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| Arts are an important part of today’s students’ education |
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 | | | Steve Swisher is the superintendent of the Crook County School District. He can be reached at: steve.swisher@crookcounty.k12.or.us |
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As the holiday season draws near, we are entering a time of reflection and celebration of our connection to our spiritual selves and to one another. Often these connections are expressed through music, drama, and the arts. Families often share in family sing-a-longs as well as the attending music, drama, and art events in their schools and churches. There is a deep emotional connection to one another through the arts.
Even though I was a math major in college and have always had a deep interest in science, I am grateful that my parents encouraged me to take music lessons starting when I was eight years old. That developed an interest that expanded in high school where I participated in drama, choir, and took art classes. This was in addition to my participation in athletics, taking core academic subjects including math and science. I began to experience the joy of discovery of mathematical symmetries and patterns embedded in art and the natural world around me.
My school experiences deepened my appreciation for the arts that has continued and it has certainly enhanced my life in many ways. Of course it didn't hurt my appreciation and interest in the arts when I began dating a person in high school who was considering being an art major in college. She is my wife today. However because we married after my first year of college, she switched to being a math major with me because it was cheaper to share the books (or perhaps she saw the relation between mathematics and art also; but, the main reason was probably the cheaper books).
Harvard University has studied the connection between the arts and academic improvement. They discovered three distinct areas where clear causal links between the arts and improved academic achievement could be demonstrated: 1) Listening to Music and Spatial-Temporal Reasoning, 2) Learning to Play Music and Spatial Reasoning, and 3) Drama and Verbal Skills. Further studies has shown the relationship between creating two and three dimensional art pieces improves the conceptual understanding of geometry and other mathematical concepts such as ratio and proportion.
Schools with strong arts programs often are the leaders in rising test scores. These schools are often more inquiry-oriented, more project based, more demanding of high standards, and more focused on continuous improvement processes that lead to excellence. The arts also provide engaging and motivating interest points into academic study for many students who do not otherwise thrive in our schools. As a person who participated in football, wrestling, and track in high school, attended college to study mathematics on a football scholarship and spent most of my adult life in education in one form or another, I can say that the arts are what has made life worth living by deepening my connections with others and my spiritual relationship.
Crook County Schools have a variety of art, music, and drama opportunities for students. We are also in the process of developing new opportunities for students including the creation of a winter and spring concert series with the assistance of the Crook County Foundation, the Schools Foundation, as well as many of our music, art, and other staff members. The concept is to not only have high level professional performers give fund-raising concerts for our arts programs in the schools and community, but to also have them work with our students during the school day in classroom and workshop settings. On concert night, student artists would display their work and student performing artists would participate in the performance.
The Americana program is another example of a developing opportunity for students at the middle and high school level that is now in the third year of implementation with the generous assistance of community partners and recently augmented by Brooks Resources. Look for our upcoming edition of the Focus on Crook County Schools for more information about our school art, music, and drama programs.
Watch the Central Oregonian for the dates and times of the many concerts, play productions, and other art events in our schools in the upcoming holiday season. Come and enjoy the events, see the extraordinary performances of our students, and share the spirit of the season through the arts in our community and schools. Check with the principals in our schools or me if you would like to volunteer or otherwise help support our Music, Art, and Drama Programs. Please support all of the children in our community to make their own connections through the arts.
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