ALJ Enjoys the Arts!!!

Amelia L. Johnson High School has been enjoying our art performances. We started off with the Alabama Blues Project coming to town and just recently saw Math in Motion. Everyone got involved and had such a great time. Just look at our photos!!!

National Teacher of the Year

Here is a 5-minute video clip of Margaret Spelling interviewing Andrea Peterson, the 2007 National Teacher of the Year. Ms. Peterson is a music teacher. For more information on her, click here.

Here is another 5-minute clip which shows Ms. Peterson in action.

Arts' Workshop at ALJ

Thanks to Donna, Mary, and Sharon for bringing some art into our world...

On October 22nd, the Alabama Arts Alliance for Education came to Amelia Love Johnson High School in Thomaston, Al. and brought a little movement and creativity to our teachers. We had such a good time...just look at our pictures....

How to Start Posting

If you are reading this post, you have taken the first step towards telling the story of the arts program in your school and being able to read about creative friends in other schools are doing. When we first started this blog, I composed a post with instructions. You can click here to see all of that.

Please know if there is anything I can do to help you along this journey in making the arts a key component in your school, I am only a phone call or e-mail away!

It has been a while since we have had a post here, so I will jump in...

Last spring, the Music Educator's National Conference started something a little new bu inviting various musical groups from around the country to post videos to YouTube. One elementary school began their presentation with a narration that I found particularly inspiring, so I wrote and asked the music teacher for a copy of it. The narration, and its author, are here:

There is a distinct need to express feelings about music education. We take pride in every music educator, because quite frankly, they are doing more than simply teaching music, they are the ones inspiring young lives to gain a sense of who or what they are. We must continue to focus education on the whole child. We cannot allow our vision of education to narrow. We must continue to provide opportunities for the creative mind to grow and flourish. Music allows the human spirit to take risks without fear of being wrong. Music permeates everything we do. Music is everywhere we are. The wondrous threads of music weave through the tapestry of our lives. Without it, the tapestry becomes a rag, without value, easily discarded.It is human nature to seek for that which is beautiful. But if left uneducated, human nature will find artistic forms at the base levels. Not because it seeks for art there, but because it doesn't know where else to find it. Good music raises us up to higher levels. It allows us to find beauty in life. It strenghthens us to stand firm against the winds of adversity and rise to more than we dreamed we could ever be.

Thanks to:
Sherryl Cazier
Centerville 402-6100
Choral Director

Let's Hear It for Louisiana!

Improve education, says Michael Kaiser, president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, by supporting Louisiana’s state senator Sharon Weston Broome’s Senate Bill 299. If passed, every public school in Louisiana would have music and arts programs.

Studies have found that students provided with the opportunity to participate in music and arts programs are less likely to dropout, score higher on standardized tests, have better behavior, and are more tolerant. Research by the Americans for the Arts finds that students participating in arts programs are:

• Four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement;
• Four times more likely to participate in a math and science fair;
• Three times more likely to hold a class office; and
• Three times more likely to win an award for school attendance.

The full article is here.

"My Bridge to Terabithia"

Students in grades 7-12 at Amelia Love Johnson High School in Thomaston created their own Bridge to Terabithia. After reading this story in play form and watching the DVD, students were asked to create their own magical place to escape from the everyday world. Students wrote a short story describing this place, then drew a picture of it and finished their project with watercolors. We put all of their work in the halls. They really loved having them up for everyone to see.