Sean T. Griffin
As our school is an arts magnet school, when I do an extended unit I try to incorporate art into the unit wherever possible. In an arts magnet school the arts and academics are linked in a way that promotes learning that is often overlooked in a regular school setting. In our school, students study math, social studies, science, and languages, but are also invited to explore the arts for half of their day. The students study drawing and painting, photography, video, dance, pottery, drama, sculpture, and music. It is through this vehicle, this arts magnet atmosphere, that students are allowed to explore and find their strengths and weaknesses. Virtually every student in the school finds his or her creative niche, his or her interest, and his or her means to succeed in an arts magnet school. In an arts magnet school students use the arts as a way to further explore and understand the academics.
Unfortunately all middle schools are not arts magnet schools. I personally think they should be, but I am only one teacher. The reality is that the arts are constantly under attack in our public schools where budget crunchers are constantly on the lookout for easy answers as to what can be cut and what cannot be cut. I realize that students in my school may see art in a way that is more refined or mature than many other middle school students because arts have been an important part of their education for four years (grades five through eight). Does this mean that this unit cannot be utilized in a school district where the arts may be almost non-existent? No, but I believe it needs to be considered. I think that all students have an art that interests them, and while my school may have students divided into art emphases or specialties, which I can utilize like a roster, teachers without this information may spend a day or two talking to students about what interests them. It could be in the form of an arts survey or a writing exercise, but I think it worthwhile to see what interests the children and gauge how important the arts are to them.