Every Friday of the school year, the entire student body assembles in an open forum that allows students to become active participants in their education as they grapple with social and political issues that affect students and their ability to succeed, with issues of discipline, or with school policy. Each has something important to tell us about satisfying the needs of the young as we prepare them to become contributing citizens and humane beings. In 1996 Linda Frye Burnham published a list of questions she hoped would spark a dialogue between artists and educators. Linda is editor of High Performance Magazine, a publication that no longer appears in printed form, but continues as an on-line publication were I serve as a contributing editor. Learn to share the power, involve others in the process, take your lead from the artist, create a partnership between yourself and your students.
Artists often work in collaboration with divergent community groups and interest.
The expressive arts are about human communications on a personal level and can help teachers learn ways to trust that they will get what they expect and to expect success. Learn to trust your students so they can learn to trust you. Find a reason to praise each student every day. Tell them, show them, involve them so all learning styles are addressed. When it comes to the expressive arts, it is the process that offers opportunities for transformation within the individual and the institution.