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  • 1.  Better access and equity to theatre education

    Posted 01-27-2014 13:43

    The Educational Theatre Association, along with eleven other national organizations, recently created and endorsed the new document, Arts Education for America's Students: A Shared Endeavor. The document and its companion Venn diagram call for a new, collaborative effort between in- and out-of-school providers of arts education, along with non-arts educators to create broader access to quality arts education programs.  I've gone into this in more detail in a blog. Here's your advocacy question for the day: How do you think we can create better access and equity to theatre education for students?



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    James Palmarini
    Director of Educational Policy

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  • 2.  RE:Better access and equity to theatre education

    Posted 01-27-2014 15:14

    *Number one priority is to have credentialed teachers in all arts forms for highly qualified arts educators.
    *Offer at least one class in discrete arts instruction in middle and high schools taught by high qualified arts educator.
    *Have arts specialists who are educated and experienced in bringing arts education to elementary students. This could be a district focus to provide arts education in the school day for elementary students.
    *In districts without dedicated arts educators, have arts providers who are versed in the national standards to provide after-school programs with the direction that the district work toward hiring credentialed arts educators to create arts courses within the regular school hours.
    *EdTA and other arts associations can offer training to arts educators on how to implement cross curricular arts lessons for all subjects.
    *Focus our combined arts associations' focus on educating parents and administrators about the values of arts for all ages.
    *Honor administrators who have a cross-the-ages highly qualified arts educators pre-K-high school for during the regular class times and after-school programs. We get on the agendas of every administrators' associations meetings letting these honored administrators to teach other administrators how to develop models of instruction. 



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    Gai Jones

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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE:Better access and equity to theatre education

    Posted 01-28-2014 15:35
    I agree ! And I'd suggest we, EDTA, are best positioned to take on the task of developing a new "creative drama in the classroom" professional development workshop module for elementary level teachers. Perhaps along the lines of our Advocacy Workshop/Advocacy Tool Kit program. Our Chapters could then determine how to recruit and train workshop facilitators (Troupe Sponsors who choose to volunteer for the training?) in order to implement the program in their states . A. program like this was done before in my own state when mandatory fine arts instruction K-12 was made part of curriculum reform in 1987. Theatre parents are a resource of mighty advocates. ------------------------------------------- Anita Grant -------------------------------------------
    Original Message


  • 4.  RE:Better access and equity to theatre education

    Posted 02-04-2014 14:26
    I love all the ideas that have been discussed!

    I love Anita's idea for something that can be adapted to fit a district or state that would help preK-8th grade as those are the students that are being left behind in theatre education at alarming rates. Gai makes a great point about having certificated theatre teachers in all states. That is basic and necessary! I think that these are battles we can and should win!

    I also feel that in today's educational climate that we need more than simple anecdotal evidence that theatre is important to student's education and a powerful tool for lifelong learning. We need RESEARCH that qualitatively demonstrates how theatre changes brain function in children and adolescents, strengths learning pathways, increases success in all academic areas, and improves social outcomes. Anyone who has taught theatre knows that all those things happen when students work on the process of theatre. We already have some great correlation research that is powerful. However, now we need to prove it in more than correlation research. We need causation research that no one can ignore. Education today is driven by data outcomes and until we have that data we will be telling inspiring stories and having passion about what we know is true. However, that may not move theatre education to the position it deserves in our society. 

    I know that research is costly, but if EdTA isn't behind it...who is going to do it?
    I believe this to be the tipping point in advocacy for theatre education.

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    Leslie Van Leishout
    Theater Education Coordinator
    Southern Illinois University Edwardsville


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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE:Better access and equity to theatre education

    Posted 02-07-2014 13:29
    Good stuff here, I especially love the idea of certified, well trained acting teachers! I am little afraid of the Leslie's call for studies - though I completely understand where she is coming from.  What worries me is that we have to justify the arts.  Nobody asks the baseball coach to justify how pitching helps his player in math, right? I worry that we have to justify our existence.  Theatre is worth supporting in the schools because creativity is part of being human - and we have to provide our students outlets for that.  Art is a human need - if it wasn't it wouldn't be a part of every culture that has ever existed, on cave walls, in dances and theatre around the campfire, in music, etc. What we do is important in it's own right, and vital (along with other arts classes) to the development of the whole student.  
    I am obviously oversimplifying your call for studies Leslie, you ask for studies of what happens in a child's brain when they act and I would love to see the results of that study.  I am being a bit contrarian on purpose, because I believe that the there is a huge slippery slope around this topic where we wind up seeking to justify our very existence. What if we can't show enough of a gain in kids English grade to make the cut? Etc. You see where I am going with this.  I feel like if we cede the ground at the very start that we are important because of what ELSE we can do for students, then we have already lost.  The fight should be that we ARE important in our own right. 

    Jeff

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    Jeffrey Davis

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    Original Message