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Show Teacher to Parent U by Betty Condie Performing teaches value of hard work My most vivid and lasting memories from school days are about the times I performed. I remember my chicken costume from grade school and my can-can costume from a Sigmund Romberg high school opera. Is there educational value in the performing arts?, Definitely! However, support for performing arts in the schools is dissolving in some communities. Increasing academic requirements and emphasis em-phasis on the "basics" is moving the arts to a secondary position in those places. Kids want to perform and they should perform. They learn a lot from it. They learn dedication from playing in the school band. They learn teamwork from the modern dance concert. They learn that top performance requires re-quires work and effort in putting a play together. They learn commitment commit-ment to a cause during all those hours of glee club practice. Those are valuable lessons. No make that invaluable lessons. What's more, virtually every stu dent in the performing arts experiences ex-periences success earned, worked-for, worked-for, sweet success. Becoming a winner win-ner is one of the most important experiences ex-periences in school and life. Students in the performing arts also learn the importance of discipline persevering in a quest. , Many of the best performing-arts programs in schools use the talents of English, speech, social studies or science teachers. They select techniques techni-ques or events from their subject areas for adaptation to a play, musical or a debate. As early as the first grade, students should be asked to dramatize a poem for a school assembly. By fourth grade, they should be auditioning for the elementary school orchestra. Fourth graders might even consult with high school teachers about the best preparation for earning a place in the high school orchestra. Performing arts are necessary, top-quality education and every community should value them, support sup-port them and, if necessary, fight for them. |
