Dear Editor,

For many years we have seen the arts as only an entertainment faculty in society, providing a few laughs and reflecting our norms and history.

The arts have been seen in educational institutions as a distinct flavour in the learning process. This objectification of the arts infiltrates and misconstrues its real purpose; therefore, the dichotomous nature of the arts and education is explicit and requires greater focus to support teachers and learners.

Since the 1950s many scholars have claimed that students involved in the arts do better in other subject areas. While this may have some credit, the measurable but inconclusive data reveal a difference between students involved in the arts and those who are taught using the arts. This may be a conundrum as many facilitators have not been presented with the appropriate skills training or professional development to navigate arts integration in a scaffolding pattern.

Arts in education facilitate the learner’s interest and the creative industry’s career path. Hence, the enablers are trained and highly supported by resources to advance the theatre industry. Students engage in the dynamics of production and performance skills. There are collaborative curriculum tools that connect the scope and objectives of the content. While, on the other hand, arts integration is the ability of the facilitator to use dance or movements, music, drama, and visual arts to translate the subject’s content. The facilitator allows students to enter the world of imagination, seeing the mathematical challenges through the lens of an artistic melody or interpreting the figures of speech through storytelling.

Arts integration is not grouping students to role-play or even playing music in the background of the classroom. It is not telling a joke or story to break the ice; instead, it is like the chorus in a Greek play, the critical component that connects the plot in a lesson.

This is the moment to engage the theatre fraternity and make strategic and purposeful plans to integrate the use of arts in our learning process.

If you walk into a learning environment, you will notice the visual aids, the active movements of the teacher, and the tones used to convey instruction. This is natural, so imagine if our most treasured resource, the teacher, was provided with training to use the arts to support learning.

Dr Oniel Tobias

onieltobias@gmail.com