What?In Elementary school, I can remember several instances when the Arts were integrated into the curriculum of our class. In fourth grade I moved to Utah, and my new teacher had us create a wooden portfolio of the work we had done throughout the year (or in my case, while I was there). We were asked to draw pictures (in pencil) on one of the boards, and then were shown how to wood-burn the pictures onto the board. It was a project that had to be carefully monitored, but it is the first memory I have of that new school, and I had a blast!

The aforementioned school also had a dance assembly—every class in the school would learn two songs throughout the year that they would dance to, and at the end of the year the parents came to see us all dance. Another instance of art integration was when I was in sixth grade; every sixth-grade class was required to put on one of Shakespeare’s plays, once for the student body and three times for the parents. Some students acted, others did backstage work; I was chosen to be Juliet, so I had a relatively large roll…….

Due to my childhood experiences, I already knew that I wanted to integrate arts into my classroom; I just didn’t know that there was an actual term for that I wanted to do. Reading the assigned text gave me lots more ideas about possible activities and ways to integrate art into my future classroom, such as using music to teach math equations and having my students act out scenes from books to give them a deeper comprehension for what is going on in the story.

So What?
The arts have had a large impact on my life, as you can see from the “What?” section. My favorite teachers always found ways to make at least some of their lessons interesting, integrating pictures, games, music, and fictional books into lessons that had the potential to be much more boring. My least favorite teachers seemed to think that having us sit silently at our desks, obediently writing lecture notes while listening to them drone monotonously, was the most effective way to teach—go figure, I don’t remember their names or even what grade they taught me in; I just remember the horror I hope to never return to.

As I said before, I have always known that if I ever taught, I would be a teacher that integrated the arts heavily into my curriculum. I feel that every subject has the potential to be interesting if you can find surprising and fun ways of introducing it. It follows that these are the lessons our students will remember, because they enjoyed learning in that capacity.

Now What?
First off, however, I need to learn more about how teachers today integrate arts into their classes. By that I mean, what is acceptable, and what isn’t—how much is too much and how much is just enough. I honestly feel that every GREAT teacher needs experience backing them—so new teachers should be allowed a touch-and-go period to get a feel of what techniques work for them and which don’t. The experience will come as they discover new ways to integrate the arts that work for their students, and work for them.