Future Teachers for the Arts

Our Thoughts

2011-04-18T11:03:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,

We have been working on this project for an entire semester of college and we have learned quite a bit.

In class, we have discussed the lack of funding in schools in the Rochester area. One of the schools with the greatest budget deficit for the coming year is the School Without Walls. Dr. Jones received an email stating this and she shared it with the class to much shock and dismay. While discussing budgetary cuts, the arts in schools would always appear in the conversations, as many of our classmates are music and art education majors.
In her last lecture, Dr. Jones had us look at the differences in rigid, strict public schools ( many of us attend these) versus the liberal, free schools (such as the School Without Walls and the Albany Free School). Many of our classmates, along with ourselves, believed that the school that included the arts would be the most attractive, even if the teaching methods were unconventional. She also brought up the cycle that our education has gone through, from the very strict beginnings to John Dewey's progressive school and back to our public school system. The arts may be eliminated now, she said, but when we realize that no one is creative anymore, they will resurface, shifting us back towards the free school and John Dewey's philosophy.

Our steps toward creating a need for the arts in schools were small, but greatly appreciated and very satisfying. We would certainly do it all again, from our rough beginnings to our smooth center to our fight for our right to perform and through our successful performance. The School Without Walls has expressed an interest in working with us again in the future, and we would absolutely love to! They are all such wonderful people and the students are amazing. This school is truly a diamond in the rough educational environment.

Hopefully, in the future, others will take up our mantel and see the values in funding the arts in our public schools.

"If music be the food of love, play on." ~ William Shakespeare

~ Joelle and Ebony

We Did It!

2011-04-16T16:52:00.000-07:00

Hello Readers,

We have had a successful concert for the School Without Walls. All of the groups did a fantastic job and we ran out of programs (We had 75 printed!)! Most importantly, we were able to raise $200 for the school and it's arts program as well as what ever else it may need. We will be mailing the check later in the week, so if you would like to donate, but didn't get to the concert, please find myself or Ebony.

Thank you so much for your support!

~ Joelle

The School Without Walls

2011-04-15T12:53:00.000-07:00

Hello Readers,

Today was a very exciting day, as Ebony and I went to visit the School Without Walls. We were really amazed at what we learned and saw.

Firstly, we waited for the principal, Dr. Owens, to arrive. While we waited, we took in the central hub of the school. Right after entering the building, we found ourselves in a large, open space with paintings on the walls done by students. Accompanying the paintings was the mission statement of the school and many inspirational posters. It was in this space that we learned that the School Without Walls has been in operation for 40 years!

The central area had tables where groups of students were sitting and talking. Ebony and I were surprised by the number of students who were walking around and sitting in the central area. Shouldn't they be in class? But, thinking back to the free school philosophy, we remembered that the students are given free rein to learn where and when and how they want. What we were also amazed by was the diversity among the students. All of the students range from 10th to 12th grade and they are from all different racial backgrounds. I was surprised to not only see African American students, but also Caucasians, Latinos, and Asian students.

Upon Dr. Owens' arrival, Ebony and I were introduced to Winston, a member of the board and a teacher at the school. We came back later to talk with him about his classes and students. The student who escorted us was very willing to discuss his feelings for the school, openly stating that it wasn't for him, as he liked having more structure, but he also like the relaxed attitude of the school and the time built into the school day to just 'chill'.

We then returned to Dr. Owens' office where she praised our efforts for helping her school. She also informed us that all of the donations we received would be put into a sort of slush find, to help with the costs of anything they may need in the future. Before we left, she took down the concert information to forward to her teachers, thanked us profusely and hugged us both.

Back to Winston's room we went. He had just finished his Activist 101 class and explained to us that the class was hoping to go to New Orleans to build houses for Habitat for Humanity. He also stated that a graduation requirement of the school was that each student had to participate in 75 hours of community service A YEAR in order to teach them the importance of giving back to the community. He also expressed an interest with working with us again next year and praised our efforts for putting on a benefit concert, a rather large endeavor. Winston will be attending the concert tomorrow.

We left right after that, meeting a very courteous group of students as we left the building. I would love to go back to the School Without Walls, as it is truly a remarkable place of learning. It think Ebony would agree!

See you tomorrow!

~ Joelle

Benefit Concert Saturday!

2011-04-14T13:25:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

We have reach an agreement with the Theater Department, so we will be in A13 in the Nazareth College Arts Center at 6pm!

We had our final dress yesterday, and it was really excellent! The show should be pretty fun and enjoyable, hopefully you'll agree. All three groups have worked extremely hard on their pieces and their hard work really shows. The show runs a little over an hour with no intermission.

Remember that all of the donations collected at the door will be donated to the Rochester School Without Walls. Speaking of the School Without Walls, Ebony and I will be visiting it tomorrow afternoon, and I will be sure to tell you all about it. I am really excited to see how it works and what the students are like. Maybe we'll even see some student art!

I'll keep you posted!

~ Joelle

Problems

2011-04-11T20:09:00.000-07:00

Hi Readers,

I am writing this at a late hour with T minus 5 days and counting.

We are having some major issues with the room we booked for the upcoming performance. The Theater Department has it's second weekend of Babes in Arms this coming weekend. We were originally told that this was not going to be a problem, as we are having our show @ 6 and theirs begins @ 8. We had a rehearsal in A13 last Wednesday and everything went fine until one of the theater professors came down and told us that we needed to be quiet. So, we quieted down and the issue was resolved.

We have recently received an email stating that we need to move our performance to another location, as we are too loud and will probably interrupt the mic check that has to begin at 7 on Saturday. They wish to open the doors at 7:30 for Babes. The issue is that we will probably be about an hour and 15, though probably less. Maybe about an hour and 5 to 10. Final dress is Wednesday, so the approximate running time will be determined then. So, instead of shifting their mic check schedule back10 minutes, they want us to move or be gone by 7. End of story.

Here are the problems with moving:

1. It's Springfest weekend, meaning that everything else is booked until late.
2. We don't like any of the other performance venues acoustically and mood-wise.
3. The Men's Volleyball Nationals are occurring @ 8 across from one of the possible venues and there is no way we could compete noise level-wise.
4. We have already published and posted posters for this event and would hate to kill more trees.
5. Many of the performers have family coming from far away (My parents are making the 3 hour drive to see it) and it would be horrible to cancel/change the time so that they wouldn't be able to come.
6. IT'S 5 DAYS BEFORE THE CONCERT!!!!! The Theater people should have checked the schedule a while ago to see that we had booked the space. We booked it back in February!
7. The other two groups amy not be able to perform with us at another time.
8. The Activist Project is due April 22 (next week), so it needs to be done before then.

Also, all of the groups have put in so much time, it would be a shame ot cut some of the numbers, though, it could be done.

Any Suggestions? We could really use your help and support right now!

Thanks so much!

~ Joelle

Why is Music Important?

2011-04-07T16:23:00.000-07:00

Hello Readers,

You may be wondering why the three of us are making such a fuss about music. Is it really something more than background noise that we listen to in our cars and homes?

It sure is! Music is one of the only places that connects the listener to an aesthetic experience, or a feelingful experience that causes a reaction to beauty, not emotion. It also, though, is a wonderful way to express inner emotions in a way that everyone, everywhere can understand. There are many other reasons to support the arts in school.

Here are a few websites that we thought supported the arts in schools:

http://www.marthalakecov.org/~building/strategies/arts/dickson_why_arts.html

http://www.keepartsinschools.org

http://www.nammfoundation.org/support-music/us-education-secretary-arne-duncan-stresses-need-well-rounded-curriculum-his-march-9th

http://www.nammfoundation.org/system/files/SMBrochure_eng.pdf

Lastly, we thought that those of you who are thinking of attending the benefit concert, which is only about a week away, would like to see the school that you will be helping. Here is the website for the Rochester School Without Walls:

http://www.schoolwithoutwalls.org/7_9school.html

Thank you so much for your continued support!

~ Joelle

Performance Information

2011-03-24T11:55:00.000-07:00

Hello Readers,

As stated in an earlier post, the benefit performance of Note to Self, Fermata Thin Air, and Malestrom is approaching us very quickly. Here are a few details that you can expect if you plan to come:

Malestrom is the newest Nazareth a cappella group. They will be opening the show with a few of their pieces (which sound great from what I've heard!) Fermata is a newer a cappella group at Nazareth, having been active for about two years now. They are co-ed and very talented with a flair for tight harmonies and entertaining songs.

Lastly, the headliner, Note to Self, the Nazareth College Glee Club, which is celebrating it's first anniversary! I, along with a few of my friends, began this club during my Freshman year of college as a tribute to the music in everyone. Many school singing groups are selective, while Note to Self is willing to take anyone and every Undergrad with no audition needed. What better group could there be to spread the love of music to the School without Walls!

The theme of the performance will be music through the years, with Note to Self singing songs from many decades, covering classics like Tina Turner and *Nsync. It should prove to be a great show that should appeal to all audience members. It will be performed at Nazareth College on April 16th at 6pm in A13, one of the smaller theaters. Donations for School without Walls will be free-will and are accepted at the door.

Please come for some great music and to support a very worthy arts program!

Yours in Music,

Joelle

We're getting Excited! How about You?

2011-03-24T11:46:00.000-07:00

Hello Readers,

We are getting very close to the benefit performance! Ebony, Ellen, and I are all very excited about having three excellent groups help us raise money for a very worthy organization.

Here's a little background about School without Walls. This school is modeled after the free schools of thinking, with the environment being molded to the child instead of having the child conform to the school. The faculty and staff of School without Walls are very dedicated to developing each students' personal and academic skill in order to build life-long learners, explorers, and problem solvers. The classes are not entirely traditional, as they deal with the personalized relationships of all of the students that attend the school as well as the Rochester community.

We are very excited to be contributing to their ongoing journey towards educating the whole child, and we hope you are too!

Yours in Education,

Joelle

Post # 3: Now We're Going Places!

2011-03-03T17:25:00.000-08:00

Hello Readers,

When last I left you, we had not heard from the teachers from the School Without Walls who were organizing a fundraising concert. We still have not heard from them, so we are taking another route. I also mentioned in that post that we were thinking of having a concert on campus that would benefit the school.

This concert would include two a cappella groups: Fermata Thin Air and Malestrom, as well as the glee club on campus: Note to Self. As I am acting secretary of the glee club, I brought it to my other officers' attentions that many schools are going without art programs due to lack of funding. One of them is School Without Walls. My partner for the activist project, Ebony, has gotten in contact with the middle school principle and he is interested in receiving any funds that we may be able to generate. With the glee club and the school behind us, we were a go! Well, one thing was left. The UA of Nazareth College...

While NAz is very active community service-wise, I had no clue if a benefit concert would be allowed. I email a couple of the student members and did not receive a response. I then went to Mrs. Jane Kelly, the woman in charge of many campus activities, and she approved the the project!

In other words... WE ARE A GO!!!!

I will be sure to keep you posted on the progress of the glee club as they prepare for their performance as well as that of the School Without Walls.

Until next time,

Joelle

Blog #2: Beginning Our Project

2011-02-17T11:45:00.000-08:00

Hello Readers,

We have made first contact!

Our professor, Dr. Jones, attended a school board meeting for Schools Without Walls here in Rochester last month and she heard that they were organizing a concert for their art programs. She talked with the organizing teachers after the meeting and informed them that she had a few students who where interested in helping fund arts programs in local schools.

Upon doing some digging, we came across the school website and Ebony got in contact with both the Middle and High School principals. The Middle school principal has been very helpful in giving us the names of the two organizing teachers... now if they would only get back to us...

Ebony will be calling the schools tomorrow to see if we could get a phone number or email address to one or both of the teachers so that we can help with the process of organizing the concert.

I have been thinking about possibly looking into a fundraising concert on campus using the glee club, Note to Self, and two a cappella groups: Fermata Thin Air and Malestrom. I am emailing people in the UA asking a few questions about how a club could go about doing something like this. This may or may not work, but we'll see! It doesn't really seem to be that complex, but I may be missing something in my calculations.

Until next time,

Joelle

First Post: Who We Are and What We Want To Do

2011-01-16T09:05:00.000-08:00

The future teachers of America are facing many problems as they struggle to enter their fields. One of the most disturbing to us is the disappearance of the art programs in schools. Most of this is not due to lack of interest or the lack of able teachers, but due to the budget cuts that all schools are facing nation-wide. This blog is going to describe the journey of three future teachers and what they're going to do to help save the arts in schools.

So, who are we and why are we doing this?

We are currently enrolled in Nazareth College of Rochester, NY and we are taking a class called the History and Philosophy of Education. Our professor wants us to be active participants in the future of our field and create a project to change the schools and the people around us. We were put into groups based upon our interests and the three of us are very excited about what is going to happen in the next semester.

We are Joelle Lachance, Ellen Sadler, and Ebony Edwards, and all three of us will blog about our experiences at different times to let you, our readers, know about our progress in our project.

A little information about me personally: I am Joelle and I am a sophomore Music Education Major. I hope to teach Middle School choir upon graduation. I come from a small hamlet called Fly Creek, which is outside of Cooperstown, NY, home of the Baseball Hall of Fame. I have been drawn to music and the arts at a young age and it pains me (Not just because my future profession depends upon it) that schools are cutting the arts as they have truly made me the person I am today.

My other group members will tell you about themselves when they publish their first posts.

Project Ideas:

Some of our current ideas include a possible benefit concert using Nazareth's glee club, Note to Self, and one of the a capella groups, Fermata Thin Air. This concert would occur in April. Another idea we have is going into schools and discussing with teachers, administrators, parents, and students the importance of having the arts in schools and in life in general. We may work with other existing groups, such as Schools Without Walls, and Art Peace to get involved in their activities that fund the arts. Our last idea is to have a CD, Tape, Video, Record, and Art Supply drive in which the donated items will be given to a school in need. Of course, in order to get started, we're going to have to make some connections with local schools and their administration.

We don't know what's in store, but it should be quite an adventure!

Until next time, please remember: "Music, the greatest good that mortals know, And all of Heaven we have below" - Joseph Addison "Song for St. Cecilia's Day".

~ Joelle