Kristina Hedges

May 9, 2014
EDCI301
Personal Statement: Arts Integration
Starting off the semester by thinking of our personal definitions of art and
creativity was the perfect way to realize that everyone has their own, unique definitions
for those terms. Everyone is an artist and everyone is creative in his or her own way.
Personally, EDCI301: Arts Integration has opened my eyes to the various ways that I
consider myself creative and artistic. Growing up, I was involved in theatre and always
loved to sing. Singing and taking on the role of another character have always been my
favorite ways to express myself artistically and how I would describe my artistic side to
some one new. However, I have learned that I am artistic and creative in various ways
that may not be as obvious.
Creativity is something I believe is used and expressed by an individual every
day. I define creativity as the ability to use ones imagination and innovative thinking to
express a new idea. Personally, the career I am preparing for requires a lot of creativity.
Coming up with unique lesson plans to fit my students needs would not get done without
creativity. On top of the more obvious, there are so many subtle ways that people can be
artistic or creative in everyday life. Everything from making dinner to designing a room
requires creativity and art. Art is all around us and I could not be more thankful to have
discovered this early on in life.
My personal definition of art is a product of expression created by an individual
through various mediums, such as paint, photography, music, sculpture, theatre, etc. I
left my definition very open-ended because like I said, I believe that each individual
defines art in their own way, so if someone considers something art, then it is art. Also, I
mention the mediums in my definition to emphasize the fact that there are multiple
mediums of art, which makes art so broad and open-minded, leaving the opportunities for
creating art very numerous. Because of this, there really is no excuse to leave art out of
the school classroom.
Throughout the semester, I have spent time discovering more and more ways that
art can be used in a lesson in order to enhance the content and make it more meaningful
to the students. As I think back on my K-12 experience, the lessons and content that stand
out the most in my memory are the ones that incorporated art. To me, this is arts
integration at its best. Not only does arts integration mean connecting the arts to the core
content, like having students color in a map during geology, there is much more to it.
The Kennedy Center defines arts integration on their website better than I could
ever try to explain by myself. They say, Arts integration is an approach to teaching in
which students construct and demonstrate understanding through an art form. Students
engage in a creative process which connects an art form and another subject area and
meets evolving objectives in both (The Kennedy Center, 1996). I could not agree more
with this definition. It is important to point out that arts integration allows for students to
meet objectives in both art and the core subject, so through these types of lessons, they
have the great opportunity to learn about and develop skills in both areas, which I see as
very valuable.
The ways that the arts are valuable to education are basically infinite. To begin,
exposing children to various kinds of art helps them to see and value the diversity
surrounding them, as well as help them find their niche within the arts, which is different
for everyone. As Isenberg and Jalango (2006) stated in an article about drama and music,
if all children are at least given the opportunity to try various kinds of music and
movement activities, they can begin to appreciate more fully the rich diversity among
their classmates and to recognize that each person has unique strengths and talents
(p.171). This applies to more than just music and movement because it makes sense with
all types of art. If teachers are exposing children to as many forms of art as possible,
students really begin to appreciate the diversity in the arts, as well as diversity in general
that is all around them.
In addition to being able to recognize and appreciate diversity, students can
become more innovative and career-ready through arts integration. M.C. Dwyer of The
Presidents Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (2011), or the PCAH, stated,
education in the arts is more important than ever. In the global economy, creativity is
essential. Todays workers need more than just skills and knowledge to be productive and
innovative participants in the workforce (p.1). I believe this goes along with the
increasing use of technology in the real world. With new technology, new forms of art
arise, such as digital stories and portfolios that require innovative thinking and definitely
creativity. This makes arts integration all that more valuable because students will
eventually need artistic and creative skills in order to be fully functioning members of
this society.
Lastly, art makes content more meaningful and can re-engage students who may
have checked out of school. School can become very uninteresting without new and
imaginative ways to engage students and make learning worthwhile. The PCAH
envisions schools in cities and towns across our nation that are alive with the energy of
creative thinking and fresh ideas, full of art, music, and movement (Dwyer, 2011, p. 10).
The research described in their proposal points to the success of schools that are arts-
rich, in which students who may have fallen by the wayside find themselves re-engaged
in learning when their enthusiasm for film, design, theater, or even hip-hop is tapped into
by their teachers (Dwyer, 2011, p.10). I am so inspired by these findings because they
just prove that the more opportunities teachers give students to really engage in all forms
of art, the more they will be engaged in the other subjects in school, which is all teachers
really want from their students.
It is difficult for me to say how exactly I will incorporate arts integration into my
future classroom because it all depends on my group of students. However, I obviously
plan on having arts integration in my mind at all times. I plan on using arts integration to
bring out the unique skills and talents of each of my students early on. This means that as
I am getting to know my students, I will make sure to ask them about their hobbies and
special talents to get a better idea of what they are already interested in. It also means that
I have to step out of my comfort zone and allow myself to experiment with art forms that
I might not be as comfortable with.
There are so many ideas available to me by collaborating with other teachers or
by searching the Internet. So, I should not limit myself to only the ideas that involve art
forms that I have experience with, which will be my biggest challenge. I plan on
overcoming that challenge by bringing in local artists if I have to and being in constant
contact with the art teacher and other teachers at the school for assistance and guidance.
Arts integration has always been very important to me as a future educator and
this semester has really reassured my beliefs in it. I cannot wait to get into the classroom
one day and try all of the ideas I have learned and come up with more on my own.
Students deserve to express themselves through art and I love that art and creativity is so
open-minded and diverse.


















References
Dwyer, M. C., Knight Foundation., & United States. (2011).
Reinvesting in arts education: Winning America's future through creative
schools. Washington, D.C: President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.
Retrieved from
http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/gpo23762/PCAH_Reinvesting_4web.pdf.
Isenberg, J. P., Jalongo, M. R., & Isenberg, J. P. (2006). Creative thinking and arts-
based learning: Preschool through fourth grade. Upper Saddle River, N.J:
Pearson Merrill/Prentice Hall. (Chap 4).
The Kennedy Center. (1996). Arts Edge. Retrieved from
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/educators/how-to/series/arts-integration-
beta/arts-integration-beta.aspx.