Developing A Creative Classroom At The Center Of Learning

In most affluent schools, parents have the expectation that their kids are being offered a full liberal arts curriculum that will allow them to further their creativity and curiosity. However, many schools have been only focusing on the subjects that are being tested on standardized tests set by the state, because they receive more school funding if they achieve higher test scores. In her article titled “The Essentials of a Good Education”, Diane Ravitch, utilizing direct examples of schools, and policies that limit student’s knowledge of the arts in order to have more time preparing for tests, points out that this shift in focus is causing students to suffer academically and is killing their curiosity and creativity.

In the essay “Creativity in the Classroom” written by Ernest L Boyer, the essay talks about creativity in the classroom and what can affect or empower creativity to occur. At the beginning, the writer stated that if the students and the faculty did not work together to create a prosperous ambiance, and did not see that they are having an important thing to do, the effective education atmosphere will be minimized. Another point that the writer stated carefully was when the professor spoiled the book and the students did not react disappointed because they did not need to read the book they had the information’s that they need from the professor. Therefore, in my opinion, the writer point was that students need to get serious about their

“Funds have been cut in more than 80 percent of U.S. school districts since 2008. The very first programs to go are often disciplines such as music, art and foreign language.” This is a shocking amount of fine art programs that are being cut out of the schools in America. It is often argued that fine art programs should be eliminated because of ‘inappropriate’ content in some plays, people believe that artists are more involved in scandals, and believe musicians are more likely to get involved with gambling and are more likely to be unreliable. Nevertheless fine art programs in schools should continue to be funded in schools because all fine art programs come with their own benefits both inside and outside of the classroom that will help kids become better people in their lives. The ways that these fine art programs can help students are shown through three fine art programs drama, art, and musical education because all of these have positive effects that can help children grow and learn.

According to the textbook, brain based research states that child’s brain is two-and-a half times as active as an adult’s and it creates an estimated one trillion synapses during the first three years of infant’s life. In addition, young children have really powerful learning. They learn through quality experiences and relationships. There are some ideas that teachers of young children need to to keep in mind. From birth to age 4, teachers have to include all the senses in a child’s exploration in order for them to have a healthy and enriched environment. Children from age 4 to 8, teachers have to provide a lot of opportunities to use stories, explore ideas and master activities than using worksheets in order to have rich stimulating activities. In terms of all ages, teachers have to develop a curriculum that promotes collaboration, cooperation and teamwork.

Famous Spanish artist, Pablo Picasso, once said, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” Schools all around the United States are closing their arts programs including music, art, and theatre, because of budget cuts. More than 25% of public high schools have closed done away with their arts programs. Blogger Katrina Soliman stated in her blog about the lack of creative opportunities in school, “Children have a knack for originality” and “Schools advise students to be creative but do not give time to do so.” The arts, however, are very important to children while they learn to grow and there have been hundreds of studies showing why they’re important. They improve test scores, give students creative ideas after high school and there are also other nonacademic uses.

Schools with music programs have a higher estimated graduation rate estimated at 90.2% and a higher attendance rate around 93.9% (11 Facts about Music Education 7). In comparison, schools without music programs; however, average a72.9% graduation and an 84.9% attendance (11 Facts about Music Education 7). Additionally, students who study art are four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement and three times more likely to be awarded for school attendance than those who do not (11 Facts about Arts in Education 2). Despite the benefits of having a music and art program, they are often the first things to go when a school starts budget cuts. Due to, schools today focusing on four main core values: Math, Science, English, and History. Consequently, by focusing on these four main core values schools are crushing the creativity of students. Ken Robinson successfully argues this viewpoint in his TED Talk, “Do Schools Kill Creativity?” By enthralling the audience with humorous rhetorical questions, creating connections with the audience through logical and relatable examples, and by keeping a fairly concerned tone throughout his speech to convey the urgency of the issue at hand Robinson effectively and subtlety attacks the modern world’s education system while at the same time informing his audience how schools are squandering the creativity of their students

When curriculum are designed, planed daily activities follow. Curriculum designed by the interest of the children and go through steps. Include philosophies of education, theories, standards, principles values, research, and views on how children learn best. Usually contained different domains that children develop through the activities. Socio emotional, intellectual. Then, goals and objective are written and say how this goals will be recognize. A plan is coming for outside and inside environment, the activist have to be planned to be out or in the classroom.

As the years go by, there are many changes within our country’s educational system. However, standardized testing is still a requirement for students and must be eradicated once and for all. Now, of course there needs to be a bridge between grade levels. The answer is simply letting kids communicate their answers through creativity. The fear of shading in a instead of b would finally be over if students were able to show what they know in alternative ways. Whether it’s artistic or verbal, the outcomes would be more positive than negative. A solution that solves one of the many problems in the United States education system would have to be eliminating standardized testing because it would provide a more efficient learning environment by focusing on learning rather than testing, it allows more students to further their education, and it results in less pressure for everyone.

All that being said, the students are in desperate need of a curriculum that can be individualized and that will keep them motivated. Implementing this program will require both the other teacher and I to be credible in our knowledge base beforehand. From there, we will start the new curriculum from the beginning of the school year and lay out clear expectations for the students. Some bumps in the road should be expected, but persistence is key. Constant reflection, however, is of the utmost importance. In order to make sure that the curriculum is effective both teachers will need to reflect on each and every lesson so that they can constantly be improving. Pre, formal, and summative assessments will also be utilized in evaluating the program.

I believe children learn best through play experiences that we should plan activates based on their interests. As I think that if children have interested in something, it will be stimulated their curiosity and want to get more knowledge. “emergent curriculum is more effective when it goes beyond interests to focus on children’s thinking” (Dietze & Kashin, 2016, p. 18).

The concept of creativity seems to put stress on many people. Take art for example; when asking adults if they can draw, many respond with the same response, “I am not good; I can barely draw a stick figure.” When did stick figures become bad? Has any adult tried to create something out of their stick figure that would be a new and inventive approach to the common drawing, embracing the unique new ideas art brings? This is why the arts are not as celebrated as sports or core classes. There is no right or wrong way to be creative. Creativity is different for everyone, and having a class that does not have an exact rubric or an exact point keeping system to separate the winners from the losers seems ridiculous to some students. How can schools see who is the best, or at the top of the class? The answer is simple, schools should not. "If they're worried about their test scores and want a way to get them higher, they need to give kids more arts, not less," says Tom Horne, Arizona's state superintendent of public instruction. "There's lots of evidence that kids immersed in the arts do better on their academic tests"(Lynch). The arts are not about who did it the best, they are about expression, and letting the mind be free in ways that other subjects can not allow. This is a kind of freedom by which the student can take control of their destiny within

According the most recent national assessment recorded in the Washington post, “the nations high school seniors have shown no improvement in math and reading performances since 2009.” In the most recent years, education has taken a huge downfall. Since 2010, over 45% of students drop out. Many students have problems with the grading system, so many different testing programs and having to follow a set of rules and not expand on those rules. The education system needs to induce more creativity, enforce the ways on how education is important and elaborate more on the rules of grading.

The era of accountability has heavily swayed public schools towards narrowing the curriculum across content and disciplines. Student test scores have become the measure in which states, districts, schools, classrooms, and teachers are deemed “excellent.” Also, many schools have been confronted with budget cuts that determine the content offered in schools. Unfortunately, arts programming across the United States’ K-12 public education has been minimized and/or not given the proper attention it deserves. To strengthen the argument for arts education, researchers have developed the integration of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to curriculum and lesson planning. I argue that the integration of the arts in classroom curriculum with early childhoods students can provide benefits not only for students but teachers. Arts education centers on allowing both students and teachers to engage in creativity and bring out their multiple intelligence. I recognize four reasons why arts education is a valuable tool with young children: (1) arts can be used across subjects and context (interdisciplinary), (2) it touches on the needs of different learners (multiple intelligence), (3) flexibility that allows creativity in the classroom, and (4) shifts away from traditional methods of rote learning.

I recognize in the era of high-stakes accountability, educators can be fearful of incorporating arts education into their curriculum. Yet, research supports the argument

Schools that offer fine arts classes have lower dropout rates and raised attendance. The fine arts positively impact students of lower socioeconomic status more those of a higher  status. The fine arts have no barriers for race, religion, and culture when it comes to being involved in the arts. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to be involved (Katy Independent School District). Without the arts these students have no outlet for creative capabilities and no way to express their talents. Students who need this way of expressing themselves are overlooked and they are the ones who need it the most (Dickson). When viewing the participation of arts in the eyes of a ten-year old, “It cools kids down after all the other hard stuff they have to think about” (Arts and Smarts: Test Scores and Cognitive Development).