(Photo retrieved from http://ripstickgirl22.deviantart.com/art/Live-Life-Love-Art-Icon-292086411)
In a TEDx Talk by Ken Robinson (2006), he states that every
place in the world has a hierarchy of important school subjects, and the arts
are always on the bottom of this hierarchy. An article by Charlern (2003)
mentions how the staff and students at a K-12 school only wished that the arts
were seen as important as the athletics.This school made an
effort to resolve the inequalities at school and attempted to help students and
staff see the value of art by hosting an Arts Week, where they immersed
children in all forms of art by displaying it all around the school for that
week (Charlern, 2003). I love the idea of this art week, and the results were
successful as attitudes towards the arts began to change positively, however, this
initiative was only a week. In comparison, athletics seasons generally last
several months, and academic subjects are usually taken throughout the entire
school year. Therefore, I myself would say that Arts Week should happen every
week!
This year,
I started teaching dance to four and five year olds. On the first day, I had the girls play ‘Freeze Dance’ to show
me all of their dance moves so that I could base the future lessons off of
moves they like. To my surprise, every single one of them danced in their own
way, it was so creative, and none of them were afraid to be creative. At the
time I was shocked...whenever my dance classes are told to improvise or
freestyle, everyone stands around and waits to be told exactly what to do. As
older dance students, we are scared to be creative, and scared to be wrong. We
have been taught the ‘right’ way to dance, and we don’t take risks to
creatively use our skills. Do schools also teach us not to use our creativity?
From my
personal story, there are two perspectives that a person might consider. The
first option is that we should allow children to flourish their artistic skills
in the classroom. From this, we can
conclude that schools should include more art classes so students can practice
and excel in creative outlets. However, we could also take a contrary perspective;
young students have an abundance of creativity, and once they are put through
education programs, whether it be in school or in extracurricular lessons,
their creativity diminishes as they begin to be told that there is a right and
a wrong. One might assume, because of this, that art should not be taught in
schools, and that it should be something that students are not assessed on; it
should remain a hobby or extracurricular. From my example you might assume that
as we get older, institutions diminish our creativity, so if we keep arts out
of our schools, we will always be creative.
I personally
believe the second assumption is false. I think there is a balance; schools can
teach arts without forcing a right or a wrong. Arts should be about becoming
expressive and creative. In order to succeed in an art class, maybe you don’t have
to be the best at drawing or the best singer, but rather as teachers, maybe we
should be looking for personal growth in regards to emotional awareness,
communication, and creativity and uniqueness.
My favourite part of the TEDx
Talk by Ken Robinson (you can watch it here...it is about 20 minutes but it is great!) emphasized the importance of art in schools. He told a
story about a dancer at the Royal Ballet. The ballerina told him that in
school, her teachers assumed she had a learning disability, such as ADHD, and
that she would fail. After seeing a professional, they determined that she was
not unable to learn, but rather, she was just a dancer. She just needed to MOVE
in order to succeed in learning! It reminded me of something a parent I knew
told me. They said they didn’t want their youngest child in a dance class because
they loved the way she danced freely around the room with no care in the world,
however they said that when their older daughter started dance class, her carefree
dancing was replaced with ballet steps and proper technique, with no freedom in
her movements. This has shaped the way I teach my little ones…I want to teach
them a balance between proper technique and how to incorporate it and balance
it into their own freedom of movement (Personal Communications, 2014). Here is one online resource that may have helped this dancer in math class, as it gives examples of how
movement and different art forms can be used in other academic classes.
In this picture, angles are being taught by using the body to turn to the different angles (for example, half turns vs. full turns) (Picture retrieved from https://www.mathandmovement.com/activities.html)
In this picture, numbers are taught by hopping on the numbers. This mat can be adapted for a number of lessons involving numbers and movement. (Picture retrieved from https://www.mathandmovement.com/activities.html)
I know I focused a lot on dance
in this blog, but that is because that is what I am most familiar with.
However, I believe that the main points can be applied to ALL forms of art in
the classroom. What do you think? Should we have more art education in school
or have no art education in schools whatsoever? And how should we assess it?
Should we assess it on proper techniques of the art form, or for uniqueness and
creativity, or a bit of both? I would love to hear your opinions, especially on
other forms of art such as music, drama or visual arts!
References
Actuarial Consulting and Teaching Services (2011). Math
& Movement. Ithaca, NY.
Charlern, R. A. (2003). Arts week: A canadian school
celebrates the arts. Teaching Music, 11
(2).
Robinson, K. (2006). Do schools kill creativity? [video
clip]. TEDx Talk.
Hey Stephanie!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great choice of topic! I agree that the arts is something that is not always seen as important in the schools, however I disagree and there are many benefits to including the arts! Although creating an art week was a great initiative for that school, I agree with your statement that one week is not enough time. I believe that arts need to be included in the daily curriculum so that students can really experience the benefits. If there is lots of emphasis placed on athletics, why is there less on the arts? My sister attends Etobicoke School of the Arts for musical theatre and therefore most of her day is spent in vocal, dance or acting classes. This is a great way for students to experience the arts, however it is disappointing that students who want the true art experience have to go to a different school. She has to take the go-train every morning and spends about 2 hours getting to school and back each day. This is exhausting for students and I believe that the arts should be included more in schools.
I really liked your example of your dance class. There definitely needs to be a happy medium between teaching children technique, but also letting them dance freely to express themselves. I'm glad you recognize this and try to incorporate it into your lessons! By teaching techniques, are we stifling their creativity?
The issue of assessment in arts is also an interesting one. I was never good at art, I always got level 2's because of my poor drawing or other artistic abilities. However, I always got level 4's on the write ups associated with each piece. I think assessment of art is a tricky one, is it really fair to give someone a poor grade because they aren't good at drawing? Isn't it the effort that counts? I believe that teachers should assess each student on their own abilities. For some students, a level 2 piece of work might be the best and was an improvement from the previous week where they got a level 1. Therefore, I think it is important that teachers assess for uniqueness and creativity, rather than skill.
I also agree that all forms of art should be included in the classroom. Most schools have music classes, but maybe it is important to incorporate classes dedicated to drawing, painting or other forms of art. Although I am not the most creative person, I hope that as a future educator I can allow my students to express their creativity in a variety of ways.
Should teachers be taught a course on how to instil creativity in their students?
Great job!
Great blog post Stephanie!
ReplyDeleteI love the topic you chose to write about. I often think about the fact that art is placed on the bottom of a hierarchy of important school subjects. Since when do some subject become more important than others?
I liked the personal story you used as an example. I use to dance as well, and I can completely relate to standing around and freezing when being told to improvise. I dreaded having my teacher tell us to improvise. I think it is incredibly sad that our creativity seems to diminish rather than grow as we develop. I agree with what you said about schooling teaching arts without forcing a right or wrong way. Children need to have a safe environment to be expressive and creative.
I also love that you mentioned that teachers should look for personal growth in regards to emotional awareness, communication, and creativity and uniqueness. Assessing the arts can certainly be difficult. If someone is not born with natural talent for the arts, should they be punished even if they spent a lot of time and effort on it? I don't think. I think that teachers should focus on the purpose of the arts, to allow students to freely express themselves. If students are creatively expressing themselves and making an effort they should be rewarded. I think that art should definitely be included in schools. I think that it is also important that teachers find ways to incorporate the arts into other subject areas.
What do you think is the best way for teachers to make more time for arts in education? How can teachers teach students to be creative?