Rothko Was a Kindergarten Teacher

Did you know?

Rothko was a K-8 teacher for a time. In the "Scribble Book," which was never published in a complete form (and is more of a collection of scribbles), Rothko shares his thoughts on art in education. He comments,
the "creative act is a social action and that intrinsically it justifies its own existence."

Rothko describes art as "of the spirit," and argues that the art teachers task is not to produce artists, but seems to advocate for the encouragement of experiementation.

Rothko quotes Fritz Kunkel, a German psychologist (1889-1956): "We must never break the courage of children."

Finally, he comments that "Progressive education is the expression of liberalism."

What is our education today an expression of? Positivism? Conservativism? Anti-intellectualism?