The general issue I want to examine is NCLB and its effect on the community, schools, students, and teachers. I know this is a broad topic, so I am going to attempt to narrow this topic down as I discuss NCLB in this blog entry....
I am studying to be an art teacher. Coming from a large, wealthy, suburban high school I did not see the effects of NCLB when I was in high school. In fact, our art department was growing, offering new courses and hiring more teachers. The budget cuts barely effected my art teachers' ability to function pre-NCLB, and they always had an abundance of supplies and resources. It was only until I came to MSU to study education that I learned about NCLB and the affect it has on schools.
I understand that the goals of the NCLB act is for all levels of students to move to high levels of achievement through focusing on reading and mathematics, and assessing student achievement through standardized tests. I do not think highly of the NCLB act, and, in fact, NCLB is doing more damage to students that good. Teachers and students are now focusing entirely on how to boost their test scores so that they can move on to the next grade. Both students and teachers are on auto-pilot, focusing strictly on reading and mathematics and neglecting science and the arts. How does the NCLB act drastically change how urban schools operate? On a larger scale, how does NCLB effect the urban community? Are the local stores/businesses where teachers and schools would go to buy crayons, paper, glue, and other "creative" school supplies going out of business or suffering?
I am floored that the arts are being cut from school and classroom curriculum nationally. I believe the arts teach students cognitive skills through skilled lesson plans involving group discussions, class critiques, and interdisciplinary lessons incorporating other subjects such as reading, writing, history, science, and mathematics. The arts gives students a different way of viewing the world, and teaches students to be creative and use problem-solving techniques. How is teaching to the test effecting students' cognitive thinking and development?
My MSU training to become an art teacher has got me thinking of the different lessons I could do with my students. I try to think of the different ways I can create lessons that intrigue the students using multiple media and the fast-paced technology that kids today are exposed to. This brings me to another question, what kind of technology are urban children exposed to? Do most urban families own a computer? How many computers does the school have, and what of programs are available to the teachers and the students? How are the budget cuts effecting urban art teacher's supplies? How are these teachers getting by with the limited supplies they have?
I hope to conclude my inquiry project with some answers of how NCLB effects the community, school, teachers, and students. I am curious to find out if NCLB has an impact on the community's businesses, the physical conditions of the community (murals and other art work that might brighten a dull shaded town), and the resources (such as libraries or an Internet cafe) that the people of the community have open to them. I am interested in who designs the curriculum and who is in charge of making sure that the students meet their obligations. I wish to discover what teachers are doing to meet NCLB guidelines and benchmarks, and what art teachers are doing to survive budget cuts. Lastly, I want to know how students' cognitive development and social skills needed for the outside world is effected by NCLB.
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You have raised really intriguing questions regarding art education in urban public schools. Meanwhile I have been exploring with questions on a very different side of urban education http://downtown2uptown.blogspot.com/.
ReplyDeleteAfter posting in my blog and then reading yours, I have come up with even more questions! I understand we are trying to narrow this down, but if we are to focus on inner city art education, I think we should also consider zooming into the history of art education in the urban areas. What have children been taught in the past and what are they being taught in the present (if they still have an art program left) in inner cities? Is it art that is mostly or entirely based on white artists? If so, how could inner city students relate to these artists? How can teachers make students interested in art? Perhaps through making an effort to understand the meaning street art has for the community?
Lastly and most importantly, as future teachers, is there something we can do to keep art education in inner cities, and how could we do so?