Arts and Arts Education

What?

Arts and Arts education is an important subject that needs to be taught in schools all around. During this I have really come to appreciate art and it being taught in schools. I am not much of an art person but taking this class has taught me that art isn't always what you think it means. Art and art education can range from drama, to dancing, to music, to visual arts. I have learned that you can teach any book and integrate it with an art method. I have really enjoyed opening my perspective and really seeing how important and influential it is in schools. I have gained a love for arts and have had fun while learning about the different forms. Art is not a simple subject. There are many forms, techniques, ways of teaching, and activities that are combined when you integrate art. Art can make a subject never get boring. It is a very interactive tool to keep the students attention and keep them involved.

During my field experience I really got to see how art is integrated into schools and how helpful and liked it is or can be. My teacher didn't really use any special type of art, but she did have her students draw the image or the diagram she wanted them to know in their books. These books were highlighted with key terms and pictures that will help them when they test. They not only had to draw the pictures in their books but they had to color it and make it look nice. When we were in the classroom, we used process drama with displaying the water cycle. This was a really useful way to help our students see the cycle work in person. They were able to get a visual connection to the subject matter and they were using their kinesthetic, which allows them to hopefully remember the actions they did or saw. The students really picked up on the arts and really made a connection to what something means or how it works. They also got excited when we integrated art into our lessons. They seemed to learn and remember best when they had this option of learning the material. They would also ask if they could add to it and make it more detailed. This was good because they were using their creativity and they were able to learn in their own ways.

Arts are so important in school settings. I am sad that people believe that it is not as important as it is and they believe they can take it out of schools. Art is the essence of creativity and is the way many young children's mind thinks. I think if teachers incorporated arts more into their lessons or if the school incorporated an art class then the students test scores would be higher. Just because art is not a subject believed to be used in the real world, does not mean that it is not important. However, I think art is used everyday. There are so many forms and styles and that is what this class has taught me.

So What?

So what I believe this means to me is a change in the way I teach and a change in the way I plan my lessons. I also think in order for me to integrate arts in my future classroom, I need to integrate arts into my life now as I continue my schooling to get my degree. When I have the opportunity to teach a lesson or present information to my class, I could easily integrate a key concept, term, or activity I learned while taking this class. I think something that would also help motivate the integration of arts in elementary schools is the idea to integrate art into our college classes more. I don't believe you just have to take art classes to experience art in school, it can come in any form or in any class. That goes for both my education now as I am in college as well as elementary classes and all education in general.

Something else that I believe will help me to become a better teacher as well as a better example is practicing what I believe by actually participating in art activities. There are several seminars I can take to help me with this. I can also become acquainted with the art museums in my area as well as plays, musicals, etc. I believe I need to grow a love in this area in order to passionately get my love and point across to my future students. Also, the more I show interest, the more and the easier it will be to teach in classes.

Now What?

Now, I know that this is a lot to do and a lot to say but I believe people can develop and find an interest in arts over time. It is not something that has to be done overnight but it is something that can come over time. I have a year and a half left and so if I do what I say I want to do then I should not have any struggles bringing and integrating arts into my future classroom.

I think that you (Dr. Escalante) has been a great role model and example for the way I want to be and the way I want to integrate art. You made it fun and exciting and I also learned a lot. I really enjoyed how you were not afraid as you acted out something or you started singing or you even began to read a story or do story telling. That is something that I need to work on as well. With doing all of this by researching and becoming familiar with art and the different forms as well as finding ways to integrate it into my lessons plans, I believe my students will have a strong foundation of art and may even learn the material better. It also gives me a new teaching style and it makes my career and my education more fun. Art is the key to engaging students into lessons and I learned this first hand in my fourth grade class during field.