The Puritan Dilemma

"As the sea-weary company of men and women looked ashore at the straggling collection of huts and hovels and canvas booths that went by the name of Salem, they must have been staggered by the crudity of the life that lay ahead of them. The land was lovely but savage. Only a few hundred acres were cleared: beyond lay the forest, and they had seen for themselves how the huge trees came down to the shore along the coast to the north and east."

More Albers

A couple of weeks ago I went with Andrew to a lecture on Albers and his teaching given by Fred Horowitz, who recently wrote a book on the subject called Josef Albers: To Open Eyes. The lecture was really wonderful because Fred not only described the work of Albers but also how his main goal as an instructor at the Bauhaus (which also fascinates me) and at Black Mountain College was to teach how to see and how to think. 

I really am drawn to the ideas of learning through doing, "pitching through the unknown", and having the ability to take risks. Albers emphasized all of these things in his teaching. My parents are both educators, and I grew up in city where there was a emphasis on the importance of arts in education.  I have a particular fondness for it. The lecture really peeked my interest, and I look forward to reading the book.