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26/7/2017

Art for Art's Sake

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Prof. Gerry Sussman said, “Being smart in the arts is the same as being smart in engineering is the same as being smart in writing is the same as being smart in anything, really. It’s the ability to manipulate all the pieces of the puzzle in your mind, try to fit them together, and when they don’t fit quite right … you sand the edges/corners and make them all fit.”

Teaching your students about art is a good idea:
It's been proven that early exposure to visual art, music, or drama promotes activity in the brain.
Art helps children understand other subjects much more clearly—from math and science, to language arts and geography.
Art nurtures inventiveness as it engages children in a process that aids in the development of self-esteem, self-discipline, cooperation, and self-motivation.
Participating in art activities helps children to gain the tools necessary for understanding human experience, adapting to and respecting others' ways of working and thinking, developing creative problem-solving skills, and communicating thoughts and ideas in a variety of ways.

The arts are not so much a result of inspiration and innate talent as they are a person's capacity for creative thinking and imagining, problem solving, creative judgement and a host of other mental processes. The arts represent forms of cognition every bit as potent as the verbal and logical/mathematical forms of cognition that have been the traditional focus of public education (Cooper-Solomon, 1995).

The British aesthetician and critic, Herbert Read, went so far as to say, "Art is the representation, science is the explanation… of the same reality" (Fowler, 1994). The arts are able to teach divergent rather than convergent thinking and encourage children to come up with different, rather than similar, solutions because the solutions to artistic problems are multiple.

The arts break through the black-and-white, true-false, memorise-that, name-this that cause Eisner concern. This kind of reasoning is far more the case in the real world, where there are often many ways to address a problem and, "An effective work force needs both kinds of reasoning, not just the standardized answer" (Fowler, 1994).

In his music advocacy speech at the 1996 Grammy Awards, Richard Dreyfuss announced, "It is from that creativity and imagination that the solutions to our political and social problems will come. We need that Well Rounded Mind, now. Without it, we will simply make more difficult the problems we face" (Dreyfuss, 1996).

The results of balancing the arts with other learning areas in the curriculum have shown that where 25% or more of the curriculum is devoted to arts courses, students acquire academically superior abilities (Perrin, 1994), demonstrating an apparent relationship between learning in the arts and other areas. Perrin also refers to long-term educational aims, saying that workers at all levels in our post-industrial society need to be creative thinkers and problem solvers and able to work collaboratively, they must be judicious risk-takers, they must be able to push themselves towards high levels of achievement, and they must have the courage of their convictions, and that arts education develop such skills. Perrin suggests that these attributes are nurtured in the arts because "the student artist (musician, dancer, visual artist, writer, or actor) learns by doing" (Perrin, 1994).

We may agree with Einstein and Iris Murdoch and also with Polanyi, that "we can know more than we can tell" (Polanyi, 1967). There are, though, other ways of "telling" besides verbal language. The arts as ways of knowing are as potentially powerful as any other form of human discourse and they are just as capable of contributing to the development of the mind on a conceptual level (p.48).

The key learning area of the arts is able to provide children with unique and multiple ways of exploring, forming, expressing, communicating and understanding their own and others’ ideas and feelings. It provides students with the skills and knowledge necessary to understand how the arts reflect and depict the diversity of our world, its cultures, traditions and belief systems. The procedures within the arts can contribute to the development of the potential of the whole child by proving children with the opportunity to:
  • Develop the full variety of human intelligence
  • Develop aesthetic awareness and perception
  • Develop the ability for creative thought and action
  • Develop an understanding of cultural change and differences
  • Develop feeling and sensibility
  • Develop physical and perceptual skills
  • Explore values, and
  • Achieve positive self-esteem (Commonwealth of Australia, 1995)

The future of this world rests upon the shoulders of its youth. It is our responsibility as adults and educators to ensure we do all in our power to aid the development of children’s potential. Equity in educational opportunity is essential if society is to tap all the possible resources in the shaping of its future, and the arts are an integral and undeniable part of this development of potential.

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    Greetings to all the families and friends of Western Heights school.
    I am truly excited at the prospect of coming to work at this wonderful school each day.
    Family:
    My wife Jacqualene is the Principal of Mangere Central. She has outstanding skills and talents in administration, curriculum design and integration of ICT into the teaching and learning programme.
    My son Tiaki is a bright boy, very keen on technology, a bit of a musician, and a very talented footballer and softballer. Tiaki was the youngest footballer to make it into the National Talent Centre, and was MVP at the South Island Softball Champs.
    I also have two adult children and two grandchildren - all in Australia.

    Western Heights school is a wonderful school, staffed with exceptional teachers and support staff; led by an outstanding Board; and supported by an enthusiastic and committed parent community.

    Career:
    I began teaching aged 19, some 41 years ago, and began my 20th year as a principal at this wonderful school in 2014.

    Principal of Tareha School                              - Napier 2 years
    Deputy Principal Prospect School                  - west Auckland 7 years
    Principal Pomaria School                               - west Auckland 7 years
    Principal Te Akau ki Papamoa School           - Bay of Plenty 3 years
    Principal Kaiapoi Borough School                 - Canterbury 8 years

    President of Waitakere Area Principals Association 2003 - 92 schools 
    Apple Distinguished Educator Award - 2009. Sponsored to Apple Headquarters in Cupertino, USA.
    Secretary Auckland Computers in Education Society
    Primary Principals’ Representative - Primary Sector Education Advisory Committee
    Waitakere City Council - Award for Outstanding Contribution to Education, 2003.
    Presenter at UNESCO Conference on Values in Education, 2002.
    Guest speaker - International Principal's Federation Conference, Auckland 2002.
    Ministry contracted trainer - Implementation of New National Administration Guidelines
    First Time Principals’ Mentor for Ministry of Education in Auckland and Christchurch.
    Mentored new principals of four Canterbury schools.
    University of Canterbury School Curriculum Development Facilitator - e- Learning, ICT in 2011 and 2012. Worked with 70 schools.
    Post Grad Studies at Mindlab 2016

    Personal Achievements
    Sportsman of Year - Christchurch College of Education 1978 
    Canterbury Colts Softball representative
    National League football with Woolston FC
    Waimakariri Football Club Junior Coach of the Year - 2011, 2012, 2013

    Philosophy
    I believe passionately in all learners becoming independent.
    My Vision has always been of “Growing Great Kids” who are self managing, self motivating, self moderating, independent leaders of their own learning.
    This has been achieved through “Dream. Grow. Shine. Reflect.” 
         Children choose appropriate goals. 
         They develop an effective action plan to achieve those goals. 
         They identify success criteria - what we can expect to see when success is achieved. 
         They reflect on their goals, their plan and their outcomes and make decisions in light of this.

    We know that positive relationships are the key to success, not just in learning but in all aspects of life. Positive relationships are built on trust, honesty, respect, and genuine concern, and nurtured through active listening and time spent together.
    Whanau (Family) Relationships are the basis for all I do and the way I teach, coach and lead. For this reason, I set great store in being open to and available to children, staff and community.
    As examples of this, we now have a presence on Facebook, a Twitter account, a revamped web site, an Open Door policy for access to me, and my personal email and cell phone number available to you all.

    My door is open, my cell phone switched on and email launched - feel free to contact me any time.

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  • Home
  • Enrolment
    • Enrolment Zone
    • Cohort Entry
    • New Entrant Booklet
    • International Students
    • More Info
  • Information
    • Education Review Office Report
    • Policies Log-In Info
    • WHS Policies
    • Connections
  • Learning
    • Learning through Structured Play
    • Learning through Play the WHS Way
    • Creativity through Play
    • Bush Classroom
    • I C T
    • Kickstart with CPR
    • Learning at WHS
    • Learning @ Home
    • Where We Learn
  • News - Dates
  • Parents
    • Parent Info
    • Helping Your Child
    • Seesaw Digital Portfolio
    • Lunch Menu
  • Our People
    • 360º Images
    • Board of Trustees
    • Principal's Page >
      • Mr M's Bio
      • Principal's Appraisals
      • Ash's Blog
    • Deputy Principals
    • Support Staff
    • Teaching Team
    • Job Vacancies
  • Media
    • NZ Champions - Rippa
    • You Tube Channel
    • Latest Event Photos
    • Book Characters
  • Contacts
  • Strategic Plan
    • KCs and KTs >
      • Foundation Stones
      • Whakatauki
    • Financial Reports >
      • New Page