Christine GoodheartArt Goes to School, Seattle Art MuseumApril, 2009

Natural Partners: How do schools and

arts organizations work together

to achieve their goals?

To sing well and to dance well is to be well-educated.- Plato

Creativity

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.

- Scott Adams

Places where the arts are made are places of powerful learning that belong to all. They are natural partners in the education of young people.

Capacities at the heart of art making are at the heart of

education

Imagination

We develop the capacity to “see things as if they could be otherwise.”

Empathy

We recognize our commonalities and come to understand and appreciate our differences.

When I dance, I cannot judge, I cannot hate, I cannot separate myself from life.- Hans Bos

Creativity

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.

- Scott Adams

Skills developed through

engagement in the arts are

skills needed in school and

in life

To work in the arts, students are required to:

• notice carefully• analyze and interpret diverse texts• think critically• pose questions• make decisions • generate multiple solutions• identify patterns• make connections

Intellectual Skills

Social and Emotional Strengths

Students who participate regularly in the arts:

• see themselves as capable of doing work that is personally satisfying and publicly acknowledged

• develop self-discipline• develop self-confidence • make multiple revisions to

achieve high standards • develop the ability to work on a

common project with others

Artists “Stand on the Shoulders of Giants”

The debt they own to the past creates an obligation to the future

Arts Organizations and Artists Grow When Engaged With

Schools

• We learn best when we teach• Benefits can diminish if not

properly supported

Teachers Grow When Engaged With Arts

Organizations and Artists Powerful educational practices are inherent in the arts:

• differentiated instruction• collaborative learning• portfolio assessment• revision• long-term projects• performances of understanding

Each Work of Art Opens a Window on a Particular

World

Young people are learning about the world around them, what is possible. The windows the arts open to them help them construct their understanding of the world and their role within this world.

Arts Organizations and Schools Belong to All

Both are truly public institutions

• Non – profit status

• Serve all who come

• Benefit from tax support

• Benefit from philanthropy

Audience Development

A changing conception from filling seats to creating engaged, knowledgeable participants

Examples of joint work based on common goals and reciprocal benefit.

Family Participation: Studying Matisse

The Red Studio Imagine a room that houses objects you cherish or have made…

Family Participation: Studying Matisse

The Swimming Pool“Think of an environment you could create using cut and torn paper…”

Activities with Students

• Viewing and discussing slides in the classroom

• Related art making activities

• One or more visits to museum galleries

• Opportunities for students to share their work

• Assessment of student learning

Family and Community Events

• Families create a community mural on the playground

• Students choose works of art and become tour guides for families at the museum

• Students conduct family workshops at the school

• Students display their work and create a slide show and art projects at senior centers in the community

Intergenerational Learning

Arts organizations and schools draw upon the rich lives of a communities’ senior adults

Involving Senior Adults in Studying East Indian

DanceStudents and senior citizens in the South Orangetown, NY School District created dances using the movement vocabulary from a form of East Indian Dance based on the theme of love. These were performed in the school and in senior centers in the community.

Beauty

A school should be the most beautiful place in every town and village – so beautiful that the punishment for undutiful children should be that they are disbarred from going to school the following day. – Oscar Wilde

Discussion

What makes schools and arts organizations natural partners? What do you think are the most powerful arguments for this relationship?

Can you give an example of when work with schools brought direct benefit to your organization?

Has there been a time when this work was a strain on your organization?