This paper presents reflects on the case study of an art unit in a class of seven- to nine-year-olds, in New Zealand. It examines the motivation and outcomes generated by team teaching using art as the primary means of integration to explore personal and social history. It raises questions as to how teachers within a dominant culture can open themselves and their young students to suppressed indigenous histories and draw an authentic personal connection to them. The paper seeks to illustrate some underlying tensions around the notions of 'control' and 'knowledge holder' embedded within teachers' traditional roles and to raise the subtle face of illegitimate authority. In school settings, noted for rewarding students for compliance to the teacher's initiative, how might art experiences lay open the ground for children's authentic work to emerge? The answers appear to be found in the relational, where the teacher also risks being authentic in meeting with the cultural histories situated near the school's physical environment.
Art; Education; Teacher-student relationship; Authorship; Multiculturalism
