THE COMPLETE CURRICULUM Ensuring a Place for the Arts and ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

NASBETHE COMPLETE CURRICULUMGlastonbury, Connecticut’sLanguage ProgramThe language program inGlastonbury Public Schools began in1957, and is one of the longest runningarticulated programs of any publicschool system in the country forstudents in grades 1-12. The schooldistrict, set in a middle-class suburb ofHartford, Connecticut, mandateslanguage study for all students ingrades 1-8. Spanish is taught to allstudents in grades 1-5. The firsttransition year, for students in grade 6,allows for a student to continue withSpanish or begin French. Seventh andeighth grade students have anotheroption—to begin the study of Russian.Finally, high school students have theoption of studying Spanish, French,Russian, Latin, or Japanese. In recentyears, Japanese has been offered tosome students in the elementarygrades. The instruction time rangesfrom 20 minutes twice a week forstudents in grade 1, to 45 minutes perday for students in grades 7-12.The program has four goals:• To teach students to communicatebeyond their native languagesin order to participateeffectively in the world;• To enable students to recognizewhat is common to all humanexperience and to accept thatwhich is different;• To enhance students’ ability toanalyze, compare and contrast,synthesize, improvise, andexamine cultures through alanguage and a perspective otherthan their language; and• To have students begin languagestudy as early as possible in aninterdisciplinary environment.More information can be foundonline www.foreignlanguage.org. 27the country. Thus it is important forstates to not only have in place a set ofcomprehensive standards forstudents and teachers, but to ensurethat those standards are beingimplemented in K-12 classrooms, aswell as teacher education programsthroughout the country.In a recent poll commissioned byAmericans for the Arts, more than 90percent of respondents agreed thatthe arts are vital to providing a wellroundededucation for our children.In order for teachers and administratorsto implement state standardsfor students at the classroom level, theStudy Group recommends severalstrategies that should be employed toensure success.Recommendation 6: Incorporatearts and foreign language learningin the early years into standards,curriculum frameworks, and courserequirements. Also, encourage localschool districts to incorporate thearts and foreign languages intoinstruction in the early years,whenever possible.Introducing both the arts andforeign languages to children at an earlyage is key to students’ success in thesesubjects. As studies have shown, theearlier instruction begins, the better.There are sound practical and pedagogicalreasons for beginning languagestudy in the early years. To build apopulation fluent in Chinese, Arabic,Pashtu, or other languages importantfor national security it is critical thatstudents begin some language studyearly and follow a well-articulatedlanguage program through highschool. This provides the necessaryfoundation to develop fluency in theless commonly taught languages.In a recent article on brainresearch, it was noted that “someabilities are acquired more easilyduring certain sensitive periods, or‘windows of opportunity’.… [A]nadult certainly can learn a secondlanguage and learn to speak it quitewell. However, it is much moredifficult to learn a foreign languageafter age 10 or so, and the languagewill probably be spoken with anaccent.” 25 Younger students learn asecond language by acquiringautomatic patterns and vocabulary,and they can more easily and naturallythink in the target language; olderstudents rely more on mentallytranslating from their native language,which slows down the processing ofthe target language.Still, one of the key attributes of asuccessful language program is that itsgraduates are able to use theirlanguage knowledge in later life.Research shows it is important tooffer foreign language instruction aspart of the academic curriculum in theearly grades, with continuationthrough middle and high school inorder to reach this goal.Research has also shown thebenefits of music for brain development.26 For example, brain scans revealthat almost all of the cerebral cortex isactive while a musician performs.Studies have also revealed the positiveimpact music has on improvingreading scores, as well as on subjectsthat require spatial-temporal reasoning,such as mathematics and science.Early childhood education is justbeginning to earn the recognition itdeserves as a critical key to studentachievement in later years. Recently,federal, state, and local policy andpractice has begun to recognize the20
Ensuring a Place for the Arts and Foreign Languages in America’s Schoolsbenefits of early intervention, insteadof waiting to intervene until after achild has fallen behind. As with reading,the more learning that occurs inpreschool and the early elementarygrades in the arts and foreign languages,the less likely our nation’schildren are to be “left behind” and theless likely we are to leave half thechild’s education behind.Use of TechnologyMaking use of technology has become an indispensable tool for teachersof both the arts and foreign languages, helping to bridge the opportunity gapfor students attending rural and high-poverty schools. For the arts, access tomajor museums across the country—and the world—is now commonplace.Students and teachers can now access even the Library of Congress, whichprovides a wealth of information for learning. Distance learning programshave also contributed to a new level of access to the arts and foreign languages,while many individual websites provide databases that allow teachersto search on lesson plans. For example, the Kennedy Center’s ARTSEDGEprogram helps educators “to teach in, through and about the arts.” Thewebsite includes links to standards-based resources for curricula, lessons andactivities, as well as offsite web resources. Online courses and assessments,interactive web-based programs, and virtual cultural experiences are settingthe stage for a world of possibilities for foreign language instruction, as well.Currently, there is no K-12textbook series and few curricularprograms for continuous K-12 foreignlanguage study in the United States.Programs are left to piece togethertheir own materials, which is costly andinefficient. Arts education fares nobetter. While there is a wealth ofmaterial available through communityand philanthropic organizations andthe Internet, it may not always be anorganized curricular program that isgrade-level appropriate. State educationagencies should make instructionalmaterials available for classroomteachers, whenever possible, includingtechnology resources. In addition,state education officials shouldadvocate continued development ofcurriculum materials from thetextbook publishing industry, with afocus on textbooks and instructionalresources for students in kindergartenthrough grade 12.An important caution, however, isthat educators need to ensure thatprograms and instructional materials,especially for foreign language study,are aligned to prevent overlap forstudents—referred to as articulation.In a 1997 study by the Center forApplied Linguistics, researchers foundthat secondary school students whostudied a foreign language in elementaryschool were placed in entry-levelclasses with students who had noprior exposure to the language in 26percent of school districts.Another critical component forcurriculum and instruction in foreignlanguages is the distinction betweenteaching for performance versusteaching for appreciation and understanding.Whether at the school,district, or state level, some foreignlanguage programs focus on oralproficiency, while others are basedmore on cultural understanding. Asstated earlier, attaining high levels ofproficiency in a second language takesmany years, and most students onlyRecommendation 7: Advocatecontinued development ofcurriculum materials for the artsand foreign languages from thetextbook publishing industry.ArticulationArticulation is the process of creating continuity between elementary,middle, and secondary programs of language instruction. Articulation canbe horizontal and vertical.Horizontal articulation focuses on aligning outcomes, teaching strategies,materials, and evaluation of a particular course level, across schools andlinking with other subject areas at the grade level, while vertical articulationfocuses on providing continuous progress in students’ learning rather thanstarting over again in later years. For example, those students who beganlanguage study in elementary school should not be placed with beginners in ahigh school course. Many secondary language programs are currentlydesigned as entry-level courses for students with no previous language study.Vertical articulation focuses on the need to develop program tracks toserve the needs of students who have begun language instruction at differentlevels. 2821
Page 1 and 2: Ensuring a Place for the Arts and F
Page 19: Ensuring a Place for the Arts and F
Page 27: Ensuring a Place for the Arts and F
Page 30 and 31: NASBETHE COMPLETE CURRICULUMAppendi
Page 32: NASBETHE COMPLETE CURRICULUMPerform

THE COMPLETE CURRICULUM Ensuring a Place for the Arts and ...

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?