Director's Note: Mobilizing Our Community Promotes 'STEAM' Education
They say a picture is worth a thousand words…
and this picture of a big sister sharing her mobile artwork with her younger sibling truly tells a powerful story. For four weeks, Piedmont Arts sponsored Washington, DC-based sculpture artist Kevin Reese to work with students from all area schools. During weeks one and two, students learned all about mobiles and created their own maquettes (artist models) which Reese used for inspiration. During weeks three and four, students worked with Reese on creating large-scale mobiles which will ultimately end up throughout the Martinsville-Henry County community.
The picture and the Mobilizing
Our Community artist residency lead me to the point of this blog. There is
a great deal of discussion about the role of the arts in our schools…is it a
frill, an add-on to the “real work” of school? Education advocates who say we
need to focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) should
work just as hard in advocating for the Arts in education, STEAM. The mobile
residency is a perfect example of how the arts can connect learning across curriculums.
Through this project, students were exposed to concepts of physics and balance,
geometry, vocabulary, and 21st Century learning relating to critical
thinking, collaboration and creativity.
When integrated into everyday learning, the arts can help
students stay engaged and make learning more fun. I know this is not easily done, as teachers
must prepare students for standardized tests, but a conversation about arts
integration into the classroom is worth having. Rather than thinking of the
arts as an “add-on” that can just as easily be dropped when budgets get tight,
let’s think of the arts as integral to a child’s education and development.
Getting back to the picture, the pride that this student has
in her work and the rapt attention and fascination her sister has is a
beautiful thing. It is the essence of engagement. I can just hear her sister
telling her now, “A mobile is made from the bottom up….”
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