Art Education Advocacy and Community Involvement

E-portfolio- standards F & I

In what ways do the roles of art teacher and art education advocate overlap? In what ways can advocacy be used as a communication tool? What is your view of the importance of teachers’ relationships with their school community, parents/guardians, and the larger community – include in your discussion the role of professional ethics and school or community projects in which you were involved.

Being an advocate for the arts as a teacher is important in building community support for your program and helping both students and community members understand the importance of arts education.

Studies show that students with arts education perform better on tests, have lower drop-out rates and feel more connected to school I think these results speak for themselves on why we should have arts education in schools.

Being an advocate for anything can tread into dangerous territory, no one really likes to be told what to do or what (you think) is right. Especially in teaching, which is a very public position, I can see that being overzealous in advocating for arts could be a turn off for parents and community members. I do however, think that arts advocacy is incredibly important and a necessary part of being an art teacher. It will be important to know who to reach out to in the community and how, and it may be necessary to start to build a great art program slowly. Having community support will be invaluable for promoting arts and I think that parents and school administrators are probably the place to start.

Having after-school programs, community art shows, and mentoring programs are all places I would start in building an art program in a community. Also, making yourself personally available and getting involved in other extracurriculars as a teacher will show that you are invested in all aspects of a students' education.