Could the Arts Be the Answer to Student Engagement?
October 10, 2018
By: Jennifer Jackson
Source: Education Week
We all want to explore, discover, and feel inspired. As teachers, we try to harness this drive in our classrooms. Every lesson plan, for example, has a hook at the beginning designed to grab students’ interest. But our schools always need more pathways for engaging learners. Arts integration can open that door.
This is my fourth year as a performing arts educator. I’ve also founded other dance programs in the cities I have taught in and danced professionally. But my enthusiasm for arts education is fueled by more than just a passion for my art form.
Differentiated by nature, the arts can bring all children success and joy and change their perspective on what the school community can offer them. When children learn to think like artists, they learn a way of approaching the world that will support them throughout their lives, academically and socio-emotionally.