Research Assignment

For my research project, I decided to make something similar to a campaign poster.

Putting this poster up in the classroom or in the school building shows that the
teacher/school is an advocate for arts in education (not necessarily art education per se).
The images of the melted crayon and the world map are from the Internet, but the rest (the
idea, the creation of the poster, etc.) are done by me. The reason behind the melted crayon
painting the world is from my belief that God painted us all. Were all different colors, but
when we come together and work together, it becomes another beautiful piece of art.
Through this research project, a curiosity I had became my belief that we need to give our
children the freedom to be who they are. They are creative, free, unique, beautiful, special,
and everything great in between. And if our children (wechildren of God) are molded by
Him into His image, do we not have the right to be what our Creator is: an artist?
























Connections between Education in the Arts and Student Achievement
By Nick Rabkin, Dale Rose, and Michaela Parks

Were Still Here: Community-based Art, the Scene of Education, and the Formation of Scene
By Charles Kim and Nobuko Miyamoto

The research on the benefits of art in the educational setting should not be a
revolutionary thought to any of todays educators. Educators may hold different views on
how to best teach our children math, literacy, and science. Not many, however, agree in
viewing art as a part of the academia. Most people think of the arts as an expressive form of
recreation; it is not an area in the curriculum that deserves equal, if not more, attention and
support. Many argue that schools teach whats tested, and the arts arent tested; there is
no standardized tests in the arts so it seems as though it would be more difficult to assess
the students learning (2002).
It seems ironic to me that the arguments being thrown at the education table misses
the central point of the initial debate. Some educators (and states) make decisions to stop
funding mandates for arts education, arguing that it is time our students focus more on
academic achievement and increased learning. Art educators, on the other hand, have
reported for a period of time that the arts are what connect students to their learning. It
improves students academic achievement as long as socio-emotional and cognitive
development. (2002)
The author of the first article mentions how confusion over the nature of transfer
may be at the root of the disagreement. The standard model of transfer is linear and
mechanical: one learning input leads to another (2002). However, a model of an
interconnected web where learning links to various domains, psychological development,
skills, and knowledge is a whole new dynamic that almost seems too complex. This is
where I think the debate becomes one where the standard model is being challenged for
reform; after all, we do live in an ever-changing world.


Personally, the second article was very enjoyable as well as inspirational. The article
is about Kim and Miyamoto, two Asian-American artists who converse over the struggles
and the importance of education in the scene of a community that needs reconciliation and
commonality. They call their form of art community-based art. It is a peculiar form of art
that utilizes two elusive terms: community and art (Kim and Miyamoto, 2013) and all the
processes in between that produce the art itself. It is a complex, yet a challenge given to the
future of our education. The author defines education as a scene of formation and a
process of transformation (2013). Furthermore, the presence of education serves as a field
where students are supposed to feel comfortable in spreading their wings, turning up their
voices, and highlighting their past experiences.
First of all, I chose to research on the effects (benefits and drawbacks) of arts within
the classroom after I took a class that taught us how to implement art within our
curriculum. In a generation where technological advancements place higher value than the
ability to create a piece of art, the school systems are trying to cut funding in efforts of
raising test scores and achieving academic excellence. Yet, the biggest victims of this
supposedly beneficial reform are our children. So many of our children are lost, looking for
a place where they belong and can feel like home. The school has long gone from being such
a setting.
The author affirms that community starts in the classroom. And for it to be a
successful community, active growth, and engagement are necessary. Furthermore, the
momentary sense of community that our classrooms are designed to offer play a crucial
role in the emergence of the evolutionary elements of community (2013). This is where
the teachers in the classrooms pose a fascinating role in transformation. The author
challenges us teachers to take on a facilitative role so that the momentary community
can be ushered into one where ideas, stories, and feelings are exchanged and where
collaborate work culminates in a common project (2013). That particular phrase really hit
me homeit was the first verse of an anthem I had started developing.
John Dewey analyzes art as a plethora of tools that empower communication
(2013). And I have simplified his definition of art into simpler terms: art is a language. It is
everyones home language. It tells us a story and shows us a future. Our role as teachers is
to advocate for our childrens home language.


Connections between Education in the Arts and Student Achievement.
(n.d.).Grantmakers in the Arts. Retrieved May 12, 2014, from
http://www.giarts.org/article/connections-between-education-arts-and-
student-achievement

KIM, C., & MIYAMOTO, N. (2013). We're Still Here: Community-Based Art, the Scene of
Education, and the Formation of Scene. Harvard Educational Review, 83(1), 153-164.