DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.
DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

 

 

 

 

 

      Working with Side X Side reinforced my belief in the importance of strong art

 

programs in our public school systems.  Visiting Ocean Avenue Elementary and

 

working with Artist Pamela Moulton provided me with a broader perspective as to how schools can fulfill 21st century aspirations of supporting academic achievement with art practices

 

in order to strengthen learning through emotional and social development. 

 

 

       

      Ocean Elementary is a state of the art learning environment that provides special

 

advantages to students with diverse backgrounds and learning styles.  These

 

observations bring to mind that these educational attributes along with relevant

 

academic goals can attract diverse and highly motivated teachers, while

 

strengthening communities that may be struggling in our challenging economies to

 

improve educational outcomes.

 

 

      As I walked the crowded hallways at first bell, I reflected that teachers are what

 

makes a school special.  Every educator needs to explore what makes him or her

 

unique.  What do each of us have to offer that will make a difference?  The Photos

 

above of Ocean are seamless depictions from the architectural firm's website. They

 

depict an ideal environment with ample natural light source and thoughtful

 

configuration of classroom resources.  In visiting the school in session, one witnesses

 

the messy business of teaching and learning.  Schools are a sea of adult personalities

 

and students navigating their way through complex dynamic emotional and social

 

situations.  Every teacher needs to find a way to differentiate themselves in order to

 

improve and contribute to the overall culture of the school as they work to create the

 

best outcomes in student achievement. Thus, teachers depend on

 

professional development opportunities and enrichment experiences to be effective

 

teachers, as students need opportunities to connect in meaningful ways to the culture

 

that surrounds them in order to enhance learning.

 

 

 

 

 

     Ocean Avenue Elementary's mission includes; "empowering every learner to make

 

a difference in the world", and to help children,"develop into independent and

 

creative thinkers".  Located in the Back Cove neighborhood of Portland Maine,

 

Ocean's 4 goals are to facilitate; meaningful parent engagement, a peaceful school

 

climate, increased student achievement in reading and math, and to become a fully

 

titled International Baccalaureate World School Primary Year Program (I.B. and

 

P.Y.P.).

 

Ocean's mission statement reflects the philosophy that parent outreach and

 

involvement along with a safe learning environment are necessary for achievement in

 

academics.  We will see how these goals are given backbone through ambitious

 

undertakings with sideXside and achievement of I.B. and  P.Y.P. accrediting.

 

     Ocean's aspirations are further supported by its' state of the art educational

 

facility. The front landscaping is alive with vibrant kinetic sculpture.  The classrooms

 

and the hallways feel open and changeable to different learning approaches.  There

 

are windows and sky lights offering views of woodlands and its' Back Cove

 

neighborhood. The spaces feel intimate and child friendly in scale, yet open and

 

flexible for supervised as well as self directed learning opportunities.

 

 

 

      Ocean's landscaping consists of sustainable irrigation systems that include a

 

10,000 square foot roof garden. Children were engaged in the process of planting on

 

the school grounds which feature trees, grasses and fern that reflect local geology.  

 

The  message to students that sustainable design matters is delivered through

 

educational presentations and related activities with the design firms.  There was also

 

extensive community input for design aspirations throughout the project.  Use of local

 

and recycled materials along with solar efficiency design elements continues to

 

message to students the aesthetic virtues of and earth friendly environment. 

 

 

      High School degree attainment in in back cove is 62%, a little under Portland's

 

52%.  Community and global resources are sought after to improve those statistics.  

 

Keeping kids in school and wanting to learn is a 21st century challenge that requires

 

schools to incentivise children to achieve through social, cultural and self awareness.

 

In my issues paper on the importance of art Education, it is emphasised that learning

 

needs to be contextualized in emotional and social frameworks for students to

 

achieve.  

 

 

   Ocean Elementary is applying to join 4,000 schools world wide in becoming a

 

member of the IB: PYP ( International Baccalaureate: Primary Years Program.) 

 

This title gives the access to curriculum designs that are geared toward developing

 

the child as a whole socially, academically and, emotionally.  The mission  

 

statement for Primary Year Program under an International Baccalaureate title

 

includes: Curriculum designed to Prepare students to become active, caring , lifelong

 

learners who demonstrate respect for themselves and others"  Schools undergo a

 

three year process of applications and professional development to acquire title.  

 

Curriculum is designed around: who are we, where we are in place and time, how we

 

express ourselves, how the world works , how we organize ourselves and , sharing

 

the planet.

 

 

       Ocean's involvement with Side X Side supports these objectives with a mission

 

includes: "comprehensive arts integration, bringing critical thinking and innovation

 

into the classroom through arts based programs."   Collaborative by way of;

 

"community partnerships with the University of Southern Maine, the Portland public

 

school system and local artists."  They, "integrate science, technology, literacy and

 

the humanities with the arts to enhance school curricula."

 

 

      Side by Side Visiting Artist, Pamela Moultin, describes her art as exploring

 

"memory and play".  Her work "invites the child in each of us to explore

 

environments that often incorporate sound, scent and performance".  She describes

 

her process as cultivating; "community through partnerships with local schools and

 

organizations.  Pamela is a practicing textile and installation artist from Pennsylvania

 

presently living with her family in Portland.  She has worked as a set designer and art

 

director in N.Y. and lived abroad in France for 23 years receiving where she earned

 

her MFA.

 

 

     Side X Side Program integrates art practices with academic subjects inside the

 

regular classroom.  Art based instruction is tied to Maine Learning Results and

 

Common core standards.  It emphasises the cultivation 21st century skills including

 

collaboration, critical thinking and decision making.

 

      Important aspects of Pamela's Land Forms:

 

Child Directed Forms

Raw Recycled Materials to Manipulate and Form 3D Compositions 

Collaborative: 4 Children per group each supervised by a Student Teacher. 

Culture and Geography 

Global Narrative

Experimentation

Visualization of an end result

Dynamic Scale and Abstract Features Crystallizing as they Become more Defined

  Drawing and Additive processes for Building Form

Mapping Procedures

 

 

   Pamela creates an imaginary island that has vanished from the earth.  Geologists

 

are trying to figure out what forces in nature caused its' submergence back into the

 

ocean.  A mysterious professor of geology is summoning the children to replicate land

 

forms from photo imagery of landscapes around the world.  He has sent a map to

 

guide the children in puzzling the land masses together.   

 

 

 

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.
DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.