Metamorphosis

I have never been in a classroom that was aesthetically pleasing. They are ugly, uninviting, utilitarian, concrete boxes. Yesterday I spent some time in my daughter's third grade classroom. Her teacher had succeeded in transforming the room into something reasonably attractive. One corner, what I presume was the reading corner, since it was carpeted and had no furniture but a single chair, has been framed by shades of green and blue tissue paper streamers hanging from ceiling to floor. Large leaves have been cut from similarly colored tissue paper and hung from the ceiling and taped to the windows. Exotic stuffed animals are hanging about, monkeys, snakes, and the like. It has been made to resemble a rainforest. And it has made all the difference between a drab, uninviting classroom and one that welcomes you. It is amazing how this simple change in outward appearance metamorphoses the room and I can only hope, and strongly suspect, that it makes the children who spend their days there, my own daughter included, feel better about being there.

fashion as a means

I've been reflecting on this idea of "fashion". Fashion as the way we present ourselves to others. Fashion as the outward appearance that either attracts or repels. Fashion as a reflection of self image. Fashion as the way we want others to see us. Fashion as a means of taking what's good in us and making it better. Because you can't make something out of nothing, the basic beauty or aesthetic quality must be there to begin with. We simply use make-up and haircuts and knowledge about skin tones when choosing wardrobes as tools to enhance the inherent.

I have seen this use of "fashion" in education. A perfect example is children's literature. When I was learning to read, we read "See Dick run. See Jane hop. See spot jump." Neither the language nor the illustrations were the least bit flashy. They certainly were not designed to appeal to one's sense of aesthetics. Today, children's books are sophisticated. Both the language and the illustrations are clearly intended to attract attention. And the book's covers are made to entice consumers to buy. I believe it is meant, on the part of the publishers, to aid in turning a bigger profit, but also to make kids want to read more. And they do. Want to read more. These books also appeal to me as a teacher and as a parent. I have enjoyed reading these beautiful books to my students and to my own children.

Fashion as a means of making reading attractive.

Elements of Music in Education

Rhythm:
There is no music without rhythm. Likewise, timing in teaching can be critical. Not allowing enough time means having to continue a lesson the next day or prolonging a lesson, which can tax younger students. Moving too quickly means having unstructured time remaining in which many students exhibit misbehavior. Pace can be important as well. Allowing time for students to comprehend and then practice the content of the lesson is important to the learning process.

Melody:
There is nothing so calming or comforting as a familiar tune. In the classroom, predictable expectations, fairness, and shared responsibility create a safe and cooperative environment.

Harmony:
Certain musical pitches, when combined just the right way, sound pleasing to the ear. Add flavor to your lessons. Read poetry and picture books (whatever the grade level you are teaching), play music that reinforces the lesson, incorporate art, go outside and explore the natural world, take a field trip (providing there are resources), make something, out of words, or paper, or technology, or popsicle sticks, or empty shoe boxes.

Movement:
Our body responds to music. We tap our foot, nod our head, shake, rattle, and roll. We dance. Students will respond to the educational process when it is infused with a sufficient degree of motion. That is to say, lessons that involve them and engage them, that get them out of their seats, that require them to think rather than simply process information.

All in a song....

Music can inspire you to do great things. It can challenge you to be the best that you can be. It can get your body moving even when you're feeling tired and lazy. It can lift your spirits when you're down and out.

It can nourish your soul. Fuel your mind. Speak your words. Express your deepest emotion. It crosses cultural barriers. Cries for peace. Screams for love. Believes there is hope.

It unifies. Clarifies. Sheds a light.

....all in a song.

Imagine what we could do with education if we would harness the power of music. Learn its secrets. Release its soul in our classrooms.

Every Corner

I think music is one of the most powerful forms of art. It defines cultural boundaries, inspires nations to patriotism, calls people to worship, organizes political protests, teaches children, has theraputic value in medicine, signals soldiers to rise for battle, mourns the dead, and celebrates life, love, and all that is good. In my opinion, no other art form has wielded any where near the same degree of social influence so consistently in every corner of the world.

Music itself has multiple uses in the educational environment. It's potential for teaching and learning crosses all academic fields of study. This one fact alone is reason enough for us, as educators, to carefully consider what it is about music that makes it so universally compelling and so powerfully able to impact every area of life.

Focus on Learning or Experience?

I have certainly been aware, while out in the business world, that how the environment is designed has some bearing on how I feel there, but it has been in a vague, indirect way. I think I am less cognizant of it when the surroundings are more neutral. When a building is blatantly artistic in it's design so as to be beautiful or so badly done it's just plain ugly, I notice it more. I think maybe the most effective design is the one that is designed to effect you without you noticing it.

Good education is like that, too. When you create an environment that is safe and fun, with lessons and activities that engage students, and meaningful connections to the real world, students learn because they are not focused on the "learning", but rather on the experience. Especially as kids get older, they become programmed to think that school is boring or not fun. When we create an atmosphere in which they are truly enjoying themselves, these are the things they remember and take with them as positive and significant.

Empty canvas?

Natalie comments on her blog entry "Bridges - Photography and Education", while making a metaphorical comparison between forms of art and education, saying, "The canvas is empty and it's the teacher's and her students' mission or calling to create something just as an artist would." I like your thinking, Natalie. I like the image of an empty canvas waiting to be filled, the child's mind and heart. I can see the artist's pallet, the many colors as yet unmingled, the teacher's vast knowledge and experience. I can see the brush poised above the canvas, the teacher's love as she pours her heart into what she does. However, it has been my experience that the "canvas" is almost never empty. Children, including preschool and kindergartners, and especially middle school and high school students, show up in our classrooms with a plethora of prior circumstances, some good and some bad, that effect, in a variety of ways, their ability or inability to learn (and in some cases to simply function). If the "canvas" were truly empty, we would have no need to consider how to make the educational process more compelling.

We would simply paint. The canvas would simply become painted.

But it is not simple. Because children come to us with a set of expectations already installed and each child has a different set, it is in fact extremely complex. We must somehow meet the needs of them all, whoever they are, wherever they have come from, and whatever abilities they may or may not have. Perhaps we need to be looking for ways to work with a canvas that has already been painted, ways to make it better and more beautiful, regardless of it's appearance when it arrives.