Get Smart with Art! (Conclusion)

"The “right brain” qualities of inventiveness, empathy, joyfulness, and meaning-increasingly will determine who flourishes and who flounders."
--Dan Pink, A Whole New Mind (2005)

Throughout the month of August I made an effort to introduce you to the 21st Century Skills Map (2010) and provided examples of how art teachers can integrate the 4 C’s of critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity into their lessons.  Toms River art teachers shared their efforts in two year long projects.  The first focused on building the vocabulary of their students and provided ideas for displays, lessons, and writing assignments to allow student opportunities to use their growing aesthetic vocabulary.  The second project focused on using knowledge gained from math classes to develop art lessons.  This benefitted art teachers and students in two ways: 1.) students had prior knowledge coming into the art lesson saving introductory time for those whose pupil contact time was limited, and 2.) it provided students the opportunity to increase their understanding of art concepts and see connections across the curriculum. 

http://www.arteducators.org/news/arts-in-education-week

In closing, I remind you that National Arts in Education Week is September 12-18.  I hope you are planning public displays to promote the high quality and relevance of art programs in your schools.  Use advocacy ideas and resources found on the NAEA site at:

http://www.arteducators.org/advocacy

Below are photos of a display that advocate the importance of arts education created by Lynne Tagliaferro, art teacher at Beachwood Elementary School.  You too can create a display in your school or outside in your community.  Collaborate with other art teachers.  Use your critical thinking skills to develop ideas for a display that communicates the importance of providing your students opportunities to be creative. 

 

I hope you have a great start to your school year and I close with a quote from one of the greatest imagineers in history:

"If you can dream it, you can do it."--Walt Disney

-Kim Huyler Defibaugh

REFERENCES:

21st century skills map.  (2010).  Retrieved July 29, 2010 from Partnership for 21s Century Skills site: http://p21.org/documents/P21_arts_map_final.pdf

Pink, D. (2005).  A whole new mind.  New York: Penguin Group (USA).