Posts Tagged ‘artwork’
By Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah, Chicago Tribune reporter
5:33 PM CST, February 28, 2012
Born to Draw A Childrens Drawing Program iBook
Arts programming was a factor leading to improved standardized test scores at three schools in Chicago over three years, according to a report released today by the educational arts non-profit Changing Worlds and Loyola University.
The study is just the latest calling for more arts education in Chicago Public Schools. With the district moving to a longer school day next year, the Chicago Teachers Union and parent groups like Raise Your Hand have called for more time devoted to enrichment classes like music and art and less time devoted to test preparation.
Researchers at Loyola University’s Center for Urban Research and Learning tracked test scores of 95 children enrolled in Englewood’s Goodlow Elementary Magnet School, Pilsen’s Whittier Elementary and Rogers Park’s Boone Elementary. The students were all participating in Changing Worlds’ Literacy and Cultural Connections program.
Goodlow had a predominantly African-American student body, Whittier was largely Latino, and Boone had many ethnicities within the school building.
The study found that fourth graders who started with the program in 2009 saw an 11.5 percentage point gain in composite test scores meeting or exceeding state standards by the time they finished the arts program in sixth grade in 2011. They also scored on average more than 11 percentage points higher than fourth through sixth graders at the same school who did not take part in the program, according to the study.
“As it relates to the expanded school day, the need for the arts is critical,” said Mark Rodriguez, executive director of Changing Worlds. “It’s a fact that there’s still schools within the district where art is not a common experience for all young people. But if you look at the research we’ve done and others have done, engagement in the arts has a greater impact on student academic outcomes.”
As part of its program in a dozen CPS facilities, Changing Worlds provided a literacy specialist and art teacher to each school. The art program, which lasted up to 15 weeks per year, began with students exploring their own identity and culture, then interviewing community residents and relatives, and finally delving deeper into world cultures. Along with producing visual art, dance and drama from their findings, students also submitted written pieces.
CPS says 82 percent of schools have a dedicated arts teacher, but arts advocacy groups argue that many are not certified art teachers and the arts programs offered in some schools can be as little as a once-a-year field trip.
In adopting the longer school day, CPS officials have suggested that 140 minutes should be devoted to enrichment activities like the arts, physical education and intervention or acceleration programs for first and second graders. The district has not stipulated how much extra time needs to be devoted to art and music, however, CPS recommends that time be dropped to 90 minutes for third through fifth graders and then bumped up to 120 minutes for middle schoolers.
CPS spokeswoman Becky Carroll said schools will have the discretion to use the extra time in a way that best meets the needs of their student body, which is why those decisions are being left to school leaders.
CPS has offered $100,000 grants to schools that come up with innovative ways to fill the extra 90 minutes of instruction. Rodriguez said two schools have approached his group about using Changing Worlds to add and assess arts programs within the school.
nahmed@tribune.com www.chicagotribune.com/news/education/ct-met-cps-arts-20120228,0,2307593.story chicagotribune.com Copyright © 2012, Chicago Tribune
is the theme of Sawmill Community Land Trust’s upcoming Door Show and Auction. The Show will take place on April 6th on St. Clair Winery /Bistro’s East Patio and the auction occurs on Thursday April 26th, 2012 at Hotel Albuquerque. participating artists will create their vision of the theme on 32″ x 80″ interior slab doors. The doors are intended to be blank canvases and the donors will end up with the option to hang them as art pieced of transform them into doors.
A door is a symbol of new opportunity, hope and promise.
“No place like home”
Follow the progress on Www.ElaineCiminosSudios Website as she creates the work in progress and participates in the auction.
The donations for this event goes to the Sawmill Community land Trust which is a nNGO that works to break the cycle of poverty and revitalize neighborhoods through the creation of quality, affordable housing and sustainable economic opportunities for low -to moderate income individuals and families in Bernalillo County.
We invite you to read the NYT article by Nicolas Kristof. There have been other studios that Elaine Cimino Studios has been working with who have seen the Born to Draw iBooks and have commented on the environmental aspects of the books and said they would not want to stress these type of issues in their children’s educational programming. I am glad to see that this article was published and that it gives others the courage to teach sustainability in their classrooms.
I am teaching children how to draw by shape relationships emphasizing aesthetic valuing, perception and creative expression. Showing children the historical and cultural context of how different peoples come to their beliefs systems enables children to grasp the world around them and prepares them for their uncertain futures. The affects that climate change will have on future generations is substantial and they will have their challenges to overcome because our generation will have failed them by not raises our voices to the problems all humanity faces.
Yes! we can change the world by changing our communities right where we live and teaching our children they do have a voice. There is nothing so radical as teaching a child how to draw a Koala Bear, Bottle-nosed Dolphin, or African Elephant! After Recess: Change the World By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
A BATTLE between a class of fourth graders and a major movie studio would seem an unequal fight.
So it proved to be: the studio buckled. And therein lies a story of how new Internet tools are allowing very ordinary people to defeat some of the most powerful corporate and political interests around — by threatening the titans with the online equivalent of a tarring and feathering. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/opinion/sunday/kristof-after-recess-change-the-world.html?_r=1
Lorax image print as creative commons license all right reserved by Dr Seuss
Take Ted Wells’s fourth-grade class in Brookline, Mass. The kids read the Dr. Seuss story “The Lorax” and admired its emphasis on protecting nature, so they were delighted to hear that Universal Studios would be releasing a movie version in March. But when the kids went to the movie’s Web site, they were crushed that the site seemed to ignore the environmental themes. → Read more
When the Egyptian artist Ganzeer called for international artists to support Egypt’s revolution, Polish artists were among the first to rise to the graffiti challenge Ati Metwaly, Saturday 21 Jan 2012
11 / 16Gallery
Michał Klimczyk, detail, picture courtesy of the artist
“From January 13 to 25, the streets of Egypt will see an explosion of anti-military street art. If you are a street artist elsewhere in the world, please do what you can in your city to help us. If you’re a comic book artist, a musician, or filmmaker, whatever artistic talent you have can be of big help. If you can do something before the designated date, please do! We need all the help we can get.” — Ganzeer’s blog.
When on 20 December 2011 Egyptian graphic designer and artist Ganzeer (Mohamed Fahmy) posted on his blog “Mad Graffiti Week: An Appeal to Artists Everywhere,” the news spread like wildfire. Artists from Germany, the Czech Republic, Australia, among other countries, joined the initiative. Equally, Polish artists from all around the country expressed their solidarity in creating graffiti, stencils, posters, drawings, and comics, adding their voice to Egypt’s cause.