What-I have experienced many things with the arts. Not only in my schooling over the years, but also I have participated in dance, piano and school plays.
Throughout my years in school I have had several teachers who have integrated the arts into the classroom. I vividly remember an experience I had in my elementary social studies class. I had to create a poster on key events or leaders that were apart of World War II. I chose to do my poster on D-day. I had to find information and pictures to put on the poster. I was able to learn about World War II from not only my poster, but also my classmates. In addition, I was truly impacted by using the arts when I read Anne Franks diary in 8th grade. We were assigned to create a poem about Anne, the Holocaust, or concentration camps. I chose to express how I felt about the Holocaust. When writing the poem I experienced many emotions.
The few new ideas that I have gained are: I never really thought about that the reasons why the arts help students achieve and grow, teaching the arts can help with creative problem solving process and the power of linking art to emotion.
So What-The arts have had a major impact in my life. I love that I can express myself in numerous ways whether it is a song, dance, visual art etc.
One of my favorite teachers was my 8th grade English teacher. She truly portrayed great characteristics. Any project, assignments, or lessons she would integrate the arts somehow. My teacher would put up our finished projects for display in the classroom. It made me feel good to know that my work was important and meant something to my teacher. Also, there were always a variety of projects we would do. For example, I would write poems, make a collage; pick a song that represented a book we read, watch a dance performance and so much more. My teacher made the class fun and exciting by integrating the arts. It made me enjoy class on a whole other level.
My least teacher that did not represent any characteristics would be my junior high science teacher. There were no arts integrated whatsoever. I did not like learning about science and had no desire to. The class was boring and we always read out of the book.
After sharing both examples from teachers that I have had in the past, I would hope that in the future, I would be the teacher that integrates the arts as much as possible. Children need to express themselves to enjoy learning.
Now What- I want to not get discouraged if my school does not have the funding for the arts or has cutback dramatically. There are always ways to incorporate the arts if the funding is lacking etc.
I believe for me to prepare now I need to beyond doubt try my best to integrate the arts in all subjects. The arts add a variety to the core subjects and have proven higher test scores, building self-esteem, includes all students from different backgrounds, children take more risks and more.
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