Reaching Artists through Reading/Writing

William J. Clark Middle School is an urban school located in the city of Orangeburg with a population of 850 students. The school consists of sixth through eighth grades. Approximately 80% of the students receive free/reduced price lunch. The state report card results says that in 2003, 47% of the students scored below basic in the area of English/Language Arts, and 40% of the students scored below basic in the area of mathematics on the 2003 Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT). As a result, many students will spend their summer in summer school. As an art teacher at William J. Clark Middle School, I wondered how I could help students with the rigorous new academic standards in the art classroom and increase students' knowledge of artists. The current school population lacks an understanding in the relevance of arts education. Many students are unwilling to participate in activities and instruction that involve becoming aware of artists. My teacher-made survey indicated that less than 15% of students polled were unfamiliar with 5 out of the 10 artists mentioned in the survey. Students could not name the 7 seven basic elements of visual art. My proposal, called Reaching Artists through Reading/Writing, provides a logical, yet creative, strategy to improve students' academic performance through reading and writing. This proposal will create a library in the art room. William J. Clark Middle School has strong emphasis on increasing standardized test scores. I have a strong desire to increase students' knowledge of various artists. Reaching Artists through Reading/Writing proposal plans to start with sixth grade classes and later expand Reaching Artists through Reading/Writing unit to all classes. According to Flood, Heath, and Lapp, ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading English and Communication Bloomington IN (1999), visual arts include everything from dramatic performance, comic books to television viewing. The communicative arts, such as reading, writing, and speaking, exist as integrated elements in the visual arts. These authors argued that using visual arts in literacy instruction motivates students to become involved in the communicative arts. By taking visual arts away from communicative arts in the art classroom, schools would grow away from the fundamental skills that adults need to function in society. Furthermore, the use of visual media in learning and teaching is supported by research demonstrating that learners preferences and styles can more effectively be addressed (Gardner, 1993) and that enhance learning and retention take place through the use of visual materials ( Dwyer & Baker, 2001).