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STANDARDS-BASED
ARTS EDUCATION
The P-CCS Visual
and Performing Arts curriculum is comprehensive and rooted in standards of
achievement. Clear expectations, rigorous instruction, and relevance
to student development are hallmarks of the quality instruction provided
by the arts teachers in our district. With strong support from community
arts groups and businesses, arts education in Plymouth-Canton schools is a
growing and vibrant component of the P-CCS Mission, which states that the
district is "dedicated to providing educational opportunities for
each student to achieve personal excellence. . . "
Derek E. Gordon,
Executive Director, Jazz at Lincoln Center and former senior vice
president for the Kennedy Center, discusses the place of the arts in a
comprehensive education. Text is reprinted with permission
from ArtsEdge,
a Web site of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Q:
The Kennedy Center's Arts Education Vision Statement asserts, "The
arts are a critical and essential part of the education of every young
person in America." Why is this true?
A: The arts
are an essential part of American culture as a whole. It is very important
that every young person comes into direct contact with the arts—not only
as a passive observer, but also as an active participant.
The arts are also a great
equalizer in terms of economic and social discrepancies. They have a way
of leveling the playing field, allowing individuals to progress in life
more effectively. There is also a lot of research that addresses the
impact that the arts have on cognitive learning skills. For example,
learning to play the piano can aid in developing mathematical skills.
Visual arts and dance can affect the spatial perception of
students—particularly young students.
Q:
What value does arts-based learning provide to students?
A: The arts
encourage learning as a process of discovery. We want every student to be
a researcher who is asking probing questions—not only demonstrating
their knowledge, but also testing and defending the assumptions that they
are making. This is something that artists do all the time.
Also, when you look at early
education practices, you see that they are filled with arts activities,
because they offer the most basic and immediate ways to connect to a young
mind. The arts challenge students of all ages, and engage them in a way
that is often more kinesthetic, and perhaps more emotionally satisfying,
than the "traditional" approach to teaching a text.
Q:
How can one defend the role of arts in education when so much emphasis is
placed on standardized test scores?
A: It's
always interesting to look at the schools that have the highest test
scores on standardized tests. Generally you will find that the arts are a
part of their curriculum. Now, is that just a coincidence? Or is it part
of the environment that makes the students more successful in their
efforts to learn and compete on standardized tests?
A publication called Critical
Links contains empirical data on a variety of tests and research
initiatives looking at the impact of the arts on academic
achievement—not in the domain of the arts, but in other academic areas.
This material has made very compelling statements about the effectiveness
of using the arts to teach other subjects.
Q:
What is the classroom teacher's role in advocating for the place of the
arts in education?
A: First,
professional development is extremely important. Teachers from all
disciplines can participate in programs to learn the techniques of an
arts-integrated approach to education. The Kennedy Center offers a wide
array of professional development opportunities and experiences that
demonstrate this sort of integrated approach to learning. Educators can
incorporate these techniques into just about any text or topic that they
are teaching.
Second, teachers should look
to the leadership in the school, as well as the general community, to
discover available resources. If there is an arts specialist in your
school, look at him or her as a collaborator in expanding your students'
experience. Look to community cultural organizations that might present
productions or have teaching artists willing to come in and teach a
hands-on activity.
Third, teachers can talk to
their school boards, PTAs, and decision-makers in their community to make
sure that their schools have access to cultural resources, and that
artists or teaching artists are on the faculties of their schools.
Q:
If you could implement one initiative to improve American students'
education in the arts, what would it be?
A: I think
that I would create an initiative mandating that all of the arts would be
available at every school, and that every student had regular
opportunities to receive instruction and participate actively in a variety
of art forms. I would like to see schools implement arts programs that
give students the opportunity to develop fully in all of the artistic
disciplines. Students should have ample opportunity to view, create, and
critique all of the arts.
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