Arts in the Elementary Schools
I'd like to start a discussion about arts in the schools and whether teachers feel we are spending enought time with art, music, creativity and imagination. My focus is with Kndergarten and First Grade teachers.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Laurence Williams on
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I feel that having children spend more time in these activities is very beneficial. I only feel this is the case when there is a set curriculum and a teacher that is passionate about it. I come from a district where the students would benefit more if we had teachers in these positions that had more training and a drive for what they do.
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That's a good point. Why do you think teachers don't have this drive, does your district provide training in the arts and music? It's such an important piece of a young child's education, especially when the "window of opportunity" is ripe at ages 5-7 yrs. Brain research shows that we need to provide more right brain learning in order to truly make a long term difference later in their educational journey. Any suggestions?
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I guess Paulette, the reason is that we have some teachers that are so stuck in their ways that they want to keep doing things the way they've been doing them for so many years. There is always room to grow and change as teacher and we have to keep up with some of the last professional development so that we are not short changing our students.
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Permalink Reply by Darla Taylor Miner on
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I think time spent with Art and Music is VERY valuable. The Arts foster creativity, which heightens critical thinking in students. The Arts also boost academic and motor skills. Musical activities can increase Reading fluency, and Art activities can develop hand-eye coordination as well as fine motor skills. The thinking involved in Music or Art is at a very high level, and enables students to use inquiry and problem-solving skills.
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That's the way perfect art and music programs work. Of course, though, that's not the way some of them are ran. What are your thoughts on recess?
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Darla,
I agree! Do you work with young kids? What kind of Art and music do you do with them?
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I taught Kindergarten and first grade for several years. I used to integrate Art and Music into my classroom lessons. I am currently a Reading Consultant, and I provide a curriculum map to the specialist teachers so they may integrate concepts from all content areas in their lessons. The classroom teachers work closely with the specialist teachers in order to reinforce skills and concepts in a variety of ways. We also have an, "Art Goes to School" program where parents come to classrooms to do creative arts projects with the students.
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Permalink Reply by John Griffiths on
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If you need some current thinking that reinforces this need in education you should check out Daniel Pink's work A Whole New Mind. He charts out what young minds need to be viable in the next economic phase called the Conceptual Age. It is a very fun, practical read as well!
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Thanks, I will check it out. Do you work with young kids, what are your views on arts in the schools?
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I am a principal in a grade 3-5 school. I honestly do not feel there can be ENOUGH arts in school. One of my short term goals is to begin to find a way to break away from the arts being a segmented special, and integrate creative opportunities throughout the day. A big obstacle is that too many classroom teachers have not survived into adulthood without doubts instilled in their own creative ability and potential.
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That is very true Mr. Griffiths. There are so many teachers today who just can't seem to get past their creative doubts. I had an issue with my creativity, but I started to do more artistic things with my students and just opened up so many new doors for pulling tons of creativity into my curriculum. I didn't know I had it in me.
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Permalink Reply by Cynthia M. Streznewski on
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We definitely need more Arts in the lower grades. A detailed curriculum taught by specialists and reinforced in the classroom is paramount. I taught K-8 Music for many years and began note reading skills alongside reading skills they were learning in the classroom. As a music teacher, I was able to have better trained musicians at a much earlier age than most programs. The highest scoring students on local and state assessments were our best Arts students as well.
Classroom teachers used to have to learn how to play the piano and recorder before entering the teaching profession. Nowadays, that is not the case--the Arts provide a prep period for teachers--and I believe classroom teachers and society value the Arts curriculum less because of that. My best classes year after year were those of the same classroom teachers who placed high value on what their students accomplished in their Arts curriculum--because it was also important to their classroom teacher.
You might check out Music Mind Games for an easy early music curriculum to support your reading and math programs in the early grades. Hope this helps.
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