“Children’s,
Arts, and Du Bois,” by Keith Gilyard was pretty fantastic, and it made me
really think of how important art education is in school. Gilyard states at the
beginning of the piece regarding arts education, “These are activities that
regrettably occur less and less during the normal school day in many school,
and it was good to see such creative energy on display in that environment.” I really
like this and definitely agree. It’s important to recognize how important these
programs are to students. Speaking of my own personal opinion I was a self
proclaimed science geek and I still am. However, I do not think that I would
have made it through school successfully without the theatre arts department in
high school. That was the one place where I knew that I didn’t really have to
study (except lines and stage directions), I could participate after school,
and I would be able to see the fruits of my labor right away. We would have a
sharing experience at the beginning of every class or activity in which we
would be able to talk about our achievements or sad times and then later be
able to express them in class. It certainly helped get me through school, and I
KNOW that it helps other students too. It helps students to learn and grow, and
be able to focus better in their other classes.
What a wonderful experience, both to have gone through, and later, to draw from! It's also interesting to note that The College Board, Profile of College- Bound Seniors National Report for 2001, reports students with music training have significantly higher scores on their SATs than students without it. While I haven't researched it, my guess is that students with backgrounds in theater have similar advantages. Can you use this for your 3rd paper in terms of materials or strategies you might use with your "obstreperous students"?
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