Education Articles

The Arts Articles

Articles on teaching the arts for teachers and other educators. "The Arts is a broad subdivision of culture, comprised of many expressive disciplines. In modern usage it is a broader term than "art", which usually means specifically visual art (comprised of fine art and sometimes also applied art). A precise definition of the arts can be contentious, but the following areas of activity are usually included: Art/Visual arts, Architecture, Crafts, Comics, Dance, Drama, Interactive arts/Videogames, Drawing, Film, Literature, Music, Painting, Photography, Pottery, Sculpture, Theatre/Performing arts.

1: THE PERCEPTION OF TALENT IN PIANO PLAYING: AN INVESTIGATION OF VIEWS BY ESTABLISHED GREEK PIANO TEACHERS (5.00/5)
Georgia G. Markea Post-doc and PhD in Music Education, University of London, Institute of Education School Adviser for Music Education Based in Athens   Acknowledgements: I would like to thank Professor Graham Welch under whose guidance I conducted my post-doctoral research (Markea, 2005) at the University of London, Institute of Education. This research focuses on how a number of influential piano teachers in Greece define the meaning of talent in piano playing and how it is i

2: Effectiveness of Drama in the English Classroom (Not Rated)
by Kate Marie Ryan How effective is the strategy of drama in teaching extended written text within the English classroom? This report is divided into three parts - What, Why and How; 'What' identifies the significance of this inquiry for English teachers, it also contains the definition of extended text and its link to the English in New Zealand curriculum. 'How' identifies the strategies English teachers currently employ when teaching extended text, it also describes the shift towards using and

3: Drama in the classroom - Tips to Get Your Students Educated by Bringing Drama Into Their Lives (Not Rated)
By Peg Herring Plays are great for an after-school project, but classrooms are the perfect platform for drama as well. There are many ways to incorporate drama into subject matter that may capture the attention of even the most apethetic students. · Scriptwriting: what better way to bring a subject to life than to let students make a skit to teach or demonstrate it? There are several advantages to skits in the classroom: · Depth-Students can be required to do some digging to make their

4: Adding A Dance Program To Your School (Not Rated)
By Phyllis Ventresca There's nothing like dance for adults with its agility, strengthening and fitness rewards. So why not add it to your school? Kids, in particular girls, will line up to get in on the exercise. As we all know from teaching gym classes, girls can often miss out on fitness segments because they are under motivated to join in on competitive sports. Here are some key considerations before launching such a program. 1. It's really important to send a few staffers out for a

5: Oh NO! Not Another Drummer! (5.00/5)
Every band director I know who deals with beginners finds almost each year a disproportional flock of new students determined to play the drums. Being the ideologues we are, we want to give each student their instrument of choice, but being, also, the pragmatists we have been forced to become, we know that some of these young hopefuls have to be culled lest we find ourselves presiding over some monstrous musical montage that only a mother could love.We don’t want to deprive the world of another

6: Crescendo Now, Pay Later (5.00/5)
In the hierarchy of musical priorities, dynamics have often appeared to me to be relegated to fairly low niche and left there to languish, their immense potential for beauty and expressiveness being overlooked and ignored. Even in recordings of professional orchestras it is not at all unusual to here a crescendo or diminuendo begin and end without any unified idea of where it is heading. Concerts or recordings where the music making is otherwise of a very high calibe all to often approach the dy

7: The World Does NOT Revolve Around You (5.00/5)
“Listen, you spoiled little cretins, the world does not revolve around you,” I patiently explained. “You’re kidding right?” hooted my students derisively.“Pick up your instruments, start together on the downbeat and count carefully.” How many music teachers have had the first part of that conversation?  Almost none, at least not out loud.  The second installment is an every day plea for many.Our youth-obsessed culture seems to make a liar out of me, but lest you think your wo

8: But Practice Is Soooo Boring!!!! (4.33/5)
By: Suzie Hammond Are your students loathe to practice as much as they should? OK, you can stop laughing and pick yourself up off the floor now. I know it wasn’t the brightest question.But I asked it to make a point, of course. Haven’t you been guilty of that misbehavior? I personally am a lifetime repeat offender. As adults we all know intellectually that if you don’t practice something, you don’t get better. We tell our students and ourselves this until the bile rises in our throat threat

9: Kids Educational Craft Ideas - Alternatives to Using a Paint Brush (Not Rated)
by Helen Thompson Painting opens up a world of colour and communication for children and is a wonderful way for them to create. There are many simple and exciting alternatives to using a paint brush. String painting is easy and is a great way for children to pattern paint. You just wrap some string around a small wooden block (this could be a building block that your children play with). A square or rectangle shape is better, but make sure that it is big enough for the child to hold easi

10: Prufrock, The Wasteland, T. S. Eliot and Me (Not Rated)
by Bruce Deitrick Price...For gifted or literary students, a lively poem called THEORYLAND offers a fun way for teachers to touch on lots of topics. T. S. Eliot, for one. Our links to the past. The use of rhyme. Obeying rules, and breaking rules. Riffing, sampling, and alluding (Eliot did a lot of all three!). The power of so-called Theory on some campuses. The difficulty of writing popular poetry in our time... Okay, I have to start with a confession. I love this poem, my poem--THEORYLAND, it'