ED 354 168 TITLE The Role Of The Fine And Performing Arts In High .

10throughout the state of Florida. Both administrators and teachers acknowledged the apparentimpact that participation in the arts has had upon many students' decisions to remain inschool. Seventy percent of the administrators reported cases in which participation in artscourses has influenced a student to stay in school. An even higher percentage (89.5%) of thearts teachers stated that they were aware of specific cases in which participation in artscourses has influenced at-risk students to remain in school. These teachers were asked toidentify aspects of arts courses that seem to be most effective in motivating the at-riskstudent to remain in school. The most frequently mentioned aspect was the social interactionand camaraderie that conies from being identified as part of an arts group or performingensemble. Teachers also mentioned the importance of performance, the feeling of successand satisfaction derived from arts experiences, the self-esteem and self-confidence thatspring from participation in the arts, the importance of creative and expressive activities, andkeen student interest in the subject matter of arts courses.The at-risk students surveyed in this study included those presently enrolled in artscourses (N 35) and a few former at-risk students (N 5) who persisted to graduation.These students supported the conclusions of the administrator and teacher surveys regardingthe importance of arts courses to their decision to remain in school. Specific comments andsuggestions made by these students provided additional insight into ways in which artscourses can be most effective for motivating at-risk students to persist (Appendix A).Phase 3: Field observations of at-risk students. The third phase of this projectconsisted of on-site observations of at-risk students at seven selected Florida high schools.Administrators and arts teachers also were informally interviewed regarding theirimpressions of (a) the effects of arts activities on retention of at-risk students and (b) specificcases of at-risk students who succeeded directly as a function of their interest and progress inone or more of the arts areas.The at-risk students were observed in their arts classes and non-arts classes.Observations of the at-risk students revealed more consistent on-task behavior during artsclasses (83.9%) than during the non-arts courses (73.3%). These students were more easilydistracted in the non-arts courses; and although some of them were not disruptive, it wasclear that much of the time they were not attentive to the teacher or the materials (books,papers). In the arts classes, however, these same individuals clearly were immersed in theirclass activities of dancing, drawing, painting, singing, playing an instrument, etc.Furthermore, when the teachers gave demonstrations, lectures, or instructions, the at-riskstudents were alert. It became clear to the observers that students realized their teacher wasproviding them with information that could affect the quality of their art performance.Discussions with administrators and arts teachers verified the observations made inthe classroom; and some of them cited examples of students who not only remair td in schoolbecause of their interests in the arts, but who also (a) improved academically in other classes

11(non-arts), (b) remained in school and graduated, (c) were awarded college scholarships upongraduation, and (d) became so skilled in their artistic endeavors that their artworks werebeing sold commercially and to private sources. The observers also talked to some of theseat-risk students about their interests and work in the arts areas. It was evident that theirenthusiasm was high and that their determination to succeed as a musician, dancer, actor, orartist had become a motivating force in their lives.RESULTSThe general results of this project are described under the Phase 1, 2, and 3 headingsin the full report (following this section). Detailed here are those factors that wereconsistently mentioned by the administrators and the arts teachers (telephone and personalinterviews) and which also were verified by the on-site observations, personal discussionswith at-risk students, and/or comments made by the students in response to the anonymoussurvey. These factors can be grouped into two areas: effects of the arts on studentmotivation and strategies and motivational techniques used by the arts teachers.Effects of the arts on student motivationA number of factors were mentioned, but they can be organized into the followingareas:st in the arts. It would be difficult to know if actual involvement in thearts by these students generates the high interest we observed, or if students enter their artscourses because of an initial curiosity and interest in playing an instrument, dancing, acting,etc. We suspect that this "keen interest" is a combination of these two factors. We alsobelieve that interest increases along with a growth in the student's self-confidence and artisticskills. These, in turn, occur because students recognize a challenge and overcome it.A band student wrote, "Challenging, ambitious, and exciting can best describe myinvolvement in band. I would say I've become highly involved in the past year and willbecome more involved in the future." The intensity of this interest, or involvement, wasclearly expressed by a drama student who said, "My involvement in drama is my life, it's allthat I have. Of course, I have other parts of life, but everything life means to me is drama.I'm deeply involved."C.Eiticism. Musicians, artists, dancers, and actors are judged by the quality of theirartistic performances. While sometimes this can be stressful for the student, it also has thepotential for building the student's confidence--and for motivating the student to become aneven better artist. The criticism that comes from five sources (peers, teachers, parents andother adults, society in general, and from within oneself) has to be accepted in some way by

12students--and put to good use. Constructive use of criticism builds confidence, whicheventually promotes a personal value system. When students value themselves they begin torealize what their lives can become. It is at this point that they think about the future andrealize that they need to succeed in school in order to meet their goals. The at-risk studentswe observed who successfully coped with competition were eager art students; and in somecases this eagerness extended to school in general (we talked to an at-risk student who haddeveloped a considerable talent in sculpture over the past year; his confidence was highbecause his work was valued by his peers, teacher, and the commercial world).At-risk students made a number of comments related to criticism and its challenges:"Today's society would not accept individuals who drop out of school. Getting a job withouta high school degree is like signing your death warrant." "I had parts in plays, so I couldn'tdrop out and disappoint everyone, especially the teacher. Plus, theatre will help me in laterlife, so I decided to get as much as possible."Social interactions and the "family" concept. With some exceptions, high school artsinvolve team activities, and therefore the overall quality of a project (such as a band concert)is dependent upon each student. Teachers and students are forced to deal with each other'sshortcomings and strengths in constructive ways, if the performance is to succeed. Positiveoutcomes of these experiences in team efforts are more than simply learning to acceptdifferent personalities and skills. They include the "family" concept--a close-knit team that isstriving toward a mutual goal (a quality performance or a quality art project, etc.). Anexample of this was particularly obvious in a Miami high school: In celebration of EarthDay, students in the visual arts program were creating life-size paper mache animals andforests as a multi-class team project. When one class left, another entered, each studenttaking the paint brush, etc. from the previous student and continuing work on the paperanimal or tree! In this family, the students developed special respect for each other--and fortheir arts teachers, who had become the "mother" or "father" of the family.Many comments were made by the at-risk students about social interactions and thefamily concept: "Takes away some shyness and.more outgoing." "A sense of family,leadership, that you belong.and you matter." "You meet new people with differentperspectives toward music or playing." "Taught me a whole lot of respect for other people.""I learned not just about music but life, and how it really is in the big city." "He [musicteacher] is like a good friend. He is always there when you need him. He will help you withabout any problem you have." "[My drama teacher] and I are closer than I am to my ownmother. She is like or better than a best friend to me. She believes in what I can do as anactress.Artistic 2nd creative satisfaction. The expression of individuality is a basic humanneed that can be satisfied by the creation of an artistic product. Although the arts teachersand at-risk students did not describe their drive for creativity in eloquent terms, enough was13

13mentioned to assure us that such a drive exists--and that these students found satisfaction andpersonal "release" in painting, acting, playing an instrument, and singing (this latter fact wasclearly obvious in the faces of high school chorus students--while they were singing for ourobservation team).Students had different ways of talking about their creative expressions: "Drama is thebest thing that happened to me. I never thought I could do any acting or singing or evendance. Drama has inspired me deeply." "Helped my creativity.and speech." "[I like] thethought of getting up and being somebody important and not being afraid of being somebodyelse! I like having a chance to be someone else." "My answers are starting to sound set-up,but they're very real. Because of drama--I know and knew what I wanted to be, I had tostick with what I love. I live for drama." "Photography has enlightened and fulfilled my life."Discipline. One of the major problems facing young students is the organizing ofone's life. Without it, students accomplish little, wandering from one thought to thenext--not being able to "buckle down" to any single task for more than a few minutes. Theadministrators aryl teachers were quick to tell us that lack of personal discipline ischaracteristic of at-risk students. Our observations of these students in their classes (andbetween their classes!) certainly confirmed this problem. But we also noticed that in all thearts courses, at-risk students were purposely attending to the task at hand; that is, they weresystematically working on their artwork (drawing, sculpture, dancing, rehearsing a play) forthe entire class period. The nature of creating art certainly requires all the dimensions of adisciplined person: concentration, repetition, patience, and organization. The studentsseemed to be exhibiting these characteristics.The at-risk students were aware of the discipline required in the arts: "It [dance] gaveme self discipline, responsibility, self confidence and also how to budget my time.""Great- -she [dance teacher] is very strict but at the same time she loves us. She is strict notbecause she is a mean person but because she wants us to be the best we can be." ".thatanything is possible, it may just take .work and .commitment."Strategies and motivational techniques used by the arts teachersArts teachers, like other teachers, use a variety of techniques to motivate studentinterest and participation, and also to promote general learning and skill achievement. Butbecause the arts are both "activity" oriented (very much like sports, since in order to producea desired outcome, mental intensity must be coupled with physical coordination) andinterpretive (using the materials of arts, such as the printed music, dance steps, a script, etc.,to create an artistic production), some special strategies and techniques seem to playimportant roles in the classroom. Of course, the following strategies and techniques are notthe only ones used by the arts teachers, but they were frequently mentioned by the teachers.They also were apparent in the on-site observations and interviews.14

14Bands-on involvement. The highest level of on-task behavior consistently occurredwhen the at-risk students were actively involved in a creative activity. According to ourdiscussions with the administrators and arts teachers, students realize that the only way toachieve the goal of becoming skilled in an arts area (acting, playing in the orchestra,painting, etc.) is constant "hands-on" experiences with the materials of their art. Our talkswith the students verified this fact: They talked about the need to work as hard as they couldin painting, dancing, playing an instrument, etc. in order to succeed as individualsand tosucceed as a member of the team (the play, chorus, orchestra, etc.). It was our observationthat the arts teachers were spending most of the class tiiie in guiding their students as theypracticed their craft. The music rehearsals, for exarra)le, continued throughout the classperiod, with lectures from the teacher amounting only to brief (but pointed) instructions forplaying the music. This pattern carried through the other arts as well. Clearly these artsteachers (and their students) understand the value of keeping their students involved.Individualized instruction couplell with positive reinforcement. Many arts teachersemphasized the importance of one-to-one interactions between the at-risk students and thearts teacher. Because at-risk students usually suffer from a lack of confidence, the teachershave found it helpful to frequently attend to that student, offering positive reinforcement forappropriate student accomplishments - -and also to offer personalized assistance in helping thestudents develop artistic skills.Pride in creative accomplishment. Low self esteem is a characteristic of the at-riskstudent. For many of these students, the arts provide a unique opportunity for selfexpression, pride in accomplishment, and thus increased self esteem. Indeed, many at-riskstudents stated that an arts class was the only reason they decided to stay in school. The artsteachers and administrators cited examples of former at-risk students who became motivatedby the possibility of a college scholarship and/or a job in the world of arts. These samestudents realized that in order to meet this kind of goal, they had to do well in all theirclasses. Specific suggestions from teachers regarding ways to foster pride in creativeaccomplishment included the importance of public performances, showings of art works,dance recitals, etc. The strategy here is to display student talents wheneverpossible--showing off the good work these students can do.Genuine and personal interest in the students. Although perhaps not a teachingstrategy, the close relationship between students and their arts teachers was observed onmany occasions. These observations were reinforced in two ways: (a) comments from theat-risk students about the teacher as "best friend," as "someone who really cares about me,"and as "someone who makes me work hard, but I know that he/she is doing it in my bestinterest;" and (b) our discussions with the teachers. In the latter case, all the arts teachersknew the histories of their students, both academic and personal. Some of them describedthe lives of at-risk students in considerable detail, explaining the students' behavioral

15histories and their (the teachers') attempts to intervene when appropriate to do so. The artsteachers pointed out the importance of "knowing your students;" and it seemed to thecommittee that this philosophy can be a powerful influence in these student's lives.Maintaining high standards and expectations,. Many arts teachers pointed out theimportance of having high standards and expectations for all students--not just the talentedones, or the ones who get good grades. At-risk students know when they are getting (or notgetting) preferential treatment from the teacher, and either effect tends to demoralize thestudent. Pride in accomplishment results from the at-risk student knowing that he or she iscompeting with everyone in the class and that any success the student achieves in developingartistic skills is "real."Providing a quality arts environment. It has been stated elsewhere in this projectreport that a number of the at-risk students enrolled in the arts stated that their primary reasonfor staying in school was the particular arts classes themselves. Many comments fromstudents regarding their love and dedication to the arts lend support to this conclusion. At thesame time, a number of students criticized their arts courses (not the teachers) for a lack offunding. Supplies, equipment, and additional staff were mentioned as being underfunded,and some students even expressed an interest in adding more arts courses in their particularschool. It seems to the committee that an expanded arts program may very well attract alarger number of at-risk students, who in turn may find the experiences of creating andinterpreting the various artforms rewarding and satisfying.RECOMMENDATIONSThis project has provided some strong evidence that arts programs currently offeredin Florida high schools provide a supportive, and in many instances, nourishing environmentfor students who border on dropping out of school. In many cases, at-risk students remainedin school solely because of their interest in, and commitment to the band, chorus, orchestra,dance class, drama group, painting, sculpture, or other art project. Furthermore, some ofthese students remained in school, graduated, and successfully entered the business world--orreceived college scholarships.This project was limited in scope, since only a small sample of the successful artsprograms in Florida was studied. It would be a worthwhile effort to repeat the presentproject with schools which have a broad geographical distribution in Florida, and whichrange in size from the small suburban schools to the large urban schools. It should also benoted that because this project reports improved student attitudes and behavior in arts classesas compared to their non-arts classes, this does n

THE FINE AND PERFORMING ARTS IN HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUT PREVENTION. OVERVIEW. Rationale Students at risk and the arts. For some time now, arts teachers in the high schools have been well aware of the intensity of student interest and involvement when these young people are participating in the creative processes of playing in the band or orchestra .