I am very passionate about music and art in my personal life. I share this passion through playing bass guitar and singing in my church's praise band. But, oh how that don't like that three letter word, I must admit I do not address arts in my classroom as I should.
Without having a music or art teacher at my school, I should feel obligated to make sure that both are a part of my weekly lessons. I have done a few activities in which students have learned additional information about their reading story through songs that coincided, learned multiplication through a math rap c.d., created summary drawings instead of writing a summary, created a model of planets for their science project, etc... but the question I face is, am I using arts in the best manner in my classroom? I think I would have to answer, "No." If I am going to use a song or a project, in which students uses art, I think it needs to have more umph! By this I mean that it should be more than just the basics and give the students a chance to really understand the music and/or art behind what they are doing.
I think of when I was younger and went to a magnet school for a little over a school year. In this school, we did not learn through text books. Instead we learned through music, dance, visual projects, film making, drawing, and just doing. I am amazed about how this is just popping into my mind as I type because it was such an awesome experience. It seem that the more I read in my Educ 520 and Educ 521 class the more I want to tweak how I teach. Don't get my wrong, I feel I am a good teacher but I know I can be even better. As times change I need to also.
I guess my school's motto says it well: We are moving from Good to Great! This is true and something that I am striving to do as I learn how to incorporate integration into my classroom with more efficiency.
It isn't easy finding the time to "do it all" is it? Don't beat yourself up over it. You're trying to do things better and I am sure your lessons will just get better and better as you learn more.
ReplyDeleteIt's so true that it's hard to find time for everything. I often experience frustration when I think of new ideas and can't find the time to put them in action. Hopefully having summer break at the end of this course will give you a chance to recharge and create new plans. You open by saying that you are passionate about arts in your personal life. Find ways to bring that passion into your classroom, and you'll probably find your classroom environment to be more fun and the learning to be more meaningful. Let your passion nurture your students.
ReplyDeleteComing in at the last 3 months of school made it hard for me to integrate the arts. I was so focused on making sure the kids were where they needed to be. We didn't even observe Holidays like I wanted to. The arts are important and I plan to expose my students to a lot of different cultures through the Arts next year.
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