The Importance of Creative Subjects

Created by my wonderful students whilst studying 'The Lion King'. We learnt about aboriginal art and what the story teaches us. My class went on to producing the set, costumes and performed a dance to 'Grasslands Chant'. It was truly fantastic and enjoyed by staff, peers and family members.

This blog means a lot to me as throughout my life and career I have experienced negative comments about my background, for example my degree in musical theatre. At school I was called stupid many times because I was heavily involved in Drama and Music, instead of Science or math. I would get told off by teachers for having flute or singing lessons and missing part of a class to do so. I wasn't seen to be an academic student by my peers and teachers. Most people assumed that I would get nowhere by studying Theatre studies and Music. However, throughout all the negativity I persevered and in doing so have pursued a career I absolutely love.

For the duration of my teaching career I have been able to use all of my skills I learnt from acting and singing and my students have definitely benefitted from it. Not only will this blog highlight transferable skills, but it will also show the positive effects acting, singing and dancing has on primary school children.

Transferable skills

These are the skills I have been able to use as a teacher. Personally, I found transferring my skills over to teaching was a natural process. Being in front of a class didn't fazeme as I love to perform, therefore the classroom became my stage. I'm sure there's probably loads more I could add to this mind map and yes...I spelt leadership wrong and tried to fit an 'a' but it didn't work!




I use all of these on a daily basis but the words that jump out at me and have the most meaning are the following:

1. Creativity
2. Acting
3. Singing
4. Teamwork/leadership skills
5. Communication
6. Commitment
7. Enthusiasm

With all of these amazing skills I have been able to teach effectively and in return my students have developed so many life changing skills. It is unbelievably exciting when a child builds up the courage to converse with their peers through role-play, it is amazing when you see children putting their heart and souls into a performance they have been working on for weeks, it is wonderful when your class build a strong connection with one another through the performing arts and finally, it is heart-warming seeing your students happy and content with life at school. 

The Benefits of Performing Arts for Primary School Children

For the past six years I have been lucky to teach primary school children and have my own homeroom. I use my skills from studying musical theatre every day in the classroom and the children love learning in such a pro-active, musical and happy environment. I start the day with morning circle which includes lots of singing and movement to warm our bodies and vocal cords up for the day ahead. Then we usually go into our unit of investigation which involves play based learning and a free flow class where students can go in and out of the different centers at their own pace. My favourite part of the classroom is the role-play area where the children can dress up and get into character using the set, costume and props. Last year the role-play center changed from a house to a space station then a dinosaur excavation and finally a police station - these were all chosen carefully to fit in with the curriculum.

Here are some examples of how role-playing can benefit children in many ways:

Mathematics - a shop role-play can help children develop in math by counting, subtracting and using fake money
Science - a space station can teach children about the solar system
Literacy - role-plays can help develop a child's language, communication skills and vocabulary.
Art - a museum/gallery role-play teaches children about culture, different mediums of art, develops fine motor skills, imagination and creativity.
Social - all role-plays help children experiment with different social situations. Example, talking in character, building relationships, public speaking, communication skills, listening and how to handle different situations
Emotional - role-playing helps children understand emotions, it builds their confidence and helps them to show compassion and empathy when another child is upset.

My class love to sing and we sing throughout the whole day. We sing in the morning, during UOI time and transition periods and we start singing again after nap time. Singing is vital to a child's development. Here are some benefits of learning how to sing for primary school children:

1. Rhythm - beats, counting, math
2. Expression - emotional outlet, story telling
3. Memory - learning lyrics
4. Literacy - new vocabulary, language development
5. Social - develops communication and listening skills, builds community and friendships
6. Health - improves well-being
7. Builds Confidence
8. Knowledge - understanding different cultures, types of music
9. Fun!

Now, although I'm not the best dancer I still teach my class how to dance and to a variety of music. They have learnt ballet and performed a lovely routine to the 'Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy' and have also had fun learning choreography to The Lion King's 'Grasslands Chant'. Lastly here are the benefits of dancing:

1. Health - Exercise, improves posture, balance, stamina, flexibility, mental and physical health
2. Gross motor skills - flexibility, strength, enables a child to progress in other sports 
3. Co-ordination - improved fine motor skills
4. Social - cognitive development, patience, listening, leadership and teamwork skills
5. Expression - emotional and creative outlet
6. Memory - increased through learning dance and movement patterns
7. Builds confidence
8. Knowledge - learn different genres of music, styles of dance and cultures
9. Fun!

This is why it is so important for creative subjects to be accessible to children. They learn so many skills through art, drama and music and can use them to improve in other areas of learning. The sad reality is that creative subjects get cut first to fund other subjects. The following article was published in 2018, but is still extremely relevant. The statistics were quite shocking, however it made me think about what I could do for my community and how I could keep the creative arts alive. 

Here's the link, Have a read and comment below on what your thoughts are --->   https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-42862996