What has been my experience through the arts? Well, I feel like I have had quite an experience in the arts. My grandparents and both of my parents have always loved the arts and it was introduced into my home so well. My parents have ten children and when I was young, my dad founded an art foundation and we were introduced to all different kinds of artists (i.e. artists, musicians, writers, etc.) I have always loved theater, music, and dance. I took piano lessons for about ten years and I love playing! I have always highly respected the arts. I had a few teachers that taught the arts. In my third grade class, I had two team teachers who were best friends and they brought music into the classroom. One of the teachers was really good with music and she taught that, and the other teacher was a great artist and so she taught us art. I loved these classes because they used the talents they already had and taught us using those talents. A few new ideas I have learned from Ch. 1-3 are learning how to apply-practice-rehearse to have teachers help students as they practice and give them feedback that will help them retain and apply the information and therefore produce a higher quality of work. Also, learning about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs were really interesting for me. It helps to know that the student is the focus and that they need to feel like they are safe,accepted, and loved.
So what impact have the arts had in my life? They have impacted my life a ton! When I was young, I was pretty shy and I got involved in a theater group. We performed plays and were taught how to act, play, and have fun! It really helped me not be so timid anymore. I highly suggest parents who have children that are shy or are need of friends, involve them in the theater! There is such a great impact that the theater can do for their children. They make friends, they feel more confident and comfortable, and they are expressing themselves in ways that can probably not be expressed at school or at home. Some of my favorite characteristics about the teachers that I liked were those teachers that treated me like an adult, they showed interest in me, and they loved seeing me be creative. My least favorite teachers were those that were so "by the book and rules." In other words, it was the exact opposite. They didn't allow creativity in the classroom hardly. For me, I want to be a teacher that will encourage creativity and expressing themselves and not being afraid to. Each student can bring something to the table and if they know that, they won't be afraid to want to.
Now what do I want/need to do in terms of my preparation to effectively teach and integrate the arts as a teacher? I need to be very open to many ideas. The arts is very broad and it can cover a lot of different areas. Dance, music, writing, painting, drawing, etc. I need to expose myself to these things more and learn more about the history or different people that influenced and helped these different art forms to flourish. I need to have an open mind and allow myself to appreciate the different kinds of art. I would like to integrate music into the classroom. I play the piano and feel like if I could teach music, my students will have developed that skill to read and interpret music, love and appreciate music, or maybe inspire a few of them to want music to be a part of their lives. The arts, for me, I feel like students can't make mistakes. They can express themselves however they want because there is no right or wrong way. I want them to feel confidence in themselves and I will show my confidence in them!
