Art teachers tout activities

“Youth Art Month” is an annual March observance to emphasize the value of art education for all children. In honor of this, there are a variety of activities being planned and carried out in Jay Schools.

If you visit the Jay County Public Library you will see a sampling of art work from several schools displayed in showcases. A few grade levels are writing letters to legislators, school board members, and others who affect curriculum in the schools, to describe for them the learning that takes place in the art room and how this will help them in the future.

A regional art show is being planned at Arts Place. This show is open to students in kindergarten through 12th grade and will display work from not only the Jay School Corporation, but also several surrounding school districts. This art show will run from April 30 through May 19.

Also in April, a clay artist will provide a clay workshop for fourth grade students at East Elementary and Judge Haynes Elementary. This is thanks to funding from The Portland Foundation and their teacher creativity mini-grant.

The focus in the art classroom is no longer entirely on production of artwork (as it may have been in past years). The Indiana Academic Standards for the Visual Arts require that the following content areas be addressed in the classroom: History, criticism, aesthetics, careers and community, production, integrated studies, and technology.

As art teachers, we work within these areas to teach K-12 students to develop not only their artistic skills, but also to become creative problem solvers, and to value the fine arts.

Please take the time to ask the children you know about what they are learning in the art room. You may be surprised to hear about the variety of projects and concepts being taught.

Sincerely,

Kathy Ayers, Jan Hurst, Liz Lawson, Leslie Newton and Cindy Rudrow — art teachers in the Jay School Corporation

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