Being an Arts Integration teacher is more than just planning awesome lessons. It’s more than taking classes and attending retreats. It’s way more than picking the right objectives and assessments that will match multiple content areas all at once.
Being a true Arts Integration teacher means you have a way of thinking about learning.
a way of reaching students
an openness to new ideas, methods, modalities
a willingness to let go of some of the control in your classroom
a need for your classroom sometimes to sound like a cocktail party
an understanding of when your students are burnt out and need a movement break
a sense of your students’ talents, strengths and needs
and a willingness to feed those talents, develop those strengths and cater to those needs –
even if that means you feel a little uncomfortable about it.
There are some times when you need to break free of your planned lesson, because your students need something foundational first; or maybe more challenging instead.
When a student is eye-balling that almost empty box, do you take out the last few things and hand it over to them, saying, “Go for it! Please show me what you make of it!”
If a student can’t figure out the math problem, do you let them take a break and come back to it later allowing them to simply stand at their desk instead of sit?
And there’s the student who can’t really get their story idea ready and just needs to sit and doodle first, because, heck, sometimes that just helps that kid think.
Being an Arts Integration teacher means you are willing to try things out and take a leap of faith – all in the name of good teaching.
Have you ever been in a situation where you have felt
challenged . . . by something brand new?
uncomfortable . . . because you’ve been put in an awkward situation?
inspired . . . because you just had an amazing idea?
How do you react?
Do you give yourself permission to
try something new? make mistakes? take a risk? just do it?
Or do you stifle yourself and rest in a fixed mindset.
What would you want for your students?
be THAT teacher
THAT’s what we should all strive to be!
So, get yourself in an Arts Integration “frame of mind:”
one that feeds creativity, opportunity and growth.
~EMP
