LEARNING THROUGH THE ARTS

 A NEWSLETTER FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS OF THE ARTS

 Spring, 1996

This newsletter reflects two changes. It now comes to you before the CEC convention and it combines both post-convention information with news of coming CEC arts-related workshops and meetings. The reason for the change is an economic one, the need to reduce mailing costs (sound familiar?).

The arts were visible in Indianapolis. Brenda Robbins, a music teacher, received the Clarissa Hug Teacher of the Year Award. Brenda is the first teacher of the arts to receive this national award. Her collaboration with both music and special education teachers has brought music to the classrooms of children throughout the Leon County, Florida schools. The model program they designed was published and is listed below. Brenda has also met with members of Congress and conveyed to them the importance of the arts, as related services, for special education students. Congratulations to Brenda. Thank you for being such a strong advocate for the arts.

There were three arts-related workshops in Indianapolis. Two were designed as side-by-side poster sessions to provide a mini-arts festival atmosphere. Lynne Raiser and students from the Special Education Department of the University of North Florida, Jacksonville introduced teachers to "Reading, Writing, and the Arts." Their colorful displays and hands-on activities attracted large crowds of participants who learned ways to infuse the arts into the curriculum.

In the adjacent area, Beverly Gerber displayed large photographs of students with mental retardation engaged in their computer art creations. The photographs demonstrated the steps used to teach computer art, "Computer Art: From Classroom to Leisure Activity". The students' computer art work stimulated many questions and encouraged teachers to use computer art with their own students.

A third presentation had a creative drama component. Rey de la Cruz is a special education teacher in the Chicago, Illinois schools who uses creative drama in his teaching, He shared the results of his survey of special education and regular education teachers' views of the social skills of students with learning disabilities. His presentation was titled "Teacher Perspectives of the Social Skills Development of Children with Learning Disabilities."

"SPECIAL SESSION" - Thursday, April 4th, from 1:00 to 4:00 P.M.

For the first time, a three-hour "Special Session" will be devoted to the arts . "Learning Through the Arts" will be offered to art, special education, and general education teachers. The workshop will be filled with information, slides of students' art work, and hands-on activities. It is designed to help teachers: (1) choose art activities that provide success for special education students; (2) develop a vocabulary of art; (3) learn about feelings through classroom art activities; (4) promote social skills and self-esteem through the arts; and (5) teach academics through music, dance, drama, and art. The "Special Session" is open to CEC members and to the public at large without charge. Art teachers from around Orlando are invited to attend this workshop.

The workshop presenters will be: Beverly Levett Gerber, Professor of Special Education, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, Connecticut (with a background in special education and art education); Karenlee Alexander, Professor of Education, Bemidji State University, Bemidji, Minnesota (with a background in special education and the arts); and Lynne Raiser, Professor of Special Education (with a background in special education, language arts, and the arts) co-presenting with Sharian Deering (with a background in special education and music), University of North Florida, Jacksonville, Florida.

LECTURES:

"Enhancing and Displaying Students' Classwork" - Wednesday, April 3rd, 11:00 to 12:00 pm
Dr. Beverly Levett Gerber, Professor of Special Education, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, CT, will describe and show slides that demonstrate framing and display techniques that enhance students' work. The optical illusions of framing will be demonstrated and the "dreaded" bulletin board turned into dramatic displays.

"Project ARTS: A Program for Underserved Gifted and Talented Students"
Tuesday, April 2nd, P.M. session

"Music Therapy Educates and Captivates Students with Severe Disabilities"
Friday, April 4th, A.M. session

POSTER SESSION:

"Abracadabra! Making Magical Moments: Curriculum Enhancement in the Classroom" - Wednesday, April 3rd, 1:15 to 2:45 pm
Dr. Lynne Raiser, Professor of Special Education, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, Florida, and Sharian Deering, a music and special educator, will share their magical curricular ideas.

COLLEAGUE IDEA EXCHANGE:

"Teaching Music-Related Leisure Skills to Students with Disabilities" - Thursday, April 4th, A.M. session

"Using Dance to Integrate Exceptionalities" - Wednesday, April 3rd, A.M.

Our third meeting of the Special Interest Group for Teachers of the Arts was held during the CEC Convention on Thursday, April 6th, in the Westin Hotel. Airline schedules and competing events kept our group small, but exciting things happened nevertheless.

Brenda Robbins, who is a music therapist and the 1995 Clarissa Hug Teacher of the Year award winner, attended our meeting. She is the first teacher of the arts to receive this prestigious national award and is a wonderful advocate for the arts. Brenda and a colleague, Jane Hughes, developed a program guide, "Mainstreaming in School Music," for music and special education teachers "to bring music into the lives of all their students." Their program guide was a collaborative effort that involved many of the teachers and students from the Leon County Schools in Florida.

The meeting provided us with an an opportunity to share information about books, training programs, and our own involvement in the arts. We are looking forward to another get-together at the CEC Convention in Orlando. Our Special Interest Group for Teachers of the Arts meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 4th, 1996, from 5:00 to 6:00 in Salon 7 of the Omni Rosen Hotel . We hope you can attend because it is a great way to find out what others involved in the arts are doing.

In our last issue, we featured information about recent publications that focused on arts for special education. Here are others that should broaden our references. Please let us know about books or articles that you use and would like to share.

• " Art: Another Language for Learning " (1995), by Elaine Pear Cohen & Ruth Straus Gainer (Heinemann, Portsmouth,NH).
• "Art Educators Integrate: A Challenge for Teacher Preparation" (1994), by Doris M. Guay. Teacher Education and Special Education, Vol. 17, No. 3, 181-191.
• Creatability , Creative Arts for Preschool Children with Special Needs (1992), by Fran Herman and James Smith (Communication Skill Builders, Inc., Tucson, AZ).
• " I Can Paint " (1994), by Kate Hart (Heinemann, Portsmouth, NH).
• "Mainstreaming in School Music, K-12", A Model Program Guide for School Districts (1992), by Jane Hughes and Brenda Robbins (Leon County Schools; Tallahassee, FL).
• The Special Artist's Handbook, Art Activities and Adaptive Aids for Handicapped Students (1984), by Susan Rodriguez (previously published by Prentice-Hall, now published by Dale/ Seymour, Palo Alto, CA).
• Exceptional Children, Exceptional Art , Teaching Art to Special Needs (1992), by David R. Henley (Davis, Worcester, MA).
• Wings to Fly , Bringing Theatre Arts to Students with Special Needs (1993), by Sally Dorothy Bailey (Woodbine; Rockville, MD).

The International Special Olympics World Games brought thousands of people to New Haven and the surrounding towns of Connecticut from July 2nd to 8th, 1995. Athletes from around the world, chaperones, coaches, volunteers from all walks of life, and visitors filled the Yale Bowl for Opening Ceremonies and the events that followed. Throughout the week, the streets and harborside of New Haven were rich with the colorful uniforms of the athletes and the sounds of many languages.

Very Special Arts/ Connecticut occupied a large tent along New Haven harbor, a cool place to be in July. Rosemary Cronin, VSA/CT's Executive Director, and a group of almost 100 tireless volunteers provided an exciting art experience for over 7,000 athletes and friends. Each created a triangular banner from brilliantly colored pieces of kite material and mylar (materials were donated by "Go Fly a Kite" of East Haddam, Connecticut). Banners were hung from a special wooden trellis so they could be viewed throughout the week. Everyone admired the creative, colorful banners and appreciated VSA/CT's contribution to this special event. At the end of the Special Olympics World Games, the banners were donated to athletes for use in closing ceremonies at Southern Connecticut State University and presented to departing athletes from all over the country.

The NAEA Annual Convention will be held this year in San Francisco from March 22nd to March 26th. The theme of the convention is "A New Focus: Visual Art in the 21st Century." Presentations include progress reports from members of the NAEA task forces who are working on a visual arts research agenda, "Towards the 21st Century." One of the task forces is investigating how children learn in and through the arts. This task force is chaired by Dr. Judith Burton, Director of Art and Art Education, Teachers College, Columbia University. The research of this task force is relevant for special educators because students with learning disabilities are among those in the study.

There will be more than 700 sessions at the NAEA Convention. Only about ten focus on exceptional children. That number, albeit small, parallels our own CEC convention's number of arts-related presentations. It suggests the need for more arts related proposals submitted to CEC and for more special education/art educators to submit proposals to the NAEA. Art teachers have the interest and the need for more information about successful strategies and practices with special education students in the arts.

The Magic Kingdom, Universal Studios, and Sea World may get all the publicity, but two art museums deserve attention. The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum in nearby Winter Park houses the world's most comprehensive collection of Louis Comfort Tiffany's lamps, paintings, jewelry, blown glass, and paintings. The Cornell Fine Arts Museum (on the grounds of Rollins College in Winter Park) has over 6,000 works of art dating from the Renaissance to the present.

Let us know about other news or publications on the arts for special education students.

We will send out a newsletter before the next CEC Convention in Salt Lake City with info about the time and date of our fourth Special Interest Group meeting and presentations that focus on the arts. Please let us know if you will be making a presentation at CEC so we may publicize it for you. Send us the name of the presentation, the day, and time it will be offered.

Please share this newsletter with others who are interested in special education and the arts. We hope to see you at CEC in Orlando.

SED/Arts Organization   |   SED/Arts References   |   NAEA Special Needs Issues Group   |  CEC Special Interest Group for Teachers of the Arts