This has been such a great experience for me this semester. I got to meet a bunch of amazing new people and learn so many new things. I'll forever be grateful for this program for what it did for me, and the students and teachers who are a part of it. I wanted to go over a few of these moments that occurred during this time.
Impact
The biggest source of impact for me was learning just how to integrate art into Core classes. It was tricky trying to solve this problem but I had great assistance from my teacher, Miranda Schoenfeld, and my mentor Cindy Clark. Luckily for me, the subject I was trying to integrate and bridge was one of my favorite topics: Social Studies. We had the children learn about the Ancient Greeks, Maya, African tribes, and Japanese cultures. We also learned about a current culture and tradition during our Dia de Los Muertos activity. The students grew in understanding about these cultures and traditions and in art as well.
This experience will impact my life for the better, helping me to understand how to integrate art with any subject, and learning to do this so that it is fun and educational for students.
Changes
The biggest change I noticed was in the students creativity and confidence. On the first day of class, they were nervous to get started on their assignments. They hesitated because they were worried that their pieces wouldn't look "good". This confidence in not making perfect art, but art itself grew over the weeks. I am so happy to say that by the last class, when I threw an assignment at them, they simply tackled it and begged for more time to finish. It was very gratifying and exciting. And mostly this had nothing to do with me as a teacher, or the other teachers or assistants involved. It came from them, and that makes me incredibly happy.
I learned a lot this semester. I learned how to integrate art. I learned how to build a students confidence in their work. I learned to work with other teachers in forming and planning lessons. I learned to ask for help from my support system of teacher and mentor. But most importantly, I learned how to teach art in such a way that will inspire and excite students. I'm very grateful for this program, and am so glad I got to be a part of it.
To the students at Vineyard Elementary, Miranda Schoenfeld, Cindy Clark, and everyone in the Arts Bridge Program: Thank you!
-Amber Arnoldsen
I love this post! Your lessons have been wonderful to read about on your blog, and those students were lucky to have your creatively integrated lessons in the classroom. Thanks for these great reflections and for helping your students to learn to love creating art!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! It was such a great experiance!
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