Reflection #1

WHAT?: Growing up I never really enjoyed art like: drawing, painting, etc. I never really had that artistic ability. I have had a lot more experience with dance and that type of art. I remember some times in elementary school where we would do little art projects here and there, mainly for holidays. Other then that I do not really remember any other art offered in school. I learned reading through the first 3 chapters in the book that it is really important to integrate art in my classroom. I had no idea that art could really have an effect on every single subject in school. Also, I never knew that it could effect a child's self-esteem. I know that as an elementary school teacher I am going to integrate creative arts as much as I can in my classroom. I think it is important to even integrate art in with your other subjects like math, science, English, etc.

SO WHAT?: Growing up as a little girl I loved dancing and music. I think that had the biggest impact on my life. I took dancing ever since I was 4 years old. I always walked around the house dancing, tumbling, singing, etc. My dad still today always talks about me being like that when I was little girl. I remember two of my teachers from elementary school the best. It was my third and fifth grade teacher. I think the reason that I remember them the most is because they always had a fun way of teaching every subject to us. They always came into the classroom happy and ready to teach, but they knew when they needed to be serious. The teachers that I did not care for as much I think were just the ones that made me feel like they HAD to be there to teach me, not like they wanted to. Another thing, is they were never really willing to have fun. When I become a teacher I think my main goal is to show my students that I want to be there to teach them, and that I am there because I WANT to help them not because I HAVE to be there. Also, after reading some of the research through the first couple of chapters in the book about integrating art in the classroom, I think it is very important that I always integrate art into my classroom. I think that this will have a huge impact on my students.

NOW WHAT?: In order to properly prepare me to be able to integrate art into my classroom I think that it is very important that I have a class like this one. Because right now without any background on creative arts I would not feel comfortable integrating arts into my classroom. I need to learn different projects about arts and especially on how to apply them to all the subjects in my classroom that way I can apply this when I become a teacher. Also, I am very excited for the education program in general because I think that I am going to learn so much valuable information about managing my classroom, lesson plans, types of children, etc that I will feel very prepared to have my own classroom! I am so excited!