BY
KEITH LACEY
After more than a quarter-century in the classroom, Ralph
McIntosh insists students who gain an appreciation of the arts
are more well-rounded, sophisticated and happy learners.
The newly appointed Arts Education Co-ordinator for the Rainbow
District School Board (RDSB) was joined by 75 other teachers
from that board and the Sudbury Catholic District School Board
this past Saturday for Arts Alive: Northern Ontario Regional
Drama/Dance/Music Conference at Sudbury Secondary School.
A spectrum of the two dozen workshops offered covered music
and literacy, teaching musical form through drama and dance,
two-chord songs for guitar, world drums, jazz phrasing, nuts
and bolts of setting up a drama program, drama games that
really cook, hip hop dance and creating an anti-bullying
interactive play.
In the fall of 2004, the RDSB made a "recommitment to
excellence in the arts."
The RDSB held a music workshop last fall for music teachers
and it was so successful, the program and workshops were
expanded to include drama and dance, said McIntosh. The board
is planning a similar weekend conference for the visual arts
the last Saturday in November.
Teachers from both public school boards as well as music,
drama and dance students from colleges of education at
Laurentian and Nipissing University in North Bay led Saturday's
myriad of workshops.
Special guests from southern Ontario were also invited to
lead more specialized workshops, said McIntosh.
McIntosh believes quality arts education results in more
intelligent, well-rounded students.
"Combining the academic with the artistic is what it's all
about," he said.
Not every student is going to want to act, dance or be in
the school play, but providing quality programs for those who
are interested in the arts should be the goal of every school
board, he said.
The RDSB is the only board in Northern Ontario to appoint a
full-time arts education co-ordinator and McIntosh believes
other boards will soon follow suit.
"When you see a student who is motivated in the arts and
wants to pursue a career in a job they know they are going to
love, it's very rewarding," he said. "Not everyone wants to be
a musician or be front and centre on stage...there are a lot of
other career opportunities behind the scenes in technical areas
and a quality arts education program provides a lot of
opportunities for students in these areas as well."
Jeff Stewart, 43, who has been a teacher for 13 years, led a
drum circle workshop Saturday.
"Arts do play a very important role in ensuring students do get a quality education as every culture in the world has the arts, be it music or dance, as a key focal point of that culture," he said.
