by Dennis Harter
dennish@isb.ac.th
Over the past few weeks middle school students have performed in orchestra, honor choir, and band concerts. Their art work was on display in the exhibit, Interplay, showcased in the theater lobby. This week, many of our students performed over three shows in the production of “Into the Woods”. In a couple of weeks, on June 1st, we will host a Choral concert, featuring our MS Choir students.
I sincerely hope that you have had a chance to see these shows as they have come up. Each have been a showcase of the wonderful arts program we have in our middle school. That said, the performances and exhibits are only windows into the learning that happens when students are involved in the arts.
At ISB, we value the learning experiences students have in studying the arts. Students are required to take a semester each of performing and visual arts each year of middle school. Most students reach beyond that, staying with music (band, choir, or orchestra) throughout their middle school time.
In a study conducted in 2007 by Harvard Project Zero researchers, Ellen Winner and Lois Hetland, Winner and Hetland identified eight “studio habits of mind” that are common of student experiences when they study the arts. The habits included: development of artistic skill, persistence, expression, and connecting learning to life outside school, all important attributes of artists (Winner & Hetland, “Art for our Sake,” 2007).
Winner and Hetland also noted 4 other habits that were commonly seen in arts classes that were rarely seen in other parts of the learning curriculum, yet so valued in life.
They state,
“we were particularly struck by the potentially broad value of four other kinds of thinking being taught in the art classes we documented: observing, envisioning, innovating through exploration, and reflective self-evaluation.” (Winner & Hetland, 2007)
When we imagine the futures of our young people, as teachers and parents, we recognize these types of thinking as integral to their long-term success.
Our continued dedication to ensuring students have positive experiences in the arts as well as the humanities, maths, languages, science, and physical education is a commitment to students thinking, creating, and self-evaluating throughout their lives.
The performances and exhibitions you see at ISB are a culmination of dedication, learning, growth, and critical thinking skills that our teachers foster regularly in their classes. As you sit in the audience or tour the exhibit, appreciate the talent and hard work being showcased. Also remember the value that arts learning brings to our young people and to our society.
Just another reason to enjoy the shows!