The Teacher as an Artist: Perspectives on the Role and Qualities of the Teacher as an Artist in the Age of Change and Instability

Abstract

This article aims to provide new viewpoints on the role of the teacher by combining epistemological and artistic perspectives on education. In the age embossed by change and instability, the teacher must build a role that facilitates the development of resilient and independent pupils. A point of emphasis in the article is to renegotiate the view of knowledge and how knowledge can be attained. The “abyssal thinking” of Western modernity, which is heavily reliant on abstract intellectual thinking, is imbedded in the current educational system, which causes profound challenges in the encounter between individuals and education. These challenges come to expression in increasing mental illness and pedagogical challenges in schools and classrooms, as more pupils cannot cope with current demands and expectations. To address these complex challenges, the teacher needs new conceptual and practical tools to provide an education that can accommodate the entirety of human existence and potential. This is where artistic perspectives and approaches can prove highly potent and beneficial for further development of education. The article utilizes perspectives on education from Pestalozzi, Steiner, Freire, and Biesta. The educational dimensions are discussed in light of epistemological theories from Buber and Heron, which is expanded by the relation between art and freedom as formulated by Arendt, Tolle, Klein and Csikszentmihalyi. The complexity of society is likely to increase even further, and hence pupils will need new and more profound tools. These tools are necessary not only to tackle life, but to become resilient and independent creators of it. The article aims to point out areas of potential development, that can provide pupils with necessary emotional and existential support and means of expression.