The Best of Arts in Education

Check out these Edutopia reports on the arts in public education:

Articles

"Room to Grow: A School on the Subcontinent Celebrates Creativity and Environmentalism"
Read about this school that uses dance and song to help build pride for impoverished children in the hardscrabble farmlands of rural India (June 2008).

"Chalk One Up for the Arts: A Record-Breaking Coloring Project"
Schools and community pull together for the world's largest chalk drawing (visible from space!) in this city where formal arts instruction has all but disappeared. (February 2008).

"Imagining the Ocean: Art Mixes Well with Marine Science"
Integrating the mystery of the ocean with writing, painting, and drawing, creates a learning experience that helps spark students' interest in science and also taps into students' imaginations. (November 2008).

"How To: Teach the Sea from the Land"
This article includes lessons that mix science, writing, and art to help bring the ocean into the classroom (November 2008).

"Horror High: The Berea High School Visual Effects and Design Class"
Teenagers enroll in an art course that puts them to work in a professional special effects studio (January 2008).

"India Links: A Circus Visits a School in Rural India "
Students at the Puvidham Learning Centre join Californian clowns in some playful learning (July 2008).

"Writing Aloud: Staging Plays for Active Learning"
Theater projects that encourage students to invest in their writing (August 2008).

"Beyond the Basics: Super Subs Bring the Arts to Underserved Kids"
These unusual substitute teachers offer a free day of curriculum-expanding fun through the arts to schools with underserved children (July 2008).

"Reading Round Table: Literature Circles Expand Thought"
Discussing books in themed groups encourages deep thinking and a love of reading (February 2008).

"Arts: Wherefore Art?"
Predictions about arts in education for the 2007 school year show that local community support may be the hero of arts education (September 2007).

"Straight Shooting: Depicting Their World with Photography"
Foster-care kids explore their environment and themselves through art (April 2007).

"Online Art Appreciation: An Interdisciplinary Approach"
Explore the online resources available for an arts-integrated curriculum (August 2007).

"Ruth Asawa: 'Art Is for Everybody'"
Read about this fierce and longtime champion of accessible arts education (February 2007).

"Creative License: Using Art as a Medium for a Well-Rounded Education"
A school that interweaves arts and research to help students learn how they learn (July 2006).

"Poetry in Motion: The Mystery of Creativity, Unraveled"
QuickMuse.com allows students to witness the creative writing process as it unfolds (April 2007).

"Cross Training: Arts and Academics Are Inseparable"
The arts at one Boston school are central to the mission of educating students in math, science, and the humanities. On this page, you'll also see an Edutopia video (October 2006).

"Make a Sketch: The Importance of Art in Education"
The importance of arts education, its battle with academic subjects, and how to add a bit of art to the classroom every day (June 2005).

"From Trash to Treasure: Reusing Industrial Materials for School Art Projects"
The Trash for Teaching program works with schools to help the environment while offering teachers materials for creative classroom projects (October 2007).

"Opera Hits a High Note: Student-Outreach Efforts Tap Technology"
To ignite a love of opera in younger viewers, the New York Metropolitan Opera reaches out to students and teachers with special high-definition, satellite-broadcast screenings in local theaters (October 2008).

"Lighting the Way: Pictures Help People See from Another Point of View"
A program called Sound Shadows uses photography as a learning tool -- and a revelation -- for visually impaired students (July 2007).

"Drawing Art into the Equation: Aesthetic Computing Gives Math a Clarifying Visual"
An evolving teaching method applies the theory and practice of art to computing and problem solving (November 2005).

"Loud and Clear: Students Find Their Voices Through Multimedia"
Southern California's San Fernando Education Technology Team focuses on learning by doing, and speaks to students' fascination with technology and all things digital (July 2002).

Edutopia.org Blog Posts

"The Choreography of Calculus: Using the Arts to Comprehend Content"
Jim Moulton covers the Juice Conference and "creative economy" (January 2008).

"Pictures Worth More Than 1,000 Words: Online Classroom Displays"
Suzie Boss describes a worldwide discussion about classroom displays (April 2008).

"Teaching with Visuals: Students Respond to Images "
Suzie Boss discusses how classroom visuals help students understand math a bit better (November 2008).

"arts@newman: A Creative Effort to Unravel Educational Knots"
Stephen Hurley blogs about his own efforts to tie art content into his seventh-grade classroom (October 2007).

"The Art Zone: The National Gallery of Art"
Diane Demée-Benoit covers the resources found online through the National Gallery of Art, in Washington, DC (October 2006).

Video

The Sound of Learning: Albano Berberi
Assistive technology helps a blind computer science student and devoted gamer pursue his passions (2008).

Creatively Speaking, Part One: Sir Ken Robinson on the Power of the Imaginative Mind
The internationally renowned innovation consultant calls for transformation, not just reformation, of public education (2008).

Creatively Speaking, Part Two: Sir Ken Robinson on the Power of the Imaginative Mind
Creativity guru Sir Ken Robinson shares his vision for a new way of educating children (2008).

Canadian Kaleidoscope: Brookfield High School
At a multicultural high school in Ottawa, technology-lite tablet PCs open new worlds for students (2008).

Animating Dreams: ACME Animation Program
An exploration of the connection between animation mentors and high school students through a program that allows students to correspond via videoconferencing and the Internet. (2006)

On the Road: John Lennon Educational Tour Bus
This program gets bands out of the classroom or garage and onto the road as high school students shoot video and mix tracks for their own music videos (2006).

Art Works: Boston Arts Academy
This Massachusetts school allows students to focus on and grow through their artistic passions, while covering the basics for student success (2006).

Assistive Technology: Lukas Bratcher
In 2005, an Edutopia crew shadowed a high school student in Spokane, Washington, as he used assistive technology throughout the day, and during his various school-music sessions. (2005)

Instruments of Learning: Bay Shore Schools
Bay Shore, New York, students are introduced to music theory at a young age to deepen their understanding in other core areas. (2004)

San Fernando Education Technology Team: A Community's Youths Express Their Voice Through Multimedia
This southern California school program helps Latino students deliver powerful messages through video production and the Web (2002).