Posted Saturday December 14 2013 at 5:42 pm
in Education
"Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy, it's the universal language of mankind."
I teach music/performing arts at the Henderson Inclusion Elementary School in Dorchester, MA. I believe music opens up connections to the student's soul, mind and body. It enables all to communicate in a universal language. Using a UDL approach, all students are included to find their voice.
I support literacy by communicating songs, stories, history and ideas through music and performance. My arts team and students create, plan and present musical theater using many ways to represent a theme. Using multiple modalities, (aural, visual, and kinesthetic) we make meaning out of complex ideas. The performances are shown and shared to a wide audience. Our auditorium is packed to capacity.
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Posted Friday December 13 2013 at 09:59 am
in Education
I use theatre techniques as tools for all students to deeply engage in content, making their own meaning as part of a student-centered, strengths-based community of artists and learners.
Theatre in the classroom is much more than putting on a play. It is an opportunity for students to express their ideas and connections to the curriculum, take on others' perspectives, build non-cognitive skills like grit, tenacity, and self-control, and strengthen 21st century skills like communication and collaboration. Creating theatre is intrinsically inclusive, generating opportunities for students of all abilities to take positive risks and showcase new skills. As students perform and interpret original work, they naturally build expressive and analytic skills necessary for success academically and beyond.
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Posted Wednesday December 11 2013 at 10:58 pm
in Education
VSA MA COOL Schools seeks a visual arts teaching artist to create an arts-integrated program with teachers in grades K0 - 1st grade in a school in Mattapan, MA. The program will run from January - June, 2014 one day a week from 8am - 4pm.
Requirements
Candidates should have demonstrated experience in visual arts and a minimum of two years experience teaching school-aged children (grades pre-k to 2) in a public school setting. We are particularly interested in candidates who have experience working with students with disabilities and English Language Learners. The candidate should be comfortable interacting with school administration and teachers. Strong oral and written communication skills and an ability to work as part of a team are necessary. Candidates must also be committed to on-going professional development as an arts practitioner and educator and to participating in other VSA Massachusetts community events.
Please send a resume and cover letter providing more information on your artistic and professional experience, and sample lesson plan/curriculum to education@vsamass.org by January 1, 2014.
VSA MA COOL Schools Program
We believe the arts provide lenses that are unique and give students an opportunity to learn and express what they know in alternative ways. Our collaborative model provides teachers with an opportunity to engage their students through the arts, see their students responding in new ways, and experience content, skills, or concepts from the unique perspective found through the arts.
In COOL programs, artists collaborate with classroom teachers to create arts-integrated learning experiences for students of all abilities. The teaching artist and classroom teachers collaborate to address specific learning standards and Individual Education Plan (IEP) goals through arts-integrated teaching. Our program promotes the arts as an alternative way to experience teaching and learning. VSA MA works with the artists and teachers to focus on developing teaching strategies inherent in the arts to include every student and support their learning in the arts as well as in other academic subject areas through the arts.
