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Article 1- Exploring the Benefits of Art in Elementary Education
I didn't see a date on when this article was written, but I get the impression it was about ten years ago when NCLB was a hot button topic. I hope it has gotten better!
I have always taught in the lower grades, and in schools were there was no art teacher. I happily took on the role. Now that I have a school with an art teacher, I began the year thinking it was time to hang up my art teacher hat. Now that it is later, though, I am noticing that the children rarely bring any projects home to hang on their fridge. Kid art is one of the best parts of being a teacher! I planned to blow the dust off of my art teacher hat and do more art in my classroom after winter break, and we are having a great time. It is one of the quietest parts of the day. When I see a child with a paintbrush and blank paper in front of them, I see a calm, thoughtful problem solver! They are making plans and thinking three steps ahead, which they don't always do! It is obvious that art naturally soothes and gets children to focus. It's a shame that there are so many articles written to try and sell teachers on incorporating art into their classroom time.
Article 2- How Integrating Arts Into Other Subjects Makes Learning Come Alive
I enjoyed that this article discussed the child as a whole, complicated, little person who needs exposure to the humanities for something as simple (but world-changing) as self-confidence.
When it comes to art, people like to celebrate Basquiat & Van Gogh, or even hip-hop if we consider music! These examples should be thought of when considering poverty and the arts. If we had dismissed them because of their SES status or said they need to focus more on academics, then we would have missed out on entire movement and how those movements evolved and influenced others.
The idea of using art to differentiate is really interesting to me. I think it is a perfect fit for the kinder-level students I teach. It is admittedly difficult to give up instruction time to a timeless art project when I have a calendar to tell me I have to be teaching the same page in the basal at the same time and in the same way as my other grade-level teachers.
Article 3- How Arts Integration Supports Student Learning: Students Shed Light
This is the second article to BEGIN with a sentence that says art is important because it can boost test scores, although each of the articles say it.
I would like to know the date of this publication. The newest research cited is almost twenty years old.
This article was difficult to read because of the date and because it was the methodology of a study. I found it interesting that the participating teachers got to volunteer to be involved in the experiment or not. It made me think: The kind of teacher who is open to participating in an arts experiment is probably the type of teacher who would already have students performing well academically.
After reading these three articles, I am reflecting on how I currently integrate arts in my kindergarten classroom. I feel a lot of pressure to teach from the basal so that my team and I are on the same pace, but I think if the admin came in and saw my students using the arts to respond and reflect upon academics they would be fine with it. Personally, I believe that when children are using the arts to interpret and apply what they have learned they are converging a lot of skills and thinking that is deeper and more like real-world thinking. I can do better when it comes to integrating the arts. I wonder if my teaching team thinks they could.
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