 Reaching out to your local 4-H extension office is a great way to work with the community. I have been involved in 4-H throughout my life and it has helped me grow as an individual and give back. It is so much more then an agriculture program, and as an adult I have been able to host after-school arts and crafts meetings with my students! I have worked with students of varying ages (P-12) and backgrounds, showing them different types of art and other useful information applicable to all people. Our first day consisted of creating our own stress balls and learning how to cook bacon and eggs in the microwave in situations where a stove or an oven might not be available. In our second class, students burned wooden signs or learned photography; in our third class, students had the option to create sand art mandalas or string art animals. It is a nice way to relax at the end of a perhaps hectic school day, and the children enjoy it. We have many more planned! Students may not get the opportunity to try out these different types of arts and crafts in a normal school setting or at home. I felt it was important to reach out to the student body in this way because I am the art teacher and have access to these sometimes weird materials. I also wanted students I do not see every day to come in and enjoy art. Only one of the students I served during my service project was a student of mine. I could reach a wider audience of high school, middle school, and even elementary school students. They were all from different backgrounds and skill levels, but they came together to create fun and interesting crafts. This helps me understand that every student can work at their own level and from their own experiences to be creative in some way that suits them best. I am hoping a few improvements will come from this project. So many of my non-art students have a difficult time believing that they can be creative or create any type of art. I want them to understand that they can. I want to see more confident students as I continue teaching. I hope this will also help boost the number of students taking my classes. I want my art programs to grow, and fostering the enjoyment of art in outside student body populations is a great place to start. 
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 Did you know that 72% of of business leaders say that creativity is the number one skill they look for when hiring? Did you know that students who are involved in the arts are 4 times more likely to to participate in a math and science fair, 3 times more likely to win an award for school attendance, 4 times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement, and 3 times more likely to be elected to class office?
I didn't before I discovered the Americans for the Arts website! This is an AMAZING resource for facts and figures on how art classes in school help students perform and succeed. I would say this is essential reading for art educators who need to have sources on hand to support their profession! I would recommend started on the Arts Education Navigator E-Book Series and moving on to check out the rest of the website! They have activities and questions to ask, as well as specific resources for how the arts affect business, the economy, and healing. This is only scratching the surface and you should take a look for yourself! Hey everyone! I just wanted to share some great resources for art educators and administrators about becoming an advocate for the arts in your school system!
This list comes from Champions of Change (linked below) and details why art is so important to have in our schools. The arts transform the learning environment. When the arts become central to the learning environment, schools and other settings become places of discovery; school culture is changed and learning is improved. The arts reach students who are not otherwise being reached. Young people who are disengaged from schools and other community institutions are at the greatest risk of failure or harm. The arts provide a reason, and sometimes the only reason, for a student to engage with school or other organizations. The arts reach students in ways they are not otherwise being reached. Recent educational research has produced insights into different styles of learning. The theory of multiple intelligences illustrates that students learn in myriad ways: linguistically, logically, spatially, kinesthetically, etc. This means that conventional classroom practices do not engage students with different learning styles. An education rich in the arts is more likely to reach more students in more ways. The arts connect students to themselves and each other. Creating an artwork is a personal experience. The student draws upon his or her personal resources to generate the result. By engaging his or her whole person, the student feels invested in ways that are deeper than “knowing the answer.” Experiences such as this enable young people to grow and connect with one another in new ways. The arts provide new challenges for those students already considered successful. Boredom and complacency are barriers to success. For those young people who outgrow their established learning environments, the arts can offer a chance for unlimited challenge |
AuthorHaley Stacy is an art educator living and working in Eastern Kentucky. Categories
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