Message Board

I enjoyed listening to the BTT format that Dr. Hardiman described. After listening to her talk, I was intrigued to learn more about her school and how the art teacher felt about this change. I loved seeing the arts throughout her school; it was quite refreshing! However, as a visual arts teacher, I wanted to ask the following questions:

- What value was placed on the art teacher's own Visual Arts Curriculum as you moved from indivual to integrated arts?
- Was it manipulated to fit into the integrated arts design in your school?
- Did it stand alone and the art teacher remained focused upon the items he or she taught prior to the integration while collaborating with other teacher's classroom ideas?

Did anyone else have questions similar to these?

I have so many questions, too. Thanks for getting the conversation started!

I got the impression that everyone's curriculum was morphing and changing with this new approach, including the art teacher's. I think it almost has to in order to be truly integrated, right? Otherwise it's a series of collaborations - which, however successful, aren't the marks of true integration. Maybe I'm getting too hung up on the semantics though.

I think probably everyone who got on board had to give up something of what they had been doing in order to move forward with the new model, but I'm also betting that they were excited to be given the time and support to do so.

Has anyone read her book? I just ordered it.