This week's visual arts workshop was dominated by a roundtable discussion of our practical experiences, specifically the implementation (or lack thereof) of visual arts activities and lesson plans. I found that most classmates did not have extensive exposure to visual arts in their classroom, either by the cooperating teacher or in their own lessons, which was in direct contrast to the experience I had in my Kindergarten class.
With my class, visual arts was an essential part of the classroom almost every single day. There were multiple projects going on, some long-term such as the making of 12 panels of a calendar, and some short term just related to an activity in another KLA. It was incorporated into complete free time as well as structured "activities" free time. All in all, I had a very broad and continuous exposure to visual arts in the classroom and even had the opportunity to conduct an arts lesson myself.
But for many of the students in my workshop this week, the major issue that prevented their visual arts exposure seemed to be lack of time in the overall day schedule. This appears to be the dominant theme when it comes to visual arts incorporation in the classroom. The "overcrowded" curriculum problem was continually brought up by my classmates; there is simply not enough time to cover all the KLAs in each term. There were a few who indicated that art was done "in another term" but not Term 3 that we were in.
Naturally, it has always been a question of how worthwhile it is to incorporate arts into the curriculum, when math/reading/science/literacy seems so much more prevalent in student lives. Eisner (1998) writes that it is understandable "that questions about the contributions of the arts to academic achievement are raised by those for whom the arts are personally marginal." The basis of his essay however, was not touting the contributions of arts to other fields, using it to somehow bolster reading and math skills for example. When this becomes a priority in the curriculum, art becomes "a handmaiden to ends that are not distinctively artistic and in the process undermines the value of its unique contributions." I agree wholeheartedly with this sentiment. Visual arts education (all arts in general) should really not be looked at as a means to improvement of student academic performance, but rather should refine the student's awareness of the aesthetic qualities in art and life. It will continue to be a hard press to push visual arts into the classroom, especially in middle and upper primary stages.
References
Eisner, E. 1998. Does experience in the arts boost academic achievement? Art Education, 51(1).
With my class, visual arts was an essential part of the classroom almost every single day. There were multiple projects going on, some long-term such as the making of 12 panels of a calendar, and some short term just related to an activity in another KLA. It was incorporated into complete free time as well as structured "activities" free time. All in all, I had a very broad and continuous exposure to visual arts in the classroom and even had the opportunity to conduct an arts lesson myself.
But for many of the students in my workshop this week, the major issue that prevented their visual arts exposure seemed to be lack of time in the overall day schedule. This appears to be the dominant theme when it comes to visual arts incorporation in the classroom. The "overcrowded" curriculum problem was continually brought up by my classmates; there is simply not enough time to cover all the KLAs in each term. There were a few who indicated that art was done "in another term" but not Term 3 that we were in.
Naturally, it has always been a question of how worthwhile it is to incorporate arts into the curriculum, when math/reading/science/literacy seems so much more prevalent in student lives. Eisner (1998) writes that it is understandable "that questions about the contributions of the arts to academic achievement are raised by those for whom the arts are personally marginal." The basis of his essay however, was not touting the contributions of arts to other fields, using it to somehow bolster reading and math skills for example. When this becomes a priority in the curriculum, art becomes "a handmaiden to ends that are not distinctively artistic and in the process undermines the value of its unique contributions." I agree wholeheartedly with this sentiment. Visual arts education (all arts in general) should really not be looked at as a means to improvement of student academic performance, but rather should refine the student's awareness of the aesthetic qualities in art and life. It will continue to be a hard press to push visual arts into the classroom, especially in middle and upper primary stages.
References
Eisner, E. 1998. Does experience in the arts boost academic achievement? Art Education, 51(1).
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