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  1. Performing Arts can play a vital role in the classroom as a mechanism for immersing students in the subject matter being studied. It provides a way for students to analyze, interpret, and personalize their connection to what is happening or has happened relative to the Global study subject matter being worked on. Culturally relative music may often have lyrics and or use of instruments that inform about the traditions and values of the people. An example from today’s presentation would be the use of melodies amongst the Australian Aborigines as a means of recording land ownership. The other example being the Rainforest project and what can be inferred and or researched relating to the social impacts of globalization and corporate impact on the environment as well as the impacts on the traditions of particular indigenous groups.indigenous cultures.

  2. Today’s my day. I teach “world music” to my children and it’s great see be offered so many great resources. I’m particularly drawn to the Mapping technique. As we all know the children we see do not seem to have an idea of where other countries are let alone the people who live there.

    The role of performing arts allows us to see and hear the music in time. I have found it difficult to ask children to give themselves completely to the music. Really, really listen. Listen deeply. And sometimes I think that the visual becomes a distraction. In today’s world there can’t be a song without a video. The role can be to give the children visual and auditory experience which will make an longer lasting experience for them if they cannot see it live and in person. That’s actually the best. The role of the performing arts also allows them to observe and make their own conclusion.

  3. The performing arts can play a vital role in classroom practice for Global study activities. Using music and drama as tools for examining global heritage and or social issues on a global scale makes it possible to tap into a variety of student learning modalities as well as providing opportunities for student engagement in the subject matter via an experiential activity. I believe many students today retain learning experiences more when they are involved fully in the learning of the material.
    The use of the performing arts also allows for learning from material other than strictly the written text. Examples of this from today’s presentation include the Rainforest Project and the Australian Aborigine examples. The Australian Aborigine use of melodies to record land borders and ownership shows how the performance of a musical composition can also have other social implications and speaks about the society that produced. it. The Rainforest project lend itself to the social, political, and environmental implications that are inherent in the
    study of the musical piece.

  4. The role of performing arts in classroom practice is so important for student bonding and creating a safe place in the classroom. One of the activities that stuck out to me the most with Mr. Hariprasad Kowtha’s fascilitation of the Theater of the Oppressed Activities was the activity where we counted off by threes, divided into groups ( group 3 linked hands down the middle of the room to create a static- then later mobile electrical fence separating groups 1 & 2 who were asked to move around their side ensuring not to bump into one another and try to take up all of the space). These activities are memorable in they are a kinesthetic experience and that they are conversational, where students can feel bonded, thoughtful, validated, and part of global issues.

  5. We had a bold engagement working with music in addition to using performance in teaching so studends might bond with a classmate. How can we include these important tools in the classroom during our 44 minute time frame? It really must happen as music is so important in youn people’s lives. Perhaps, not the kind of music I might be presenting during their classes. However, kids retain knowledge more when they are involved and music is indeed that which holds their interest.

  6. I think that the performing arts make learning come alive for students. As opposed to simply reading or seeing about something in the world, they are experiencing what is being taught. Experiences, in my opinion, can be more formative for and last longer in the minds of students. Experiential learning or simulations are a great way to open up a student’s eyes to something that they may have been aware of on a cognitive level, but probably not on an emotional or empathetic level. Additionally, I think using performing arts to enhance what is being taught will help to solidify for students what they are learning as well as make them more interested when you have to lecture or have them read something. I particularly liked the activity in which we had an electric fence that closed certain groups in. I think this activity can be used in a variety of powerful ways. I also like that there is no heavy explanation of the purpose prior to the activity because I think the lack of direction heightens students’ confusion and reactions to being boxed in. This simulation then is an excellent way to demonstrate to students what it is like for people with little to no agency. Immediately, I am thinking of individuals who do not have the ability to move out of an impoverished neighborhood, Jewish ghettos in Europe, Native Americans being pushed off of their land, and many other historical examples of people being stripped of their ability to have space and authority over their own lives. Using an activity like that can help students to connect and understand on an emotional level what certain situations must have been like. This activity also teaches to hold back judgment because many times it is easy from an outside perspective to make an opinion about the choices someone makes in negative or traumatic circumstances instead of taking the time to try to first understand what that person’s situation must have felt like. I am excited to continue to think of additional ways to incorporate performing arts into my English classes.

  7. Integrating performing arts in global studies activities in my visual arts classroom will reach more types of learners. By integrating music, voice, and the kinesthetic, students will connect to more than the visual in my arts classroom. When students create and hear sound they are wrapped in it and it activates parts of the brain that the visual does not.

    Today, we repeatedly heard/talked about the idea of “call and response.” This inspired the musicians of the rain forrest when they gained inspiration from bird song in nature (unfortunately, we did not hear examples of this in the lecture). Umm Kulthum’s music also used the concept of call and respond when she reacted to her audience and repeated lyrics to create songs that might last 4 & 5 hours. We also did this in class when Hanna had us hum and sing after his voice and violin. Lots of cultures use this technique and it would be fun for students to research who else used it. (They could contribute to a mapping project of cultures who use call and response!) Call and respond activities can be adapted as introductions to lessons or integrated with interpreting the visual arts. Students can be inspired by the concept of call and response when they think about sounds they hear repeatedly throughout their environment. They can compose their own call and respond musical pieces or vocals.

    We need to teach more than imitation. When we borrow forms, students copy, but don’t usually grasp ideas with cultural empathy. I find this concept to be one I see a lot of from art educators. Our students are citizens of the 21st century. They are not from the 19th century, and most likely are not Bushmen or Andalusians. What I mean is that we cannot make our students pretend they are something they are not. They should learn the music and performing arts of a culture. They should learn the historical significance of a performing art, but by pretending they are Bushmen from 1000 years ago, we belittle a culture students are supposed to be learning to respect. For example, the Aboriginal Dreamtime paintings are sacred. To have students simply make dot paintings so they make their own dreamtime paintings, is offensive. * It is playing dress up and reducing a culture to stereotypes. To go beyond copying, we educate our students about facts and then they can make their own work, as young people from 2016, in homage to another culture or completely their own. Our goal is for students to gain an appreciation and respect for the value of a rich cultural art form, not reduce it to its simplest form or worse.
    *Other examples where I have seen this done: Kachina “dolls” {which are sacred and represent ancestors}, cave paintings {not sure their purpose but some believe they have religious significance} and non religious concepts, like “Let’s pretend we’re Impressionists!”

  8. Role playing in the abstract occurs regularly in the classroom in all the ways teachers attempt to get students to imagine life as something other than what reflects their experience…. in different societies, eras, circumstances, in sub-groups within and across societies, as individuals/groups integrated, elevated, marginalized, ostracized. Imagined role playing taken to the level of performance illustrates the role of “performing arts” in the classroom, whether referred to as activity, exercise, or role playing, all drama aside.
    On another level, performance reflects culture and cultural interchange uniquely. As part of culture rather than of formal education, performance is usually more accessible and inviting than, say, writing and rewriting an epic poem until it is memorized, or reading and analyzing a text.

  9. I have seen how performing arts can be an alternate, successful space for students who often struggle in more “academic” settings. There is a built-in community because performance is usually done in a group, and with an audience there are more opportunities for students to communicate their ideas and shine. The repetitive nature in the process of learning and rehearsing helps students who need multiple exposures.

    I appreciated that the presentations today brought the political and cultural contexts of the performance styles we learned about. I admit that I’ve tried learning Korean history through history books, videos, and comics, but it was so much more interesting through the lens of K-pop. The students at my school have the opportunity to learn a performance art but they really do not study either the historical or current issues around the folk art until middle school. I do believe that even younger students can understand that art reflects a time period and is constantly responding to change.

  10. Today was different – I loved it! I struggle with getting out of my comfort zone when it comes to acting, so today was an exciting challenge.

    Preforming arts can be an excellent tool in the classroom for teaching global studies. Currently, I teach a tenth grade world history and cultures class. The class covers Latin America, Africa, and Asia. While playing the border game today, I immediately thought about my lessons on artificial boundaries and apartheid. The border game really highlighted the challenges a group can face when it is given an artificial border. Additionally, certain groups lacked space, groups could not see there own empty spaces (problems), and those in power offered little help to the people they watched over.

    By including the preforming arts into a class, students are given the chance to emotionally experience an event they read about in a textbook, or news article. There is an old phrase that says ” “You cannot understand another person’s experience until you have walked a mile in their shoes.” Students are often disconnected from the historical events they read about. Through the preforming arts, students can personally relate to isolation, oppression, mistreatment, and disadvantage. The preforming arts can add great meaning to global and social issues.


  11. Music and performance-based activities in the classroom can inspire creativity, fun, and a deeper, richer appreciation for other cultures. Today’s presenters encouraged me to brainstorm ways in which I can incorporate more music and, maybe, traditional dance into my world history courses. I haven’t taught U.S. history in a few years, but today made me remember how I did incorporate music throughout the year in the U.S. class. We would listen to and analyze music from Native American tribes, the African Diaspora, the Depression, the world wars, the Civil Rights Movement etc. I have been more reluctant about incorporating music in my world courses. This is related to feeling unfamiliar with the styles, instruments, and performers of various genres of world music. I also struggled with how to incorporate music in the course in way that didn’t feel like filler or an aside. After today’s experiences, I feel like I have more of a foundation for exploring resources such as Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Project and finding meaningful curricular connections for incorporating different indigenous musical traditions.

  12. As Dr. Muller said, music is a force for social change. Songs represent the voices and milieu of a point in time. Hence, music provides a natural access point for discussion on a historical or current event. It is not only a primary source containing pertinent facts but carries with it real human stories and emotions.

    Even if the music does not carry with it some social commentary, it can still be used as a “gateway to history,” as Ms. Park stated. For example, watching a K-pop music video can easily raise questions about Korea’s history and cultural values. An interesting piece of pop culture can provide just the ‘hook’ needed to launch an animated discussion.

    I believe in the power of the performing arts to communicate and engage. Activities like the ones we did with Theatre of the Oppressed today can help students relate to social phenomena in a personal way and become active participants in the learning process.

  13. While each culture has their own musical, visual and performing tradition, art is a universal language and allows us to be moved on a deep level. It connects us to our inner self, to others and also, for some of us, to some notion of the sacred. Using the art in a classroom is a wonderful way to engage student on a different level (right brain) and to allow them to be moved aesthetically and create a personal connection. I am thinking about various modalities of exploration / interaction with an art piece (poetic response, journaling, comparative analysis, etc).

  14. Performing Arts allows teachers to engage a diverse group of learners, from ESOL to kinesthetic learners. Music in particular, much the same as images, allows us to collapse space and time and bring history alive. I especially appreciated our presentations yesterday that played musical examples that we might in turn share with our scholars. While I agree with many of my colleagues that some of the drama activities we practiced yesterday might be used to create a more open, caring space, I am a little hesitant as well of that blanket statement. Thinking of my own middle school scholars in particular, I can think of a small minority that would enjoy those drama games and far more scholars who would find the activities mortifying. With everything we have learned about this week, I think there is a time and a place for such activities. I felt energized by the presentations as a whole, and I think it will push me to figure out how I can include more music and movement (tailored to my students needs) in my classroom.

  15. If global study activities were a body, what we learn through a textbook would be what fills up our brain. The performing arts, in turn, are what connect our that information to our heart and senses; they’re what give life to the information.
    As we saw through the variety of presentations yesterday, when one speaks of music without playing a single piece, the students can leave with ideas of the topic that are quickly forgotten if not further researched. In contrast, when students move, dance, and sing -or watch others move, dance, and sing -the content, they leave energized and connected to the topic. One cannot fully teach global studies without performing arts.

  16. Performing arts have to power to convey emotion and impact students on a visceral level. Everybody connects with some form of music, which means that integrating music into our curricula allows students to relate to something that they recognize in their day-to-day lives. Kinesthetic-based approaches, like the ones we used with Theater of the Oppressed, not only give students the opportunity to get up and move around, they also provide space for building empathy.

  17. Today the session led by the Theater of the Opressed gave me much insight about the type of emotions that power (the fence) could generate in a group. I thought it could be a great tool to help my students visualize some of the global issues of today’s world- from the Syrian refugees crises to the possibility of a U.S. border/ wall with Mexico.
    The role of performing arts in the classroom is another powerful way to teach students about the individual and the group. For me the session was emotional and sensorial. It helped to create a dialogue and remind me of the need and benefits of any collaboration with others in order to reach a goal. For example, a student learning a musical instrument may also participate in an orchestra and both as an individual and as part of greater entity will benefit from beauty, work ethic, creativity, etc.

  18. I have found that simply having world music on in the classroom actually becomes part of the conversation. I don’t make a big deal, but do offer a few comments. I play a huge amount of the Buena Vista Social Club and was pleasantly surprised when the students recognized it when we were in Cuba. I believe that sometimes the best teaching we do is subliminal and passive.
    The Theater of the Oppressed mad a great impression on me, both as a teacher and as a person. I loved the presenters manner and way of directing us. The information was very powerful and extremely thoughtful and powerful. I think I will never think of borders in the same way.

    I was kind of disturbed by the South African speaker. She was difficult to understand and I could not follow her train of thought.