Thursday, February 5, 2009

Can you repeat the question?

Over at the NYU Educational Theater blog, the valiant Dennis Baker, who is a grad student and a working TA, shares and reflects on a meeting he attended at New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC).

NJPAC has an extensive residency program in the schools, the goals of which they are apparently reevaluating. Teaching Artists were invited to discuss the shape of the elephant commonly referred to as Arts Integration vs. Art for Arts' Sake.

Dennis reports:

"...the schools are questioning the importance of paying for the students to learn acting/theater techniques. This lead into questioning whether NJPAC should offer a more arts integrated program where the teaching artists go into the classroom and use theater skills to teach subjects in history, science and English classes."

It's a big question, and apparently an eternal one, because we keep hashing it out.

We keep coming back to it.

Like moths to a flame.

Ouch.

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