Commentary Section V

Abstract

Guiding students to develop care for materials, care of self, and care of others is an important learning outcome for many art educators. Art educators can aspire to foster imaginative skill of empathy. Empathy is a recognition of our connections to both the human and inhuman worlds. We make sense of these interactions before we can express our feelings in words. Art allows students to reflect on felt relationships before they have language to express it. Reflection on tacit knowledge can develop an art of living . Teacher assessment of student empathy is a form of engrossment with student learning. Nel Noddings describes engrossment as a dedicated and authentic commitment to knowing another person. The Danielson Framework—a tool for assessing teacher quality—values teacher rapport with students. Art teacher engrossment with students that stems from authentic assessments for learning exceeds the Danielson Framework's expectations for teacher engagement. By going beyond the Danielson rubric, the extraordinary work art teachers perform through student assessment could possibly be recognized.