Week of 2/8 Assignment

I fully believe that art is all around us, surrounding and enhancing every aspect of our lives.  My elementary school was no exception to this belief.  Every wall in the classrooms was always decorated with colorful posters of positive pictures and encouraging words, construction paper murals, art projects we had completed, and so much more.  The use of color was definitely an outstanding factor in the rooms.  This made the learning environment more exciting, welcoming, non-threatening, and fun, and thus created a higher level of learning and memory for us. 

            At my elementary school we had a specific art teacher, Mrs. Lamour, who I can still remember to this day.  Each grade (kindergarten through eighth) and class visited her once a week for our hour-long art lesson.  Largely because of the high-energy and electric vibe of our teacher and her passion for the subject, I always looked forward to art and seeing what we were creating that day.  My comfort level was never sacrificed because we were commonly told that there are no wrong answers with art.  This was always a source of comfort for me, a self-described artistically challenged individual.  Having a teacher that was so passionate about art made us, the students, want to find that excitement and show it in the form of our unique creations.

            Morgan Appel made a clear case for the undeniable relationship between art and learning.  Mr. Appel began by giving an overview of the brain and how the various parts of the brain function in relation to our humanely actions.  For instance, how the frontal lobe is the most “human” part of the brain, dealing with impulse control, judgment, language, working memory, motor function, sexual behavior, socialization, and spontaneity.  He plainly explained the copious amounts of benefits of integrated the arts into general education.

 Arts integration allows for a safe environment for English learners, provides unique opportunities to move from concrete to application and abstraction, allows for socially constructed learning that can connect to the real world, challenges students of all levels, and provides unique opportunities to involve willing parents in a very positive way.  All of these benefits can be achieved when integrated the arts into a curriculum. 

            The point that I connected most with was Mr. Appel’s discussion that you do not have to be an artist in order to integrate the arts into the curriculum; you just have to have an artistic spirit.  I loved this idea and felt convicted because, I am sorry to admit, my initial reaction to the idea of arts integration was that I could not do it because I am not quote “artistic”.  I now have hope and the encouragement I needed to let my inner-child’s imagination and creativity run wild!  I must take what Mr. Appel explained to heart and remember that I would be doing a child a much greater disservice by cheating him of all artistic exposure because I was embarrassed myself, than putting my own pride on the line and showing children that anyone, even me, can create beautiful art.