Because it’s Arts in Education Week, we wanted to take this opportunity to lift up voices and insights of Teaching Artists and partner administrators who regularly work with students and older adults in our programs. To gain a sense of where the field of arts in education is now, we surveyed these “front line” workers, asking how they are feeling about the state of arts education a year and a half into a pandemic. We’ve assembled some of their responses below.
The adaptation to remote life has provided significant hurdles, in many ways. In her storytelling classes, Teaching Artist, Robin Bady, contended with the fear of technology seniors had. In some cases, the yearning to join the class was strong while the know-how was lacking, especially while being isolated, and away from family members who otherwise could have helped. One educator described difficulties of breaking the school and home barrier: “a hard part for me was teaching virtually and experiencing some of the harder home situations for the first time. Honestly, working in schools for the majority of my career, the school building truly acts as a safe haven for many children. Because of the pandemic, that safe location was taken away from them. It's hard to experience.” Some challenges were as commonplace, as Teaching Artist Elena Frolova explained, “Dancing and wearing a mask at the same time is not a pleasure!”
Despite these and other obstacles, many Teaching Artists, like choreographer Louise Heit, continued to find new ways of working with creative aging settings. She was delighted by how resourceful and open to trying new things her workshop participants were, “The people I met were inspiring, they built community over Zoom and were so appreciative of the workshop. (Meet the participants that took part in the Free Your Dancing Spirit SU-CASA Workshop here.) Teaching Artists who experimented with asynchronous content found that performances could live on beyond a specific timeframe. In his reflections, Theater Teaching Artist, Scott Lilly, mentioned that the pre-recorded performances of students have been well received and that, “It's great to have a permanent record of all the brave and creative work the students have done.”
To our delight, most survey respondents were optimistic about the freedom and the growing acceptance of remote learning and programming. This newfound embrace of technology allows school children to learn from home and for seniors to find companionship through online workshops from the comfort of their homes. Jasmine Hammond captured a sentiment expressed by many, “I think that arts education will be changed forever by the use of digital media. A lot of people share resentment towards digital learning; however, I think it is a platform that has equalized the playing field and created more accessible learning and career opportunities for those with learning and physical differences. I hope that we continue to explore and optimize this medium through the lens of accessibility, as it truly is a dynamic resource.” Elena Frolova isn’t alone in hoping for greater awareness around the great emotional support provided to participants and their loved ones.
The Arts in Education team at Brooklyn Arts Council - Monae Freeman, Didintle Ntsie and Philip Alexander have been humbled, honored, and amazed by the achievements of the dozens of Teaching Artists and community partners we have collaborated with during the past several months. We will continue to strive to foster creativity and imagination because we believe that communities are more vibrant and livable when children, adults, and seniors have access to dynamic, meaningful arts education.
Cover Image: Sunset on the Portuguese coast. Photo by Rute da Silva. Submitted with accompanying quote by Poet Fernando Pessoa.
“The value of things is not the time they last, but the intensity with which they occur. That is why there are unforgettable moments and unique people!”