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INTEGRATING THE ARTS
This is by far my favorite section. I can’t tell you how important I think it is to
present a united front as “The Arts.” In fact, it somewhat bothers me that
Visual Arts are referred to as “Art,” and Performing Arts as “Music,” “Dance,”
and “Theatre.” I understand why it’s done, and it wouldn’t bother me so
much if so many people didn’t keep them in such separate categories. They
really are so similar! I think it’s important to always remember that we’re all
artists. Some are two dimensional, such as painting & drawing, some are
three dimensional, such as sculpture & ceramics, and some are four
dimensional, such as music, dance, & theatre. But we’re all artists. Although
most schools don’t have dance programs, and only secondary schools have
theatre programs, it’s still important to get to know the other arts teachers.
The gym teacher might even have some dance experience, so don’t exclude
him/her. It’s also important to back each other up. If the theatre teacher’s
funding is getting cut, put your neck on the block for him/her, because you
can be pretty sure that you’re going to be next up for cuts. Present a united
front and you will be a much more formidable opponent. Between all your
classes, you probably see at least 90% of the students in the school. In
elementary schools, you see all of them. By the time those students are in
the sixth grade, you know them nearly as well as their parents do. You’ve
watched them grow, and learn over 7 years. The other teachers in the
school may have known them for one year. You are extremely valuable to
the students, and thus to the school. The only other person who can share
your experiences is the other arts teacher. It is extremely important that you
two compare notes. If anyone is going to notice a change in behavior or any
warning signs of anything in a student, it will be the two of you. Have I made
a strong enough argument yet? If so, you’ll probably be dying to do a project
together with your music teacher, and theatre teacher if you’re in a
secondary school that offers drama. Need more convincing? It’s also an
important aspect of Arts standards 4 & 6! The most common collaboration
project is the Musical or Opera. These can be a lot of fun, but also a lot of
work. There are other ways to do projects together. This section will provide
some ideas for collaboration projects. Of course, as always, if you have
ideas you’d like to share, e-mail them to me at claygirl@brackers.com.
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