by the idea, a group of students started their exploration on campus to search for any possible changes. They opened their eyes and located the problems, such as the unsuitable fabrics and cuts of their uniforms as well as the confusing signs in the store. Bringing their finding back to the art classroom, the students kept on thinking of solutions. They attempted to make some changes and spread the aesthetic particles to other parts of the school more than just in the classroom.

From her experience of purchasing flowers, Mrs. Wang found that most of the shops didn’t provide packages that would match the colors of the bouquets. And the packages used to be too colorful to dignify the grace of flowers. After discussing the suitability of colors with the class in the art and design course for one semester, Mrs. Wang assigned a task to the class: using the materials at hand to make a package that can properly hold and fit the flowers. What would be the priority for the students: the colors which can fit flowers better or their own color preferences?