Sights & Sounds of the Art of choice

My eyes danced across fabulous paint strokes & creations, my ears enveloped themselves in the wonderful tones of vocal & instrumental performance at this visual & performing arts high school

What talent. Our fluctuating cohort of educator hopefuls spent its third and final day of public schools visitations at a magnet school geared towards the visual and performance arts. Four music students played pieces on the acoustic guitar for us as a welcome, to warm us up for student-led tours and classroom visits.

I was not only impressed by the talent of these students, but by the personalities and general ambition that it was so easy to see. Even more interesting, as the students involved in leading tours introduced themselves, their majors, and what they aspire to study, I noticed the disparity between their current major at the high school and their desired major at the college they were seeking to attend. I hadn't expected it. Given a special talent and focus in a secondary school, wouldn't you want to further and develop that into a future career?

Now wait a second, is this the crux of hypocrisy or what? I did not attend a magnet high school, but during my time at a suburban public high school, my passion for art was quite obvious and according to the visual art classes I packed into my schedule, it was almost as if I were "majoring" in Art to the extent that I could. Did I further that in my college studies? A wildlife conservation major would indicate no, however I did declare the art minor a year into my studies.

I asked the student panel later in the program if they felt there was a balance between the arts focus of their major and the other academic areas and if those areas suffered as a result of the arts emphasis? They said they felt the school was strong in all subject areas and that they always made time for other homework and papers. One of the administrators/coordinators of the public school programs had also mentioned earlier that research shows that this study and envelopment in the arts really helps kids to learn their academics and actually turns them on to education.

This all brings me to a question, though. Should we have magnet high schools that select children based on talent, performance, and demeanor? Does this "choice" create a biased and elitist system that leaves other children in the dark?

I was very much impressed by this magnet school. I felt almost like I was in a college classroom as I witnessed a final presentation and critique of a student's artwork in a "mini gallery" in the school. But I also felt like it did not show an accurate representation of Newark's general student population, due to the selectivity factor.

I truly do feel that the ability to dive into art and expression in high school helped me fulfill that within myself and supported my performance in other academic areas. And while studies show the effects of the arts exposure may benefit students in learning other subject areas (Sousa, pg 217), wouldn't this put other students not in magnet schools at a disadvantage? If I received this benefit at a non-magnet school (granted it was a suburban school in a better financial position than many urban schools), I think students should be able get this out of other non-selective public schools as well, even on a lower budget. Giving the students an opportunity to focus and choose a specialty school can be a great thing, but the fact is also that we are choosing them and leaving others out.

Works cited:
Sousa, David A. How the Brain Learns. Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, CA, 2006.

Focus on the Human(ities)

City = Resource

Many may think of the city as an unstable and crazy place to be, and the schools not as safe, financially supported or well reputed as suburban counterparts. One thing is for sure, there is a CORNUCOPIA (yes, i used my favourite SAT word) of resources at your disposal in an urban setting. From libraries to museums to neighboring schools and businesses, this is an advantage that can be noted, there are partnerships that can be forged, supplies to be shared. The staff at "N" High stressed this availability of resources in the city, which ties into the image of this magnet school as a culturally driven facility as well.

"N" High = Cultural chameleon

The school has its own culture that is constantly changing and reworking itself over years of time. And so they say this is what the school is known for. But I noticed that not only does it seem to provide a challenging environment with interesting course options available, such as an entire Law circuit pathway and of course Humanities pathway; including courses such as Sociology, Women's studies, Anthropology, Shakespeare, Drama and more, but the students are driven and want to succeed.

"PAY IT FORWARD"
was painted on the slab just below the hallway ceiling

It was explained to us that someone always returns. A former student that had been led to growth and success comes back to give back to the community that formed him/her. One of the teachers/administrators that spoke to us had attended the high school and was now working there and giving so much back to the community that had given to him... and emphasizing the need to...

FORGE A BOND with the students

Regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, they are HUMAN BEINGS. "Forget the subject matter", he said, "notice how kids feel, make eye contact". Heavens do I find this in my heart. And show the kid you care about them as a person, care that they succeed; don't replace them with the subject matter.

I met a future lawyer, doctor, and teacher at a student round table at the tail end of the visit. These future and even current contributors to society absolutely 'wow-ed' me. I feel like this interaction was the most beneficial part of the visit because really getting to hear the students' perspectives was so valuable, since these are the personalities we are going to be teaching one day.