I really appreciated the focus in this piece on incorporating various modes and forms of art in the classroom curriculum. Just like it’s important for us to introduce our students to various mediums with which to create visual art, so too is it important to encourage our students to explore various forms of art to figure out in what way they can better express themselves.
As Gallas (1991) notes, the challenge lies in “developing an integrated arts curriculum that provides a range of arts experiences that will offer opportunities for all children to communicate their new knowledge and expanded understanding of the world” (p. 28), because every child expresses him or herself differently. “The challenge, then, is to ensure that the range of experiences is broad enough to reveal each child’s voice, and that those experiences spring from events that all of the children have shared in common” (Gallas, 1991, p. 28).
I also really connected with the notion that the arts can help all students access knowledge, regardless of cultural or linguistic backgrounds. I think of myself as an educator who’s really attune to the fact that our classrooms are multicultural, and the presence of art in the classroom allows students of various cultures and abilities to express themselves and to share their cultural and family backgrounds with the rest of their students in an organic and natural way. “The arts make it possible for all children, regardless of their differences, to participate fully in the process of education. ... They enable all children to recognize the breadth and depth of their learning” (Gallas, 1991, p. 31).
when you think about it, Gallas provides a very doable model- It's not too difficult to include drawing as an art form in your classroom.
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