What's in it for you as a principal?
- A rich school culture
- Joy!
- Education is supposed to be about engagement! It's great to see it all! -- RC
It enables me as principal to ensure that every student has an arts experience while enrolled at my school. -- GE
Kids and community empowerment! -- JG
Meaning, possibility for children, stimulation and joy!! -- DH
Happier and high-performing students, school morale is at a greater level, pride in our students, and greater engagement of parents as a result. -- TR
Appreciation for the "arts" has caused me to be a more introspective thinker. -- MT
Part of the whole educational experience needed to become a well-rounded individual. -- TW
PRINCIPAL TESTIMONIES: Arts in Education
From the desk of Edward G. DeForrest, Ph.D.:
WHY THE ARTS?
The question continues. Accordingly, an answer is required.
During my fifteen years as Executive Director, it has been my experience that children do well when they do art. Art is an expression of self, the joy of being and the thrill of creativity. Art becomes natural and lifelong when fostered early. Art is what you are about; the uniqueness of you and that wonderful difference that separates you from others.
Art is childhood. For so many of the little ones whom we serve, the restoration of childhood is an essential therapeutic building block. What was lost cannot be reclaimed. But what can be built will make the difference in assuring a better pathway to healthy adolescence and productive adulthood.
A branch, a feather, some yarn, a bit of ribbon, a piece of aluminum foil, a breezy summer day and a wonderful vista. Do you remember the joy of watching something that you made fluttering in the sun; feeling the satisfaction of expression; not judged by others but by yourself? "This is mine and it feels good."
The little ones seldom speak of what their lives have been about. Most people that I talk to have no basis for understanding the horror that some of our children have survived.
Clinicians are challenged in achieving a therapeutic outcome for an act that may have no descriptive language, only a feeling or a visual memory that is too powerful to leave behind.
The arts exercise the nascent selfhood of children and allow children to gradually move on; to trust themselves; to gain confidence without fear. The simplest clay pot becomes a step forward in the long progress toward finding self.
Weaving is a story; each thread, each color, a piece of me that I can feel good about.
One day I danced in the gym. I turned in circles. I rolled on the floor. I lifted my shoulder in rhythm with Arthur. His years of experience as a professional dancer in New York helped me to remember the freedom of movement that comes with being young. The children weren't paying attention to us, they had lost the constraints of self-conscious restriction. They simply were.
Paint. Wonderful paint. Splattered paint. Paint dripping. Just old paint. Paint all over my suit. Children laughing. Several Arts Festivals back, I was in the wrong spot in the splatter booth talking to a guest. She said, "What fun" and wrote a check to support the activity.
We fear art; we fear ourselves. We fear failure and criticism. As adults, we look for discipline and balance; structure is our safety. Art challenges boundaries and perceptions; it's supposed to. Sophisticated expression, dynamic imbalance and emotional provocation are the elements of design that hold us back if we are fearful.
But children making merry attend not to the stuff of adult perception, rather to the inner being that is learning how to grow. That's why -
Contact: Edward G. DeForrest, Ph.D.
President, Spaulding Youth Center Foundation
P.O. Box 189
Tilton, New Hampshire 03276-0189
603/286-8901 fax: 603/286-8650
email: carolynh@s-y-c.org
www.s-y-c.org
Rose LaRochelle Colby:
"PASSION" . . .Think about that word for a minute . . .what does it mean to you?
Recently our school district asked students, parents, and faculty a very profound question. "What is exemplary teaching?" Think of the qualities of a teacher in your life whom you thought was exemplary.
What image does this conjure up for you? We asked these questions because we are developing a model for improvement of student instruction. Simply, if we could identify the qualities of an exemplary teacher, we would be able to look for these qualities in hiring teachers and in supervising and evaluating teachers.
As we pulled together all of the data from focus groups, staff meetings, and parent roundtables, one quality which all parties agreed was found in an exemplary teacher was passion. Think about this. Weren't the most effective teachers in your life the ones who were passionate about everything they did in their classroom?
It is my belief, that our educational mission as administrators is to be passionate when it comes to the arts. Truly to celebrate arts in our schools, we, as administrators, must not only support the arts in the budgetary process, but also be passionate in our belief that the arts are not just celebrated in semiannual concerts.
How do we do this? We do this by firmly believing that in order for the arts to be appreciated, they must be woven like a tapestry into the life blood of the school. Here are a few examples:
- During Career Awareness week, lunchtime theatre is celebrated featuring Opera Fest, a U.N.H. theatre company, Recycled Percussion, and the Amoskeag Strummers. Artists and musicians prominently participate in the Career Fair.
- The staff band performs at lunch.
- Artist in Residence programs culminate in a community celebration dedicating a permanent piece of student work whose origins were developed as an interdisciplinary academic unit.
- Student work is displayed throughout the school year within the school and in local libraries.
- During Music in Our Schools month, a school wide music trivia contest is sponsored by music teachers who throw an ice cream sundae party for the winning homeroom.
- International Language week is celebrated in dance and music.
- The staff chorus performs at winter concerts.
- Chinese New Year features all 4th grade students parading through the halls of the school in their hand crafted masks playing their imaginative noisemakers. Parents gather to see the students perform their Chinese dance to launch the parade.
- The two story lobby of the school is transformed into a three dimensional creation of an aquarium.
- A Music Honor Society is formed to recognize talented students.
- An art class recreates the Vietnam Memorial along a large wall commemorating Veterans Day.
Mountain View Middle School is fortunate in having talented teachers who are passionate about the arts. Sometimes, as administrators, it would be easy just to say "no". But what a loss!! Okay, I'll con the maintenance man to work with the stained glass artists to hang the student panels in the library windows. Okay, I'll foot the bill for the ice cream party. Okay, I'll sit in and accompany students during the performance. Okay, I'll introduce the lunchtime theatre performances. Okay . . . I'm passionate about the arts too!
As I visit other schools and talk with fellow administrators, I'm saddened that art, music, movement, and drama aren't the life blood of the school. I just can't imagine it. The arts have become part of the culture of our school. You can actually feel it as you enter our building. It is sometimes difficult to define what the culture of a school is, but you can certainly feel it. I recall an inner city school I visited. It was like going into a war zone. I didn't like the feel of the building. I wouldn't want to teach there and I certainly would not want to be its principal. By the way, they were looking for one. Contrast that to another inner city school that probably had the same budget but had student work prominently displayed in an art museum set up in the lobby. The school felt totally different. The kids even acted differently. I would put forward that schools who value the arts and have students actively engaged in many art forms each day will be the schools who have cultured a positive learning environment for students with diverse interests and abilities. In fact, this defines a non-violent school culture, doesn't it!
For administrators who recognize this, keep up the good work. But better yet, bring other administrators into your schools to convince them. Publicly and politically advocate for the arts - celebrate your students' talents, champion your art, music, and performance teachers, and join in the fun yourself! The arts should be a life long enrichment experience. Doesn't it make sense that we start the journey early in life so that our children can experience its fulfilling benefits?
Let's think about this word again . . . passion. It really does make a difference.
Contact: Rose LaRochelle-Colby, Principal
Mountain View Middle School
41 Lauren Lane
Goffstown, NH 03045
603/497-8288 fax: 603/497-4987
