Getting our hands dirty

We all are afraid to get our hands dirty, metaphorically speaking.in the army every friday was dedicated to cleaning our equipment, as a loader and later Tank commander I was in charge of cleaning the machine guns. Early friday I would start the dance of trying to clean without getting dirty. The problem is that everything needed to be washed in a half barrel of diesel and motor oil. The dance would usually end midmorning with me covered with a few diesel stains. From that point on I would embrace the dirt and oil. I did not care anymore, but as a result had the cleanest MGs in the company. The metaphor for me is clear. To do something well we sometimes have to get our hands dirty, and embrace the dirt.
Some teachers I know are literally avoiding trying any 'messy' media. I have really tried to resist professional development. It's not that I do not do a decent job, instead it's the feeling that I'd rather do something else. As a result I tried to use colleagues and students in that capacity. Having done some professional development recently- which turned out well, I finally realized I have to get my hands dirty and love it. Stretching the metaphor, I think that Education in and through the arts should identify these areas that canbeuseful but nobody wamts to touch. Then we shpuld take the plunge.
Come to think of it, quantitative research is exactly one such area, but I am sure there are others. Thoughts anyone?

Transition

The new administration that is getting ready to settle in DC is a cause to celebrate and a cause to worry. President elect Obama is quoted as a supporter of arts education a good sign. Further, a change is always an opportunity to do something new and bold. On the other hand this administration is handicapped by major challenges economically and on the international stage. Will there be enough political will for battles in education let alone arts education?
At these point I always emerge as the eternal pessimist. The choice of secretary of education and the focus of this administration may signal that the time is not right.
Politics aside the economic situation may very well signal that we need a new creative generation, that the whole child initiative (ASCD) and specifically arts education can provide answers not found anywhere else.

Reading the Signs

As the economic situation turns sour across the nation and the world funders and the public at- large seem to shy away from the arts. "This is not the time to support the arts..." they seem to say, people are hungry. I understand the need to support the hungry and homeless now, but at the same time we cannot let the arts and arts education clear the stage until things get better. If the arts are basic then they apply in good times and bad.
It is the shadow of "high" expensive art that is a luxury most enjoyed by the rich that is cast over the whole field. If arts education helps all students be better citizens, more aware of the world, more creative, and higher achievers across the board- then we must especially in times of difficulty make room for arts education.

Out in the Real World

I'm on my way back from southern California and a visit with our teachers at Lake Elsinore Unified School District. Unlike previous times this was not a professional development day for, but instead I visited about nine classrooms. In some I got to see products and exchange a few words. In others I saw integration in action- both visual art and music.
So, what did I learn? First I re-learned that we must stay close to our classrooms. We must understand the complexities and pressures that our teachers face and celebrate the ways they find to be professional in uneasy times.
The picture on the left is from one of our classrooms. Students drew a tree in four seasons and wrote an artist statement discussing the choices they made as artists.
The work was great- diversified and creative. It illuminates a topic we've been thinking about in assessment of creativity at the classroom level. The more products look identical the less likely it is that students were actually creative. This classroom showed that you can have a teacher who is not an artist be able to guide a very specific art activity and still leave a lot of room for creativity.
In music integration we observed kindergartners playing ORFF instruments to Saint-Saëns' Carnival of the Animals. The children really started taking to it after a while. It did make me acutely aware of how important classroom organization is with music, and the importance of creating a routine that our students can get used to in transition to music.
More thoughts about music integration next time.

Adding Music

We are now trying the addition of music to our literacy classrooms! It is truly an adventure! We are learning to use the Orff Schulwerk process. Already I've found moments that I can do an assessment of vocabulary knowledge by the movements (actions) the children choose to represent their vocabulary words!

Around the Corner

I am sitting in Washington DC surrounded by leaders of arts education projects nation-wide. Seven years ago we all fitted around one long table in Charleston SC. It was a lot more intimate and in some ways more helpful. The question in my mind is whether it represents a true change in the direction for educational reform. ASCD started the Whole Child initiative and Hal talked about a shift in public opinion as part of his Imagine Nation report. Is this shift real? Or does it stay in this room? The realities that we see in schools are still far from this vision. They may be around the corner, and we who are very close to the wall with our eye on the classroom cannot see it coming. It could also be that we are simply “going to church” and dreaming of a better world, willing to suspend our belief until we go back to the challenging environments of schools and high stakes.
The only way to go and change is low stakes assessment of students and teachers- regardless of how much money or directives we can write. If we are to move in the direction of an Imagine Nation we need teachers ready to do that. Art education is rarely taught in teacher preparation program by full time faculty. Very few research universities have faculty researching Arts Education. So a shift to an Imagine Nation needs a shift in our teacher preparation programs- are we even close? I am eternally skeptical and would love to again be proven wrong.

Working with future teachers

I spend a good portion of my time with pre-service teachers. For a while I was reluctant to challenge them with arts integration. But now that I am bringing it up and even modeling a full VIEW process I can see the difference it makes. About a third of my students decided to integrate the arts into their writing lessons in practicum. The message has definitely resonated with my students and I am oh so curious to see what will happen.
For me this was in some waysan unintended consequence. While it makes sense it took me a while to connect this aspect of my research with my teaching. Now, I am consiously looking for ways to help future teachers see the connections. It is about turning the tide from a fragmented elementary curriculum to a more cohesive integrated approach.