Creativity reigns amidst Covid-19
by Addison Wright
Fine arts professors and students are learning to adapt to online coursework that is usually hands-on.
Music courses rely on the in-person experience between the student and teacher to maximize learning and understanding. However, the current situation makes this a more difficult task where creativity in teaching and learning will have to be heightened.
(Photo: Johnathan Grenier)
Scott Sanchez, a lecturer in music at FPU, said, “I often teach using a hybrid method of online assignments and in-person teaching. So, the transition hasn’t been too daunting.”
“One of the benefits of teaching online is that I am able to make students aware of great performing artists via videos and recordings,” said Sanchez.
Johnathan Grenier, a current sophomore at FPU, said, “Taking music classes online now is pretty hard. We do not get the full experience for many of our classes as music majors. We do have a couple of zoom classes per week, but for required ensembles it isn’t possible for us to play music all together because there is just too much of a delay.”
“Overall my professors are trying to make it as smooth of a transition as possible and make the best of it for us. I still have my personal instruction with my piano professor every week and we still have classes that are not ensembles. But this pandemic has made it very difficult for people studying the arts.”
Students across the country are also being affected by this transition. Bucklin Robbins, a student at Carmel High School in Indiana, was assigned to create an installation, based on Andy Goldsworthy’s ideas, for his AP Art History class.
“I found this assignment to be relatively easy and pretty fun but not having specific mediums available that would normally be available in an art class has been difficult for me, ”said Robbins.
Many share the opinion of missing the human interaction between students and professors. Sanchez says, “In my opinion, no technological innovation can replace the human interaction of meeting with students in person. As a teacher, I definitely miss this.”
Currently, there is no update on when campuses be re-opened.
