If you’ve got elementary-age kids, you’ve probably
got some fun art hanging on your fridge that your son or daughter brought home
proudly from class. But you and I both
know that art in schools is shrinking – we see less painting and dancing and music
as the focus turns more and more toward succeeding on tests. Well, a program at BYU is trying to teach teachers that it doesn’t have to be one
or the other – art or math; dance or history.
The two can go hand in hand, as BYU Morning Show producer Jessica Black
reports.
The room full of about 50 teachers is stretching their
arms in ways you wouldn’t expect from the authority figure in front of the
classroom. Like gymnasts preparing for a meet, they lean and bend and contort
their bodies.
“We do it in my classroom every morning” “You do?”
“Oh yeah, and my kids before we have a big test say (gasp) Mrs. Leslie stop we
need to do the brain dance before we do this. Oh, they’re believers.”
“I do it in my classroom too, and my kids believe
that they get better test scores if we do it because it helps their brain work
on both sides of their head.”
Kelleen Leslie and Deborah Hansen – they teach 3rd
and 4th grade. And "The Brain Dance" is just one part of a whole array of art forms they’re learning to incorporate
in their classrooms. It’s not just for fun. The dance gets results, says
Hansen.
“I have a couple of students in my class who are very
stressed about testing. And um, we’ve struggled like if they have to do a timed
test or something like that, they just, they start breathing heavy and they get
really nervous about it and worry and then they can’t seem to focus on their
test and they kind of bomb it. And so whenever I say we’re going to have a test
they go “(gasp) Oh no! Oh no!” and so if we stop and we do the brain dance and
they are able to calm themselves down, they are able to do the test, and they
do well on the test because they know the material they’re just afraid of
testing”
The arts integration program doesn’t stop at dance;
Dolly Sharf a 5th grade teacher took a normal persuasive essay and
put a holiday Grinch twist on it.
“We just drew wonderful Grinch’s and they are hanging
out in the hall they are about life size they are fabulous, and we’re writing
letters to the Grinch to persuade him whether or not he should take Christmas
away or let us celebrate, and they are excited to write letters. They are essay
persuasive letters which has been a part of the core for a long time. Doing
that same letter without a fun person to tie into was not nearly as
productive.”
Making the idea of art come to life is something Julie
Christopherson, a fine arts coordinator for her school district, has seen first-hand.
“We have seen children as they are doing
reviews sitting there in their seats. Taking the test and moving. And retaining
the information they have learned. We should not pull out of kids and negate
what they’re hardwired to do when they come to school. They play, they sing,
they dance, they move, they draw, and we want to foster that rather than just rob
them of it by the time they hit the 6th grade. “
And this is something she believes will have a lasting
effect.
“And we have seen some life changing
experiences both in the parts of the teachers and in the students. For example,
we had a classroom teacher after they had a visual art training, ask the
students, now who would come on a weekend, and she thought all these girls would
raise their hand, but one rowdy little boy said, “If I had art I would come
every Saturday. If you would teach me art.” And that’s what it’s all about. We realize that this is something they carry through with
them the rest of their lives, and the classroom teacher, bless their hearts,
they are the stalwarts they’re the bastions that have to carry the whole load.
We’re trying to ease that load by showing them exciting ways they can use the
arts and use them with their children to make a difference. We have seen
teachers just amazed. “That child never participates.” Did a drama lesson. “He raised. He
participated.” And the teachers were floored. So it’s so important for kids. It’s
something that we all know and that we’re all working toward the same goal.”
Whether it's through literature, paint, or dance art in the classroom doesn't have to be a distraction, but an aid.
