Where am I heading with the Arts and Arts Education?

Where am I heading with the Arts and Arts Education?

What? I am glad to say I really enjoyed the class this semester. I had a different view of the arts before we actually got into the class. After the first class I was interested in what was being taught. As the semester continued, I could see myself in the classroom doing what I was learning. I think the students will love doing some of the things that we learned. I do not think I can do it as much as I would like however, I will use it much more than the cooperating teacher in my field. I could see so many opportunity to use the arts in his classroom, but he had no desire to do it. I do understand that it is more that the teacher has to do for preparation, but I do not see why a teacher would not take the time to do what is necessary to aid in the learning of their students.

So what? I have answered a little bit of this question, but I will expand some more about it. If a teacher wants students to learn more and retain more information that teacher needs to create some activity to incorporate the arts in the lesson. I think the students will remember some of the things we did in our field more than what the teacher taught in the whole year. We used so many things to help the students learn with art. We did art for warm ups, we did art for assessments, and we did art for the discussion time. We did experience great learning in some of the things we were able to do. I liked teaching that way much more than without. I am not into lecturing and giving worksheets. The time seems to be wasted that way. I do enjoy implementing process drama and music in the future classroom. I don't know how I could implement dance yet, but I will try to do it somehow.

Now what? I really do not want to forget some of the things we have learned this semester. We have a lot of school left to do before I actually become a teacher. I do not want to stop learning ways to incorporate the arts into my curriculum. It is something I will keep on my mind.

Field Experience 3

I had a great time in Mr. Jennings' classroom. He had the perfect amount of students and the perfect classroom setup. I was amazed about what the students knew. I loved being there and seeing how to interact with the students in the classroom. It is different to get up in front of adult classmates. I would say the elementary students are a lot easier to be in front of if their attention is yours. I was disappointed i n the arts integration in the class. Mr. Jennings would tell us what he had done in the past but I never saw an example of what he was saying. I think it took too much effort to plan something that involved art so he did not do it. I hope this was the case because I would hate to see classrooms not using the arts. I will summarize what we did in the classroom during our instruction time. We had the students perform a singing syllables, we had the students do a process drama about Rome and the battles of Rome with the walls, we had the students do a process drama using a ball and a cup and no hands, we also had the students be reporters about ancient Rome. I say it disappoints me that the teacher did nothing with arts in the classroom because I was able to see how involved the students became and that they were engaged in learning what we were wanting them to learn. I will not sway from using the arts in my classroom like Mr. Jennings apparently has, but I will do all I can to help my students enjoy learning. I see no other greater way of doing so than by using the arts in my future classrooms.

spring break

It is my spring break this week.