Finger painting
Elementary teacher educators are keenly aware of the discrepancies between the ideals of education practices taught in the college classroom and many of the practices observed and modeled in actual k-12 classrooms. The dilemma of preparing teacher candidates to live and work in the "real" world versus the ideal world requires a balancing act. For example, college experiences that are intended to invite students to construct their own meaning, that are open-ended and exploratory in nature stand in sharp contrast to the 3rd grade classes where teachers are reprimanded for not adhering to the scripted lessons provided in the teacher's manual or for failing to be on page 194 at 10:30am at the same time as all other third grades classes. This kind of micro managing for the sake of accountability runs counter to the view of well prepared teachers being competent, thinking individuals who can creatively solve problems and make decisions based on the evidence at hand. In some schools the role of teacher has become as rote and mechanical as the view of learning that is limited to only what is needed to pass the test.
"Teachers sometimes feel that they must take a 'hard line' in adhering to teaching standards. Especially with...standard competence exams, teachers have become extremely concerned that students 'get it right.' In order to preserve creativity in such an atmosphere, it is crucial to make clear the areas in which there are no right and wrong answers, the areas where different opinions, different styles, and different approaches can be equally valid" Amabile, 1989, p. 147
As teacher educators we would like to believe that our influence is both wide and deep when in reality teacher candidates experiences of elementary school as children, and later as teachers, have a more lasting influence than the two or three years of preparation during teacher education. Even this period of preparation involves the very important and influential field experiences or school-based component. When schools exemplify practices supported by teacher licensing programs and their accrediting bodies, what is modeled and taught in the college classroom is reinforced by the students' field experiences. When there is a mismatch, the tangible prek-12 school experience is likely to take precedence over the theoretical college classroom experience. Yet, we must hope and we must design teacher preparation toward the ideal; to do less is to admit defeat to the accountability movement with its over reliance on the standardization of curriculum and the infallibility of testing.
Ever increasing pressures on schools and ultimately teachers to raise test scores has resulted in teachers presenting facts in isolation; if it's not on the test, don't waste your own or your students' time by teaching it. As one student teacher was told during a math lesson, "Don't try to help them understand, just teach them the rules." Learning involving creativity, playful exploration and experimentation are declining in favor of simple memorization. Where in a world such as this, is there room for creativity and the arts? Both are relegated to special music and art classes for a very brief, often isolated, part of the week or in some cases, part of the year. Creative movement, dance or drama are rarely experienced by elementary school students except as an audience during a special assembly. Schools that do not acknowledge the place of creativity or the arts, are narrowly defining school as a place to learn the facts as in "just the facts, Ma'm, just the facts."
By including a course titled "creativity and the arts" in our teacher education program we are acknowledging the primacy of the arts as an essential component in the education of the whole child. The phrase "whole child" was intended to remind educators that students are complex beings with interacting components that cannot be reduced to the sum of its parts.