Art IS

Art IS Education is an arts integration program taking place in Alameda County, California that is focusing on quality integrated arts education. Looks like they are going to have an interesting conference surrounding their integration, research, and praxis. I particularly like the use of student Artist Statements that tie students' own viewpoints into the research. I think it's a step in the right direction in terms of integrating the student voice into curriculum planning, research, and assessment.

Just a side note, the name "Art IS Education" reminds me of something Jacques D’Amboise, founder of the National Dance Institute once said:

“There’s an awful word they say: arts in education. As if they’re
injecting it. Arts is education. Arts is learning—discovery about
ourselves and our emotions.”

Yes, Arts IS.

Play Time

NYT has some interesting insight into the importance of play time. While schools and classrooms are taking "play" out of the picture, some scientists are aiming to prove the developmental importance of creative play.

One possible hypothesis is that play can open up rehearsals for future situations and problem solving activities:

The individual most likely to prevail is the one who believes in possibilities — an optimist, a creative thinker, a person who has a sense of power and control. Imaginative play, even when it involves mucking around in the phantasmagoria,
creates such a person. ‘‘The adaptive advantage has often gone to those who entured upon their possibility with cries of exultant commitment,’’ Sutton-Smith wrote. ‘‘What is adaptive about play, therefore, may be not only the skills that are a part of it but also the willful belief in acting out one’s own capacity for the future.’’

Doesn't sound too far from theatre practitioner Augusto Boal's notion that theatre is a rehearsal for life.

Check out The National Instutute for Play for more information.