jackson,+art+education

I chose art education as my topic because I feel art is an important part of every culture and should be included as a valid topic in the classroom. Some questions that come to mind when considering what it means to include art in a public school curriculum might be, "What does this offer students?" or "How does this relate to learning math, english, or science?" I would like to try to tackle some of these questions in my career as a teacher, so I will start now by attempting to validate art education on this web page. **Resources**

1. This first resource is from the National Arts Education Association website and is a series of advocates discussing the positive benefits of art in the classroom. I would rate this a 4/5. The teachers and other advocates in this video make compelling arguments, although they might not necessarily be legitimate sources. I do find what they say to be interesting and to make a good point about how important art is to students. media type="custom" key="9391170"

2. This resource also comes from the National Arts Education Association website, however, in this video, students are being interviewed about why art is important to //them// in the classroom. I would give this a 5/5 because it is much more moving to hear students talk about why they need art and why they believe art is an important part of education. Since schools are really all about the students, I believe they make the best arguments for what they need.

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3. This resource is a great example of how art can create a voice for students in schools. Students in this school use slam poetry the opportunity to express themselves and it gives them the ability to gain confidence in other aspects of education. This video comes from edutopia.org and I would rate it a 5/5 because it is such a great example of students creating unique and expressive art to further their education in multiple ways.  media type="custom" key="9391324"

4. This next resource argues that art in schools is essential to helping students develop innovation and creative thinking. I think arguments such as this are helpful perspectives and help give nay-sayers a new vision of what "art" and "creative thinking" might mean. With the amount of innovation in our society now, it is expected when you enter the work field you will have ideas to change things for the better. This is a link also from edutopia.org and I would give it a 3/5 because it is good information but maybe not legitimate.

[|Art in Schools Inspires Tomorrow's Creative Thinkers] 

 5. This next resource is an interview with Harvard Professor Howard Gardner. This is not directly related to art education, but in this video, Prof. Gardner makes strong arguments about the importance of hands-on learning and encouraging creativity in students. I think this does apply to art in a very obvious way. I would give this video a 5/5 as a resource because he is definitely a legitimate advocate of what curriculum should include in schools. I think this is my best resource because it comes from a great source and makes great arguments about alternative learning styles. media type="custom" key="9391818"

6. This resource is a pretty boring video I found on youtube.com. Although it is not especially credible, it does spell out the benefits of art education in a very straight forward way, and is therefore, somewhat helpful as a tool. I would rate this a 2/5 however, because it is not very indepth.

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7. This resource is an article about the importance of art as a tool for teaching cultural heritage. I think this is an incredibly important aspect to art education in schools since art is present in almost every culture in history. Artistic expression is also an expression of society and therefore, a great way to study historic cultures and even up to present day. I would give this article a 4/5 because it brings up very good points about art as a tool to learn about something else. [|Multicultural art and visual cultural education in a changing world]

8. This last resource shows clips from a Waldorf inspired public school in California. This depicts an art integrated school and includes testimony from students and teachers alike. I love the idea of Waldorf school and think it inspires great ideas about ways to include art in public school curriculums and also show the positive outcomes of this type of learning. I give this video (from edutopia.org) a 5/5 because i love the clips from the school and the children's opinions about their school.

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**Top 5 Things I Learned** 1. Art education can appear in many different forms. Art doesn't necessarily mean painting a picture. It can be hands-on learning in many different forms and can include all kinds of different aspects of curriculum, such as poetry, mechanics, etc. 2. Cultural history can be taught through art, and it should be a valued resource to show children examples of history and people from all over the world. Art can be a great way to tie lessons together. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">3. Art integrated schools can be a great alternative for some children. Although, not all students and families would benefit completely from a Waldorf inspired school, it is important to have options in a community to guarantee each child gets the education that is beneficial to their own needs. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">4. Student testimony is a valuable way to analyze the benefits of programs in schools. In all grades, students can express ideas about what the want to learn and what they have enjoyed in the past. I loved hearing the testimonies of students because it is so inspiring to hear children who are excited about art. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">5. Art in the classroom leads to more than just art for the sake of art. It can be a tool to encourage creativity, innovative thinking and problem solving. Using things like sculptures can be a tool to have students look at a problem in a new way. I think using strategies to teach that are not simply pencil and paper can be a powerful way to encourage learning.