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PERFORMING ARTS IN SCHOOL SYSTEM.
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Argues dance, music & theater should be in core curriculum. Physical, social, educational & psychological benefits, integrative teaching approach, cooperation, compared with Japan, self-expression, more.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Argues dance, music & theater should be in core curriculum. Physical, social, educational & psychological benefits, integrative teaching approach, cooperation, compared with Japan, self-expression, more.
Paper Introduction:
The performing arts deserve a central role within the school system. The arts are a core academic subject. The discipline, creativity, and feelings of empowerment that students gain from engaging in the performing arts are just as important as their mastery of traditional fields such as literature and science. The performing arts encompass a wide range of artistic expression, with emphasis on experimentation. Examples of performing arts disciplines are music, dancing, drama, choreography, and cinematography. In contemporary educational thought, art is defined both as a body of knowledge and as a developmental activity. Personal development through the performing arts is as important as learning about the arts.
The performing arts are critical in the learning process. Modern educators acknowledge that there is no single method of
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Few, however, haveacquired the ability to express themselves in that language. Amistad is an example of theperforming arts enlightening the educational community, and exposingstudents to aspects of learning that would not normally be a part of thecurriculum. ThemeImmersion (Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1994), 53.Adams and Hamm, 259.Cooper-Solomon, 3 .J. Learning in onediscipline is often applicable to another. In almost every culture, the need for individual identity is asstrong as the need for group identity. The Early Works of John Dewey, 1882-1898. . Likewise, few children gain theinsight to comprehend their own uniqueness--why their lives are like noother person's life. Personaldevelopment through the performing arts is as important as learning aboutthe arts. Theme based teaching avoids the fragmentation that isproblematic in traditional teaching. Sometimes they rely onformulas that have been successful in the past. During the early elementary years, children continue to develop theirartistic expression. The inception stage of theartistic process can be likened to the brainstorming stage of problem-solving in other disciplines: "Both good artists and good scientists havea highly developed sense of wonder and skepticism. Next to its record ofhumanitarianism and compassion nothing reflects the quality of an era moretellingly than its cultural achievements."[xxviii] Society often createscultural stereotypes that are harmful to a student's appreciation of theperforming arts. The arts . These sevenintelligences are: logical/mathematical, verbal/linguistic,visual/spatial, body/kinesthetic, musical/rhythmic, intrapersonal andinterpersonal. Whenstudents understand why people create objects and images then they can seetheir environment not just as a physical entity but as a large-scaleexpression of human needs. From the earliest years of their lives, children are socialized bysociety's attitude toward the arts. Art cannot bedefined exclusively in terms of skillful representation. When students are unable to createideas for art they often resort to copying. Frames of Mind. The good citizen recognizes his or her role as part of alearning society. Of these skills,reading and language skills are most important because they are basic tothe acquisition of all skills that students need to function as socialbeings. An example of professional performing art that helps enlightenstudents in the JazzReach program developed by the JazzReach PerformingArts & Education Association. "The Arts are Essential." School Arts (February1995) 94: 29-3 .Crafton, Linda. Art educators, in particular, haverecognized that a child's self-expression has its own kind of integrity andauthenticity. Phases in the artisticprocess do not occur in a definite sequence. Clearly,the choice of the art form can make a difference in the amount and type ofpreparation by the artist. . Evaluation is an important part of the creative process. In essence, children are naturalartists. In everyculture there are quite specific clues that express social problems andvalues. Some childrenexperience a crisis in confidence as their ideas and concepts outstriptheir artistic skills. The good citizen is one who contributes to society by expanding his or hermind. The performing arts are critical in the learning process. Careful observation ofthe natural and built environment is an important way for children todevelop a sense of their own identity and their relationship to society.Given a supportive environment and appropriate instruction, children in theearly elementary grades can develop their artistic skills along with anawareness of their artistic heritage: "Art criticism, history, andaesthetics contribute both to the production of artworks and artisticperformance and to a child's ability to draw inferences and interpretpowerful ideas."[xxxvii] During the preadolescent years, children begin to judge themselvesand others by more critical standards. Inthe performing arts, the elaboration and refinement stage often involvespractice. Music is especially appropriate forthis. Chicago: University ofChicago Press, 1996.Cooper-Solomon, Debra. . In the lower grades,one or two full rehearsals are sufficient, but students in the upper gradesmight require three or four full rehearsals to feel confident. Bridging the Gap: Integrating Curriculum in Upper Elementary and Middle Schools. Some artists reach thisstage through a slow process of incubation while others receive literalflashes of inspiration. Engaging in the performing arts represents an important form of risktaking for students. Students would later recreate meal ceremonies used in theirown cultures. Engagement in the performing arts helps students understand that theartistic process involves struggle. Small groups of children work on parts of alarge problem that interest everyone. The message is sent that conceptual and creative formsof thinking are valued as highly as traditionally accepted forms ofintelligence. These considerationsare especially important as students become aware of the difference betweentheir ability to come up with ideas their ability to express them. They, like mostpeople, tend to see a narrow view of the world around them." [xxxviii]Preadolescents can benefit from opportunities to appreciate the value ofexperiences that are unusual, ambiguous, or controversial. Artists often explore directions for theirwork by considering relationships between means and ends. "Thinking Critically in the Practice Room." MusicEducators Journal 85 (July 1998): 21-23.Kent, Linda. Arts education is essential for creating an integrated curriculum inthe school system. The processsubjects offer a range of ways of allowing us to represent how we see andmake meaning of our world (real or imagined)."[vi] Putting this theory into practice, the student would learn about thecontent subjects but would learn through the process subjects. By making an artistic commitment, the student openshimself or herself to the criticism of others. The performing arts are important in the school system because theschool is one of the few avenues in which the student can express himselfor herself in a supportive environment. The program also includes magazine study guides whichsupplement the performance. . Activities that use art materials merelyto illustrate, chart, or graphically represent other subjects areinadequate. Performing arts activities in schools can beaimed at group expression or individual expression, both of which areimportant. Students at many high schoolscan now take coursework in cinematography. The steps in the artistic process can beapplied to any other academic discipline. Among the common obstacles toactive perception are the development of stereotypes. In the upper elementary grades, children begin toexplore themes in their art based on human feelings, values, and actions:"Young adolescents rarely consider other points of view. Most schools admit students by audition.Once a student is admitted, he or she is expected to maintain at least a Caverage in academic courses and a B average in his or her chosen performingarts discipline. .I'm convinced that the arts have a very special role to play in givingteenagers of this nation a larger sense of purpose."[iv] In a practical sense, every student should acquire the skills andknowledge that equip for productive employment. Reaching the Goals: High SchoolCompletion. A number of performanceartforms establish or maintain the identity of groups--national, social,political, religious, and occupational. Thus, at minimum, theeducated individual must possess sufficient reading, language, scientific,and mathematic skills that enhance independent living. In judging the significance of a performing arts experience, studentsengage in self-inquiry. In short, they must think criticallybefore, during, and after each practice session to optimize theirlearning."[li] The performing arts help students to overcome the naturaldesire to achieve quick results. The old adage that practice makes perfect is particularly applicableto the performing arts. It is a search for understanding andexperience, not merely by trial and error, but with guidance. Children rarely get a chance to discover specialmeanings or explore subjects in depth. Teachers cannot ignore a student'sexperiences outside the classroom. One way to classify theschool curriculum is dividing it between content subjects and processsubjects.[v] The content subjects are social education, environmentaleducation, science, personal development, and technology studies. Skilldevelopment likewise evolves in the process. Human beings generally learn those things that interest them. Portsmouth, NH:Heinemann, 1991.Smith, Ralph. Reaching the Goals(Washington: GPO, 1993), 21.Diane DeNicola Orlofsky, "Spread the Magic," National Forum75 (Winter 1995): 9.Keith Pigdon and Marilyn Woolley, "The Context and theFramework," In Keith Pigdon and Marilyn Woolley (Eds.) The BigPicture, 3-18 (Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1993), 7.Ibid, 7.Dennis Adams and Mary Hamm, New Designs for Teaching andLearning (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1994), 299-3 .DeNicola Orlofsky, 8.Maryann Manning, Gary Manning, and Roberta Long. They begin to perceive themselvesand each other as talented or untalented in the arts. Instead the artist renders within an acquired medium of expressionand representation."[lii] When students become aware of criteria by whichart is judged, they simultaneously learn about some of the qualities thatmany people appreciate in the arts. Dramatization provides a supportiveenvironment capable of unleashing the learning potential of all involved.As one teacher writes, "When teachers trust themselves and their studentsenough to follow the direction in which the exploration of a theme takesthem, there are no bounds to the learning that's possible!"[xix] Dramahelps students to overcome any shyness they might have about speaking inpublic: the development of effective oral skills is a foundation forschool success. Expressive art results when thestudent's desire to use a particular artform is fused with a need to sharespecific thoughts and feelings. Film is another medium that has great potential for getting studentsinvolved in the professional art community. By participating in theperforming arts, students join a community of artists whose purpose is toaffirm, celebrate, and challenge society's traditions. These experiences include life anddeath, love and hate, joy and despair, and victory and defeat. Several states fund summer programs in the arts for school-agedchildren. Althoughthe racist, sexist, and divisive nature of rap music lyrics alienates many,much of the music retains merit as social commentary: "the art form can beused to express political messages that go much deeper, presenting a pointof view that is at odds with middle-class U.S. Thesethemes have inspired artists of all cultures. They helpcorrelate the ideas of the group, which were then reported to a largeraudience. Using another performing arts discipline, dramatization, students canshare stories which communicate their thoughts and ideas. Studentsmust learn the process of generating ideas for expression through art justlike they learn any other discipline. Because ethnic identity is established partiallythrough distinct visual and performance formats, teachers can concentrateon studies in Hispanic, Appalachian, Native American or African Americanarts, among others, depending on the composition of the particularclassroom: "Students learn about their root culture, their family'shistorical culture, and the common culture all of us share."[xliii] Anexample would be to invite someone to explain and demonstrate the Japanesetea ceremony. Without proper guidance, students easily become exasperated by theirinability to communicate what they feel, see, and imagine: "What theyfrequently lack are basic artistic understandings and opportunities forexpression and analysis."[xxxii] Thus instruction in the arts has thepotential for helping the student take vivid feelings and ideas and capturethe precise feelings and imagery of the experiences. In relating thearts to other subjects, sensitive educators give priority to expressiveparallels as opposed to using art to merely reinforce factual knowledge:"If the parts are not sufficiently related, the conversation will fragment,forced to separate and start over each time something new isintroduced."[xiv] The performing arts are also important components of theme basedteaching. The performing arts deserve a central role within the school system.The arts are a core academic subject. Instead, thisindividual takes advantage of lifelong learning opportunities to expand hisor her horizons. Students study a wide range of subjects. As studentsprepare for performances they have time to reflect on and explore theirdeeper meaning: "The arts continue the universal human practice of makingspecial certain objects, sounds, movements, or representations that havebeen linked with human [experience] for countless generations."[liv] Byexploring the meaning of various ideas and concepts, students can discoverimages and ideas that will communicate their feelings to others. The preschool years are vital years in terms of the child'sfuture: "School is a place where the learning which occurs in the presentcan act to give new life and vitality to the past and to create newpossibilities and plans for the future."[xxxvi] The teacher has theresponsibility for extending and refining the child's skills, attitudes,and understanding. The performing arts also help teachers to examine their own personalbiases. To succeed in teaching the whole student, educators must providestudents with a variety of learning experiences. Given these values, the arts are often marginalized as beingimportant only for their entertainment value or as upper class pursuits.Clearly, the notion that art is frivolous or elitist is entirely misguided: "Nations and cities build and maintain museums and performing arts centersfor more than purely aesthetic reasons. Experiencing the workof these artists helps student overcome conditions that prevent them fromfully exercising their perceptual powers. "The Context and the Framework." In Keith Pigdon and Marilyn Woolley (Eds.) The Big Picture: Integrating Children's Learning, 3-18. The selection of atopic is negotiated between teacher and student. This approachdemonstrates the utility of the performing arts in helping students learnabout the content of other subjects: "The arts are the natural waychildren learn. Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon, 1994.DeNicola Orlofsy, Diane. The learning activities that occur as partof the theme immersion are self-selected and cooperatively planned by bothstudents and teachers. Nature has always been a source of inspiration fortraditional celebrations and ceremonies. The artistic process is intellectually sound, and particularlyrelevant as the United States approaches the 21st century. Students who have undergone the variouscomponents of the artistic process find their powers of reasoning greatlystrengthened: "arts education [teaches] students new ways to see, new waysto make connections, new topics on which to collaborate, and key ways toengage in critical thinking."[xlix] The skills learned in this process arehighly transferable to other academic disciplines: "Research into therecords of several schools indicates that a curriculum that devotes 25percent or more of the school day to the arts produces youngsters withacademically superior abilities."[l] Because the artist's initial idea is usually incomplete, the artisticprocess involves a phase of elaboration and refinement. Good citizens areinvolved in the workings of the society in which they live. Examples ofperforming arts disciplines are music, dancing, drama, choreography, andcinematography. Increasingly, however, modern employers are requiring a complex setof skills that include higher-order intellectual abilities such as criticalthinking and problem-solving. This feeling ofpowerlessness is usually more apparent on large, urban campuses: "Theimpersonality of the large urban high school is an example of a nonacademicdimension to life in schools that is frequently described as leading towithdrawal."[iii] The decision to drop out of school has been defined as aprocess based on a complex array of factors, including language barriers,economic status, responsibilities outside school, influences within theschool, and societal pressures. A major play usually requires more planningthan the recital of an individual's poem. If students are unable to read theirenvironment for signs of cultural belongingness, their sense of personalidentity is diminished: "The arts can motivate the social, civic, andcognitive development of students as well as students' aestheticdevelopment."[xl] The performing arts are a powerful tool for teachers to use ingetting their students to think about social issues. New York: Basic, 1985.Kenny, William. (In their preadolescentyears, children form basic attitudes toward a number of experiences,including those in the performing arts.) The quality of educationavailable to students can have either a positive or negative impact onwhether they integrate the arts as a vital part of their lives: "The artscan be tools for shattering stereotypes, changing behavior, building asense of community, and delivering sociopolitical commentary."[xxvii] Schools are not the only entities that influence a student'sattitudes toward the performing arts. Schools that have focused on arts education throughout the variousgrade levels will reap the benefits of contributing to the development ofyoungsters who value the arts; schools that have lacked such a focus willnot: "Schools that cheat on daily arts education deny students a vitalquality of life experience--expression, discovery, and an understanding ofthe chances for human achievement."[xxxix] Art is not only a means of individual expression it is also relatedto culture. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1993.Short, Kathy and Burke, Carolyn. Students canassume role-playing through dramatization and experience what it is like towalk the proverbial mile in someone else's shoes. . The teacher also serves as a member of thecommunity and a model learner. The need for positive recognition ofminority groups has led to an acknowledgement of the importance of ethnicdiversity in society. During this period, the child becomes aware of its ownwork, and begins to look for models of performance in peers and adults.Children entering this expressive stage must be steered away from relyingon external models if they are to realize personal fulfillment through thearts. Studentsmust be able to critique their own work and that of others. He rejected the notion that children were miniature and imperfectadults. Whenstudents participate in performing arts events that celebrate some aspectof nature, they are forced to consider the impact of human beings onnature. Self-expression is not only natural behavior for children,it is fundamental to their ultimate maturity: "The arts teach students theimportance of using imagination, multiple perspectives and personalinterpretation. Relationships betweenhumans, nature, and a supreme being are constantly reexamined and expressedin the performing arts, many of which are based on myth and legend. Whileteachers should encourage students to experiment they should also guidethem toward the application of experiments that result in effectivesolutions to expressive problems. This is extremely healthyfor students' development: "Within any experience, we have to accept thatthere are alternative interpretations available concerning the physicalcharacteristics of the actual situation, and the perceptions of otherpeople who might be involved in that learning experience."[liii]Risktaking involves exploration. In addition tobeing motivated by seasonal or weather changes, ceremonial events might beinspired by the basic elements of air, fire, earth, and water or bycelestial events such as solar eclipses or the appearance of comets. All the activities chosen are integrally related tothe content of the topic. The child's first encounter with a structuredlearning environment often occurs in a day care center, preschool, orkindergarten. Unfortunately, this desire is reinforcedby society, which places high value on achieving instant success. Students must be guided in the process of findingideas from various sources in their experience, and the experiences ofothers, that can be tapped for inspiration. Students need to think about what they learned from anexperience, why the experience was special, how the experience made themfeel, and why they felt that way. . As one teacher asks, "Will interdisciplinary teaching resultin a serious study of art or a watered-down version of each interrelatedsubject?"[xii] For example, arts educators would disapprove of a social studieslesson on Southwest Indians that included the performance of NativeAmerican dances or the use of art media to duplicate Indian designs. It isimportant for students to understand both the process of arriving at acritical judgment and the role of criteria within the process: "The artistdoes not duplicate what he or she sees or feels, whether in inner or outerworlds. Another valuable feature of the performing arts is their utility inhelping students understand the artistic process. Lastly, the student must considerwhether knowledge gained from the experience would be applicable to varioussituations in their lives. Junior high students are attracted toimaginative themes. Even when the artist appears to work spontaneously, a wide range ofthoughts and feelings are being translated into the organized activity. A desire for perfection intheir work often emerges, albeit adolescents will not generally acknowledgethat the learning process itself is valuable. The Act specifies that students should be able tocommunicate in four arts disciplines (music, visual arts, theater, anddance), communicate proficiently in at least one art form, and be able torelate arts knowledge and skills across the arts disciplines.[xxv] Inaddition, the National Standards for Arts Education, also passed in 1994,contains interdisciplinary components. A modern example of the relationship between the performing arts andsocial problems is rap music. . . InDewey's philosophy of education, the school is a microcosm of everydaylife. The performing arts are so highly valued in some areas of the countrythat arts magnet high schools are experiencing unprecedented growth. Through the subjectmatter of their work, many artists in the community allude to universalhuman experiences or relationships. Instead of demands of conformity, the arts enable childrento think and exercise creativity."[xxxiv] Thus it is wrong to label the creation of art by students as crudeattempts at representation. As Dr. Ernest Boyer, President of theCarnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, puts it, "The arts canbe powerfully motivating for young people who are socially alienated . The artistic process goes from the inception of an ideato execution to evaluation. Moderneducators acknowledge that there is no single method of learning. Forexample, learning about social education or science would occur throughlanguage, art, drama, mathematics, movement, or music. The integrated curriculum is interdisciplinary: "Artseducation has always taught that no part of a composition, whether thatcomposition is a painting or a curriculum, is independent of the whole inwhich it participates . He likewise rejected the methods of rote learning of ready-madefacts, drill and recital of text materials, and arbitrary rules oflearning. This knowledge, although sometimestentative and difficult to express orally or in writing, can be readilyexpressed through feeling and emotion. The goals of ademocratic society are fostered when its citizens are broadly educated, notmerely trained in a narrow range of skills. Some students are at-risk for many ofthese factors. The practical application of knowledge is animportant test of the significance of an experience. The performing arts can also connect students to their naturalenvironment. Although students cannot be taught toappreciate art, they can be taught the critical process through which theycan develop, test, and refine their own artistic judgments. For example, during the 196 s,the civil rights movement focused attention on minority groups and innercities. . The students interact with other gifted student artists in aprofessional learning environment. Students at this age arejust beginning to understand the relationship between cultural change andart. At some point, early in the process, artists develop an idea, a sense ofpurpose, or a tentative direction for their work. With cooperative learning, the class is treated as a community.Students are given freedom to work together on collective projects, and areoften organized into work groups. Theseactivities are integral to the problem-solving process. Part of the solution to the alienation that studentsexperience in school is their participation as members of a performing artscommunity within the school. "Interdisciplinary Art Education Reconsidered." ArtEducation 51 (July 1998): 13-17.U.S. New Designs for Teaching and Learning.San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1994.Applebee, Arthur. These educational initiativesdemonstrate the value placed on arts education by the nation's topeducators. Citizens have aresponsibility to understand their government, know their rights, and tokeep informed about public issues. Among the activities used aremurals, puppet shows, charts, displays, and bulletin boards. Endnotes BibliographyAdams, Dennis and Hamm, Mary. The performing arts play an important role in the process of achild's development. While Western critics of the Japaneseeducation model contend that its rigidity stifles creativity in children,Japanese students probably receive as much or more education in the areasof creative expression as their American counterparts. New York: TheFree Press, 1987.-----------------------Debra Cooper-Solomon, "The Arts are Essential," School Arts 94(February 1995), 29.John Dewey, The Early Works of John Dewey, 1882-1898(Carbdondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1972), 93.U.S. The performing arts are among the few subjects that adolescents inthe junior and senior high school years can use to clarify and expresstheir often tumultuous emotions. Rap music is considered extreme bymainstream culture. The arts teacher must assume the roleof coach or facilitator: "Basically, effective curriculum is built aroundindirect instruction. The performing arts help students to consider relationships betweenwhat they want to say and how they want to say it. Theprocess subjects are language, art, drama, mathematics, music, andmovement. These programs provide highly motivated performing arts studentsthe opportunity to receive intensive training from distinguishedinstructors. Cooperative learning values a range ofcontributions as opposed to the traditional competitive model: "Throughcollaborative learning, [students] can acquire the structures they need foranalyzing works of art, music, dance, and drama--frameworks for sorting outwhat is real in the environment."[xviii] Students take a much more activerole in a cooperative learning environment. Involvement with the performing arts is also a means for students tolearn more about multiculturalism. Another value of the performing arts is its ability to get studentsinvolved with the community of professional artists. Because peer-group pressure is strong, children are easily led to change their ownjudgments about the value of an experience just to be accepted by theirpeers. It functions as a small community facing its own problems andfinding solutions through cooperative effort and democratic procedures.One of the methods used to test and translate Dewey's ideas in theclassroom is group activities. The performing arts enable students to express knowledge they havelearned about various subjects. Suchschools are dedicated to the promotion of the visual or performing arts andreflect their community's assessment that preprofessional training in thearts is important: "Typically, arts magnet schools are located in citieswith populations of 5 , to 1, , , although a significant number arein smaller communities."[xxiii] Although none of the arts magnet schoolsrequire previous training, students must be thoroughly committed topursuing a career in the arts. But if aperson develops an interest in travelling to the particular country wherethe foreign language is spoken, he or she will acquire the language, basedon the interest. Onelearning theory that has gained increasing acceptance is that ofpsychologist Howard Gardner. Youngsters at this age have a vivid imagination andare intensely interested in the world around them. Curriculum as Conversation. Excellence in Art Education. This program, which began touring severalschools, colleges, and museums in 1997, is geared to middle-school agestudents: "The hour-long program includes non-stop music that shifts intotunes that reflect various cultures [and] explains how jazz transcendsethnic boundaries and parallels the development of America."[xlv] Theprogram is interactive, drawing everybody in the audience into theperformance. The lyrics are raw and the melody is earthy. As educator and philosopherJohn Dewey put it, the good citizen must be a group participant, "he isstimulated to act as a member of a unity, to emerge from his originalnarrowness of action and feeling and to conceive of himself from thestandpoint of the welfare of the group to which he belongs."[xxi]Involvement in the performing arts makes a connection with productivecitizenship because of their capacity to enlighten and edify: "The artscan open new horizons, enrich the spirit, and educate students to expand anAmerican cultural vision."[xxii] The good citizen does not coast through life. Theperforming arts are critical to this process because of the variety ofoptions for expression that students have at their disposal:"Performances, rather than stardardized means of assessment, fit into theindividual nature of students' inquiries."[xvi] Theme based teaching brings together diverse bodies of knowledge, aconnection that is facilitated by the performing arts. Because ofthis, many good activities don't qualify as integrated activities."[xiii]With an integrated curriculum, children might learn about the performingarts that Native Americans used to celebrate such important events asrainfall and good harvests. If guided by skillful teachers, this self-inquirycan reach considerable depths. Theme based teaching, in contrast, immerses students: "theemphasis in TI [theme immersion] is on exploring answers to questionsthrough reading in a wide variety of books, both fiction and nonfiction,getting information from other people, experiencing through communitytrips, demonstrations, simulations, role playing, and so on."[xv] Aftergathering knowledge on a particular topic, usually through a collaborativework effort, students express the knowledge they have learned. Approaches to the generationof ideas include observation, imagination, contemplation, and invention.Learning how professional performing artists generate ideas for their ownwork also can be helpful. Former studentsassess their current experiences with the performing arts with those gainedduring their school years, building on the foundation of previous learning. Theplanning, preparation, and evaluation of a performance can have as muchmeaning for students as the actual execution of the performance. According to Dewey, the natural means of learning are activeinquiry, sharing of effort, and experience in decision-making: "Bothteachers and children should be involved in learning and researching, insearching out the questions that are significant in their lives."[xxxiii] Because of the wide number of educators who support the principles ofJohn Dewey, his ideas have been tested and translated into classroompractices throughout the nation. . In the words ofJane Alexander, "The arts are a training ground and crucible for theemerging vocations of the computer age, and we must begin teaching ourchildren not only about technology but how to be creative."[xlvii] Thebest foundation for understanding the artistic process is personalexperience in creating art. Theme Immersion.Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1994.Merina, Anita. The arts cultivate human sensitivity.The creative thinking processes that the arts encourage are important forlearning across numerous academic disciplines. Education in the arts connects students to their communities. The topic content usuallyfocuses on broad issues such as homelessness, civil rights, or endangeredspecies, but the content evolves as the process progresses. Students can experiencethe feelings of people from different social and economic backgrounds, ordifferent historical periods. The first step in the artistic process involves inception of an idea. society."[xx] Performingart is capable of affirming as well as challenging traditional values. When there are radical changes in the beliefs and values ofsociety, there are usually corresponding changes in the style of the visualand performing arts that people produce. Gardner's Multiple Intelligence Theory claimsthat humans learn not only through the linguistic and mathematical modelsof schooling but through seven intelligences (Gardner, 1985). For most performance ceremonies,adequate planning time and rehearsals are essential. The performing arts are highly integrated. The arrival of winter or springor a sunny day threatened by approaching thunder storms can all beoccasions to celebrate the beauty and power of nature. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1996.Gardner, Howard. Involvement in the performing arts at this stage gives children theopportunity to explore and critically examine the consequences of socialrealities in their environment. At this time of their lives, youngsters are testingand solidifying their basic systems of values. The performing arts help students learn how their lives can beenriched through personal expression. Student work should be highly valued aslegitimate art and admired for characteristics that distinguish it fromadult art. "Bringing History to the Screen." NEA Today 16(January 1998): 42.Pigdon, Keith and Woolley, Marilyn. The self-image of any member of society is shaped, in part, by thevisible relationship of the self to others. areat the core of a core of learning because of the way they can knit it alltogether."[viii] Far from being superfluous to the learning process, assome critics would contend, the arts are at the very foundation ofschooling. These skills are a natural part of theperforming arts process. The performing arts encompass a wide range ofartistic expression, with emphasis on experimentation. The most important feature of this stage of theprocess is the motivation or intention. "Spread the Magic." National Forum 75 (Winter 1995): 8-9.Dewey, John. Reston, VA: National ArtEducation Association, 1986.Topaz, Muriel. Activities such as these encourage reflection about groupidentity versus individual identity. Music also makessocial commentary, e.g., rap music's expression of the hardships of livingin urban communities. Through engagement in the performing arts, students learn to judgethe significance of an experience. Questions were also raised about the nation's abused and pollutedenvironment. Art helps students to understand contemporary society. Because society consists of diversegroups of individuals, citizens must be willing to join with others toeffect change through a collaborative process. The discipline, creativity, andfeelings of empowerment that students gain from engaging in the performingarts are just as important as their mastery of traditional fields such asliterature and science. Prior to the publicity campaign for the film, historybooks rarely mentioned slave revolts. Involvement in the performing arts can make a difference in astudent's decision to stay in school or to drop out. Smith, Excellence in Art Education (Reston, VA:National Art Education Association, 1986), 71.Adams and Hamm, 265.Kathy Short and Carolyn Burke, Creating Curriculum (Portsmouth,NH: Heinemann, 1991), 2 .DeNicola Orlofsky, 9.Adams and Hamm, 297.Short and Burke, 55-56.Cooper-Solomon, 3 .Linda Crafton, Challenges of Holistic Teaching: Answering theTough Questions (Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon, 1994), 76-77.Short and Burke, 9.Adams and Hamm, 262.Five and Dionisio, 153.Adams and Hamm, 281.Adams and Hamm, 287.DeNicola Orlofsky, 9.Adams and Hamm, 267.Ibid, 315.Ibid, 263.Ed Enright, "JazzReach Program Hips Kids to Jazz," Down Beat64 (September 1997): 12.Anita Merina, "Bringing History to the Screen," NEA Today 16(January 1998): 42.DeNicola Orlofsky, 9.Adams and Hamm, 298.Ibid, 259.Cooper-Solomon, 3 .William Kenny, "Thinking Critically in the Practice Room," MusicEducators Journal 85 (July 1998): 21.Applebee, 13.Short and Burke, 17.Adams and Hamm, 263.----------------------- 37 Carbondale:Southern Illinois University Press, 1972.Enright, Ed. Neither subject area is given more weight than the other; theywork together in an integrated whole: "The content subjects areessentially concerned with ideas about how the world works. Dr.Ernest Boyer has noted, "We need the arts to help students integrate theirlearning and discover the connectedness of things . This use of art-related activities is termed correlated, orintegrated, art: "The evidence is compelling that when the arts aretreated as a serious academic subject, as well as when they are integratedinto the standard academic curriculum, we create the right environment inwhich a child can learn, and we are better preparing our children for thepresent and future world."[xi] If activities are correlated, students canmore readily achieve a personal integration of their experiences. The student who cuts himself or herselfoff from risk denies his or her own natural curiosity, relegatingthemselves to a passive role. "Summer Study Courtesy of Your State." Dance 7 (January 1996): 139(3).Manning, Maryann, Manning, Gary, and Long, Roberta. The arts often act as a bellwether for social change. Television,comic books, and movies influence the child's understanding of what isworthwhile: "Many citizens get most of their information from television,newspapers, movies, and videos, and have little exposure to thearts."[xxix] The message that is given is that being a spectator in theperforming arts is just as acceptable as being a participant. Multiple Intelligence Theory challenges teachers to workfrom a student's strengths: "Because of the variety in learning styles,schools must teach students through all forms of intelligence."[i]Rewarding students for their successes in the performing arts creates aspillover effect. Students who have aweak connection to the school as an institution are more likely to feelthat academic commitment is irrelevant to their lives. In the words of one middle-school teacher, "Movement is a good way to introduce children to informaldrama; in fact, for us, movement and creative dramatics are closelyrelated."[ix] Integrating learning can help students see the relationshipsbetween and among different components of the whole. Intraditional societies, these values took the forms of expressing the joysof good harvests, fertility, health and victory, or the fears of famine,disease, and defeat: "The visual arts, dance, poetry, plays, and musichave long been organizers or points of integration for a whole range ofhuman activities."[xliv] Modern societies likewise celebrate importantlife events: important milestones such as graduations or other rites ofpassage. The dominant values in our cultureassign great importance to the quest for wealth, success, and upwardmobility. When compared with other industrial nations, however, the UnitedStates lacks a long tradition of valuing the performing arts. Stereotypes simplifythoughts and feelings, and develop when students lack adequate backgroundinformation on a subject. The school is the only institution officiallyresponsible for educating students in the arts. The students might then invent their ownsymbols to represent important events in their own lives. These and other social issues caused artists and arteducators to reassess the bearing of art on social problems. AsJane Alexander, former chair of the National Endowment for the Arts,notes, "The arts demonstrate most clearly our connectedness, our commonhuman nature. Challenges of Holistic Teaching: Answering the ToughQuestions. The concept of art as self-expression was shaped in the early part ofthis century by John Dewey. In addition to coursework that targets the discipline,most arts magnet schools offer the opportunity to participate in informalworkshops, annual concerts, and senior productions. Even without any guidance they may produce works that haveexpressive power: "The very stuff of a young child's world are theproducts and processes of art: shape, color, tone, rhythm, sound,movement."[xxxi] Nevertheless, mere artistic activity and chance learningare poor measures of education because genuine self-expression is not easy. The young are bombarded by the massmedia, advertising, consumer products, and the environment. Citizens havea sense of duty; they feel a responsibility to rectify social wrongs and toimprove conditions. A case in point is the recent film, Amistad, the story of a slaveship revolt that became a rallying cry for abolitionists: "The [trial]went all the way to the U.S. Allimportant forms of music contribute in some way toward the development ofculture. With inspired teaching and hard work in the arts, studentscan develop the artistic sensitivity and the reasoning and problem-solvingskills that will touch other subjects."[vii] The ability of the performing arts to enhance learning in other coreacademic areas is common knowledge among the nation's top educators. When students learn to ask questions theyoften discover that an experience made them aware of something they did notknow before. Stereotypes and clichesare likely to abound. Among these are visuallycoordinated ceremonies that remind people that their personal history islinked with the history of others. These performing artists create works that challenge thenorms, customs, and unquestioned beliefs of society: "Human societies havealways depended on the arts to give insight into truths, however painful orunpopular they may be."[xlii] Engaging students in the performing artsempowers them to either celebrate human existence or imagine alternativesolutions to the problems of humanity. Implementing the performing arts within America's school system isimportant because of the role that schools play in the student'ssocialization process. The outside forcesimpacting the learner can be coercive and thus restrictive."[xxx] If arts education were left up to society, the deeper satisfactionsof the arts would be poorly understood. The result is usually a greater respect for the naturalenvironment. By the time most peoplegraduate from institutions of higher education they have taken foreignlanguage classes both in high school and college. Student art is no longerconsidered a clumsy and immature version of adult art. The supportive atmospherehelps students to become active participants. Citizens have a societal vision, and are willing totake action and get involved to achieve their ideals. Only a full integration of the performing arts into the corecurricula is acceptable, however. Confronted with ready-made images and values allowslittle time for creative thinking: "Because of the social nature oflearning, situations of miseducation can arise. By the time students reach the senior high school level many haveformed the basic values that will sustain them throughout their adultyears. "Something New is in the Air: Arts Magnet High Schools."Dance 64 (April 1995): 1 (2).Ulbricht, J. Washington: GPO (October 1993).White, Merry. Traditional teaching provides, forexample, instruction in mathematics in one period, art the followingperiod, and social studies the next, with no connection among teachingunits. Passedin 1994, this educational initiative developed national standards forstudent assessments. Although the collective mission of the programis to introduce students to a classic American musical form, the art isplaced in context, which also introduces social issues. The art of cinematography iscapable of creating powerful emotional images that not only have a lastingeffect on the viewer, but can also incite action and change. "JazzReach Program Hips Kids to Jazz." Down Beat 64(September 1997): 12.Five, Cora Lee and Dionisio, Marie. Music is a medium that is geared for the young, and the lyrics ofmodern songs often reflect the experiences of youth. Ulbricht, "Interdisciplinary Art Education Reconsidered,"Art Education 51 (July 1998): 14.Pigdon and Woolley, 12.Arthur Applebee, Curriculum as Conversation (Chicago:University of Chicago Press, 1996), 59.Manning, Manning, and Long, 7.Cora Lee Five and Marie Dionisio, Bridging the Gap(Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1996), 155.Adams and Hamm, 276.Ibid, 27 .Five and Dionisio, 42.Adams and Hamm, 285.Dewey, 84.Adams and Hamm, 267.Muriel Topaz, "Something New is in the Air: Arts Magnet HighSchools," Dance Magazine 69 (April 1995): 1 .Linda Kent, "Summer Study Courtesy of your State," Dance 7 (January 1996), 14 .Adams and Hamm, 261.Merry White, The Japanese Educational Challenge (New York:The Free Press, 1987), 81.Adams and Hamm, 266.Ralph A. As educator and philosopher John Dewey put it, "Theinterest is always the sign of some power below; the important thing is todiscover this power."[ii] The performing arts have been one of the areasin which a wide variety of students have expressed interest and in whichthey can achieve success. Anexample is the acquisition of a foreign language. Acquainting students with performing art in theprofessional community is a means of overcoming stereotypical thinking. . Creating Curriculum. The artistelaborates on the basic idea, and refines and sometimes totally revises it. Japan's Ministry of Education is consideringcreating a new elementary school subject called "expression," which wouldintegrate the subjects of music, art, and craft with language arts andgymnastics. Tuition is often free or set at anominal price. Teaching by theme immersion is a holistic form of teaching thathas gained considerable popularity. A comparisonwith Japan is illustrative. Visual arts, dance, music, or theater canprovide active entry points to other subject matter and criticalthinking."[x] The performing arts are neither single-minded nor narrowlydefined. The next stage in the creative process is the execution. The Japanesecurriculum enforces the belief that education of the "whole child" requiresthe development of aesthetic sensibilities: "The belief is that before achild can be truly creative, or even express himself, he must be taughtpossibilities and limits of the medium; in short, one learns how to use theexisting forms first."[xxvi] Toward this end, Japanese elementary schoolchildren are required to learn to play two musical instruments, read music,participate in dramatic forms of the arts, and receive instruction indrawing and painting. Performing arts training isbroad and inclusive, the type of training needed to prepare America'sstudents for the 21st century. That means that students are learning more by doingthan by listening."[xxxv] Effective arts instruction focuses on processesrather than outcomes. They speak to what unites us all under the skin, to thehuman spirit in all our pain and joy, our disenchantment and beguilement,our anger and our celebration."[xli] Modern performing artists often choose themes that go beyond ordinaryexperience in expressing imagined realities, spiritual revelations, dreams,and fantasies. Students can actively participate in this development by becominginvolved in the performing arts. The phases are interchanged,repreated, and integrated in such a way that achieves an individual methodof creating art. Supreme Court . By focusing on a single theme in theirinstructional units, teachers can explore a particular topic, issue, orquestion in depth. Dewey believed that children should be treatedas active learners whose creative energies center on themselves and theirworld. An example is thePennsylvania state program for dance: "Students major in ballet, jazz, ormodern dance while studying all three disciplines as well as improvisation,composition, dance history, dance theory, and career-relatedalternatives."[xxiv] Another indicator of the importance of the performing arts is theinclusion of arts education in the Goals 2 : Educate America Act. The "self" of young people is as complex as that of adults, butauthentic expression of this self is rarely achieved without the activeintervention and guidance of adults. The role of the teacher is asa guide to student learning. Through instruction in the performingarts, a student can acquire more subtle forms of feeling and images of thehuman spirit than they are likely to acquire on their own. Celebrating these occasionswith the performing arts helps students clarify and acknowledge the valuesthat they wish to express. There arefew opportunities for a child to express how he or she feels aboutparticular circumstances. Department of Education. The issues the case raisesare as profound today as they were 15 years ago."[xlvi] The release ofthe film Amistad was accompanied by a teacher's guide and a children's bookon the subject. The Japanese Educational Challenge. The content of art is a fluid body of options through whichstudents can begin to experience and comprehend the significance of theirworlds. The integration of the performing arts into the core curriculum isnecessary for a variety of reasons. They share a world ofcomplex options and multiple paths that require flexibility and energy tonegotiate."[xlviii] One of the aims of arts education is to help childrenlearn to generate their own ideas. By examiningthese relationships, artists can clarify their ideas and determine theirgoals. Although themain function of commercial film is entertainment, it also can be used toeducate. The intended function of a work of art has a definite influence onhow it should be critiqued. By tradition, most of the artactivities offered in schools have been aimed at individual expression.With the advent of multiculturalism, schools are giving increased focus togroup identity, nurturing sensitivity to the values people express. In contemporary educational thought, art is defined bothas a body of knowledge and as a developmental activity. Relating various subjects to a theme could notbe possible without inclusion of the performing arts: "The arts areespecially useful in developing these metacurricula and starting dialoguesbetween disciplines that often ignore each other."[xvii] Anothermethod of teaching that the performing arts enhance is cooperativelearning. Whereas students are prone to forget traditionalacademic subjects learned by rote, the emotions and feelings infused inperforming arts activities tends to have a lasting effect. Department of Education. Suchactivities are uncreative and do not, in and of themselves, help studentsto grasp the underlying relevance of Native American art to their ownlives: "In an integrated curriculum unit all activities containopportunities for students to learn more about the content . Society aspires to produce human beings who are good citizens, a goalmade possible by education in the performing arts. Arts educators have learned that student practiceis a form of self-directed learning that contributes to critical thinking:"[students] must in some respects behave as teachers by providing their owngoals, planning, and evaluation. Using this perspective, holidays and special school events shouldbe regarded as opportunities for learning.
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