Reflection #14

Reflection #14 Arts Integration in Teaching - How have I changed over the semester?

WHAT:

I feel I have actually done a complete 180 degree turn about in my feelings about Arts integration. Before this class, my experience has mainly been to observe my children's elementary teachers in how they include art in the classroom. It mainly consisted of arts and crafts items and a few songs here and there.

There is an Arts teacher in my family's elementary school, and I have been very disappointed in what she teaches to the students. It almost seemed like the art teacher only had a few good ideas, and for the remainder of the year the students would be asked to draw a picture of a topic for the month. For example, in February, the students would draw a picture of something to do with Valentines. In March, it would be St. Patrick's day, etc.

Because the students really did nothing more than draw every time they went to art, it didn't seem like the students were experiencing much more than that. ---(maybe they should've called the art teacher a creative arts teacher??)

SO WHAT:

I now see how each students teacher can integrate art into the regular curriculum and actually provide the students with not only a greater advantage to learning and appreciating the arts, but to learning the subject being taught with the integration as well.

NOW WHAT:

I have now changed to see how important it is to actually integrate the arts in the classroom daily rather than wait until the students are sent to their "specialty" class only once a week. Studies prove that integrating the arts actually helps students learn the material for long term.