The Arts – A Great "How"

“If our goal is for children to become knowledgeable, critical thinkers who are good at solving problems, we need to pay attention to the ‘how’ of teaching.”  –  Linda Crawford

I want my students to thrive!  I want them to soak up their learning experiences, remember, recall, and apply their knowledge at school – and in life.  Cookie cutter teaching procedures and mandates that pigeonhole our unique learners’ abilities send a chill up my spine. We learn in so many different ways, so we need to allow our children to listen, look, feel, touch, explore, create, dance, sing, and teach one another in ways that engage and excite them.  The arts are an incredible tool for making this happen.  In Lively Learning Linda Crawford shares “six powerful reasons for integrating the arts” into daily curriculum:

1.  The arts make content more accessible.

2.  The arts encourage joyful, active learning.

3.  The arts help students make and express personal connections to content.

4.  The arts help children understand and express abstract concepts.

5.  The arts stimulate higher level thinking.

6.  The arts build community and help children develop collaborative work skills.

I think each one is reason enough to integrate the arts into the classroom everyday, but my favorite is number 2.  The arts encourage joyful, active learning.  Learning should be a joyful experience!  Instead we so often walk into our classrooms and follow mandates that have trickled down and were put in place to make us accountable.  Don’t get me wrong – I do believe in accountability, but I think when we expect each child to perform in the same way on the same day, we are selling education short.  We find ourselves hurrying through curriculum in sterile ways, so we can check the box and move on to the next task.  Using the arts is a great way to step out of the box and truly allow our students to grow and thrive.

I will step down from my soapbox now and get back to my goal – teaching with gusto – with fervor – for the joy of learning.  Yes, we must follow guidelines and hold high expectations, but we also must be accountable for exposing our students to rich learning experiences that allow them to enhance their natural gifts and learning styles.  The arts are a great way to nurture our children’s talents, open the door to future career opportunities, and create an excitement for learning.

Art is a love of mine, but you don’t have to be an artist to celebrate the arts.  The K-12 Teachers Alliance shares 12 ways that you can integrate the arts into your classroom. You can check it out here.

Americans for the Arts has compiled research supporting the value of the arts in education as well as in the work place, community, and health care – just to name a few.