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JULY 2003

Imagination Conversation
by Scott Noppe-Brandon

During an Imagination Conversation, organized last fall by Lincoln Center Institute in 11 cities across the country, visionary thinkers from the arts and education, the sciences, public policy, business and the humanities, explored the role imagination plays in their personal and professional lives. A critical idea emerging from those conversations was the importance of imaginative thinking whether one is an artist, scientist, foreign service expert, business leader, arts administrator, or educator.

Maxine Greene, educational philosopher par excellence, riffing off John Dewey, writes, “It is imagination that discloses possibilities—personal and social as well as aesthetic. By imagining, we are enabled to look at things, to think about things as if they were otherwise.” In the classroom, imaginative encounters with works of dance, music, theater, and other art forms can nurture reflective and participatory understanding of the arts and of the aesthetic dimension in students’ lives. In addition, the noticing, the artistic exploring, and the sharing of those experiences represent, together, a conversation among individual imaginations.

Why mention this here? Because imagination as a tool for planning, for implementing change, for thinking differently no matter how scary or uncertain that process may seem, is exactly what we need right now in the NYC schools. I applaud the Chancellor and the Mayor for the imaginative action they took in implementing the latest structural changes within the NYC school system, and I believe they understand that the work has just begun, especially as it relates to the arts.

The air is filled with good news. Project Arts funds will be available, and the amount is higher than it has been of late. Additionally, policy now states that the funds may be used exclusively for arts-based instruction. And a new curriculum for the arts is being planned. I wish to add to this good news by suggesting a few acts of imaginative action that I believe will have direct impact on how the arts are taught within the NYC schools. As the discussion unfolds around the new arts curriculum under consideration, I hope for imaginative thinking.

The curriculum should not be only what might be termed a discipline-specific approach where each art form, each discipline, is developed separate from the other arts. The “how” of teaching the arts should be connected to the “how” of teaching in general, whether it is in the arts or math. A document should be developed that teaches about each art form and interrelates the arts (whether multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary), and demonstrates how the arts relate to the entire curriculum.

This strategy would allow for the arts to be part of the core instructional and content goals of any given school, and help insure that the arts are central to the overall educational goals of a school by connecting all subject-based teaching through shared understanding and practice. Ideally, what is being considered will attempt to connect the values and goals of the arts to the specific goals any educational environment may have for its students.

The answers to who should teach about and through the arts in a school should come out of the discussion, not drive the discussion. I hope it is a given that in NYC all schools should have skilled, certified arts educators; that all schools should work in partnership with the professional arts community; and that arts educators and cultural organizations should partner with the classroom teachers and the subject-based teachers. Only together, not separately, can we bring about the systemic change needed to bring the arts into the daily lives of all students. Teaching, as a creative and imaginative force, is not only the responsibility of the arts teachers and the cultural community, but of all teachers. We are not separate or divided in our intentions; we all have the same goal: the best possible education for our children. It will take a united team—a team willing to employ imagination—to accomplish the job.#

Scott Noppe-Brandon is the Executive Director of the Lincoln Center Institute.

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