According to their website, “The Museum of Modern Art is a place that fuels creativity, ignites minds, and provides inspiration.” In addition, they claim that their mission is “helping you understand and enjoy the art of our time.” Truly a perfect place to further expose my students to art and initiate our own conversation.

I had decided that after our successful trips to The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Cooper Hewitt, they were ready for the next level of independence. To prepare them, at our meeting prior to boarding the cheese bus that would transport us, I explained that since they had demonstrated that they knew how to look closely at art and make connections, I wasn’t going to assign them a task. I didn’t think that they didn’t need the guidance. They were ready to fly on their own. I reminded them that they would be asked to write a reflection when we returned to school to discuss their impressions and off we went.

There were more students on this trip than we had on our previous excursions. I like to think it was due to the positive buzz surrounding our trips. I took it as a sign of progress and welcomed the newcomers. My sense of pride quickly turned to frustration soon after we arrived at the museum. I had envisioned a group of seasoned art connoisseurs ambling through the galleries engaging in high minded conversations about the art and artists. However, many of them walked quickly through the galleries and then plopped down and chatted or texted on their phones. I was deflated. Had I made a mistake by not giving them a purpose? Should I have kept the group smaller? Were they simply maxed out?

Of course I believe there is value to exposing my students to classic pieces, those that are often referenced in academia and popular culture. MOMA abounds in such pieces. They viewed The Bather, Water Lilies, The Persistence of Memory, and Three Musicians. They saw works by Klimt, Warhol, Pollock, and Lichtenstein. Several students were surprised to see Starry Night. Alfred asked if it was “the real one?” I assured him that it was. Then he asked why it was so famous since it’s just a painting of a tree and the sky over a city. This lead to a discussion about the painting. There is definitely something remarkable about it even if the subject isn’t “anything special,” There must be something else about the painting that made it memorable. We talked about the technique, but they weren’t very impressed. They didn’t understand how globbing on paint could be admired as a technique. Then I told them that Van Gogh painted it while he was in an asylum. You could see the thought process shift with this new information. This gave them a different perspective. Kiara noted that you could see his emotions in the painting. Natalie added that he must have had a lot going on. As evidence they pointed to the colors and the swirling of the clouds in the sky. I shared with them that Van Gogh’s paintings always made me emotional. They nodded in understanding.

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In the end it was a positive experience for all. Maybe they weren’t quite ready to be on their own, but clearly they aren’t maxed out yet either. They’re just 8th graders being their sometimes charming and always changeable selves. I can handle that. On to the next!