Blog Week 2
(In response to my partner teacher)

Although I agree that preparing for the SBAC is important, I do not agree that the arts is a waste of time. In fact, I believe that by incorporating the arts, movement and drama I am providing my students with opportunities to learn and prepare at a deeper level. Studies have shown that the arts enhance children's learning because they are able to create memorable experiences through hearing, seeing and feeling. The arts combine verbal and nonverbal information processing which provides a higher level integration and overall better remembering of the material.

In addition, research has indicated that the arts provide us with a variety of thinking forms. The arts require making judgment in the absence of rule, encourages flexible purposefulness, recognize the unity in form and content, and requires students to think within the constraints of their selected medium. Also, the arts allow children to establish for themselves a personal inner involvement with an artistic experience. All in all, the arts provide an engaging experience that is more memorable and ignites creative thinking.

Although the SBAC is a high stakes test, what it measures traces back to what we can learn through the arts. The performance tasks challenge students to respond to complex real problems using their skills and knowledge. In conjunction with the ELA SBAC, the arts share common elements of sound, time and space, and require skills of aural, kinesthetic and visual perception. These skills and experiences can be used for answering the performance task questions with a deep level of understanding.

In today's education there is a large emphasis on highs stakes testing, however these tests do not adequately prepare our students for the outside world. Steve Jobs even said that "The benefits of creative initiative may not be as clear and measurable as core subject test scores, but we should not underestimate the value of arts education for our youth." The use of art in education guides students to think for themselves, to be productive and innovative, and to enjoy the pursuit of knowledge. The arts will not only prepare them for these upcoming tests, it will enhance their ability to succeed in our society.

References:
Eisner, E. W. (2004). What can education learn from the arts about the practice of education. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 5(4), 1-12.

Heilig, J. V., Cole, H., & Aguilar, A. (2010). From Dewey to No Child Left Behind: The evolution and devolution of public arts education. Arts Education Policy Review, 111(4), 136-145.

Nadon-Gabrion, C. (1984). Language, a Bridge to Learning in Movement and Music. Theory Into Practice, 23(4), 335.