Magic Moments
(All names of minors are pseudonyms)
The benefits of P.S. ARTS music, theater and visual arts programs are not only evident in the results of our rigorous program evaluation, but also readily visible during a visit to any of our schools. P.S. ARTS Teaching Artists often share these powerful stories of success from the classroom, including this one below.

From: M. Savage, Theater Teaching Artist
School: Lucille J. Smith Elementary
As my series of lessons with the third grade on Balinese shadow puppetry drew to a close, the class began working on a culminating performance where each child and a partner would write and perform their own shadow puppet play. I found myself worrying about Jermaine, a student that been diagnosed with selective mutism, a condition in which a child avoids speaking in almost all social situations. His classroom teacher said that Jermaine was a very sweet kid, but due to a tumultuous home life and early childhood trauma, he never spoke in class or to his teachers and classmates. Jermaine liked drama class, however, and participated non-verbally.
 
As the performance grew closer, I wondered how Jermaine and his partner would work together. During the last rehearsal, with his teacher guiding him, Jermaine spoke in a whisper. It was a momentous first step, but I wondered if he would find the courage in front of a larger audience. When the big day arrived, the class became very still as Jermaine and his partner headed behind the screen. At first all we saw were the shadows of the puppets dancing on the screen. And then…  Jermaine said his first line. Quiet, but clear, he performed his entire skit with his partner. After the performance, when each team took turns at a curtain call, Jermaine's face beamed with pride as he took his bow. With a puppet and supportive peers, Jermaine found his voice in school for the very first time.

From: June Edmonds, Visual Arts Teaching Artist
School: William Anderson Elementary
I put up a lot of art prints on the walls of my classroom, and I find the children develop an almost personal relationship them. One print was a masterwork by Frida Kahlo I posted as an example of a self-portrait.
 
My student, Jamie, who was enrolled in the after school program that took place in my classroom, asked me if he could draw Frida on the board if he finished his homework on time.  Of course I said yes, and then I went home for the day.  What I walked in and saw the next day brought me to tears!  I just couldn't erase his drawing, and worked around it for a week!
 
As I described his art to his kindergarten teacher and other teachers in the school, they told me he was a great kid who struggled with confidence because of some challenges he'd faced. The way he beamed that week when I told him how much I, and all the other teachers and students, enjoyed his work is impossible to describe. Usually Jaime dismisses my compliments of his work, but this week I think he was finally convinced of his unique gift. 

From: Johanna McKay, Theater Teaching Artist
School: Billy Mitchell Elementary
I have a first grader, Jorge, who won't dance.  Just won't.  His fellow classmates confirmed it. "He won't dance."  "He's too shy, Miss Johanna."  Well, we're doing a show with three dances in it!!!  I said, "Jorge!!  No dancing?"  He tearfully shook his head and sat down in a chair next to me.  "Well," I said, "I guess you'd better be my assistant." 

He looked hopeful so I asked him if he'd be willing to run the lights, the sound, do the opening curtain speech and hand out props and costumes to the actors - basically, be in charge.  He nodded.  The class patted him on the back and we carried on.  Now, each day he plants himself next to me with his own copy of his script in his little hand.  He watches everything and knows just who to give cowboy hats to, when to turn off and on the lights, and has his opening speech memorized (about turning off cell phones and enjoying the show)! 

During last week's class, the young actor who plays the farmer mimed knocking on the wise, old man's door!  Then, the small boy playing the old man slowly hobbled up with his cane and then mimed opening an invisible door!!  What collaboration!  What attention to detail!!  I asked them if they wanted to keep it that way every time.  They said sure!  But we agreed it looked a little funny without sound effects.  Then Jorge knocked three times on the desk near him…  We all LOVED it!!  I jumped up and grabbed a drum mallet for him.  We practiced him watching the farmer intently - they make eye contact and together make the knocking and the sound!!!  But it got even better when the old man opened the door and Jorge made a creaking sound.  It was perfect. 

Today when he plunked down next to me with his script in one hand, he had gotten the mallet from the top shelf and had it in his other hand.  He did the speech, the lights, the sound effects - the "knock, knock, knock" and then the "creeeeeeeeeak!" of the door. And every time we all died laughing. He's making this class's show SO much BETTER!  It's a nice success story of a boy finding his own way to be a part of the show. 

From: Claire Bergen, Music Teaching Artist
School: William Green Elementary
As a fifth grade class walked into my room one morning, the classroom teacher informed me that there was a new student.  She let me know that he spoke almost no English, but she assured me that the students sitting on either side of him were bilingual and would translate any instructions I gave into Spanish. This was very helpful during our opening journal activity, but when we started playing xylophones, it was difficult to tell if he was following along. When we came to the part of class when students can improvise short jazz solos based on the words of a song, the new student raised his hand to participate. I hesitated before calling on him, unsure if he understood what I was asking him to do. I shouldn’t have worried. Though his solo didn’t follow the words exactly, the rhythmic pattern and even his choice of notes clearly indicated that he’d been listening intently to what we were playing. He didn’t need to speak English to perform well, because he was following the universal language of music. I was so pleased that he was able to engage in the class, and I know it gave him confidence to participate in his other subjects.

From: Jenny Swan, Visual Arts Teaching Artist
School: Beethoven Elementary
A few days before last year’s winter break Javier, a first grader, pulled a piece of paper from his backpack. He proudly showed me a beautiful calendar he had created to count down the days until our next art class. I could see the care he took in making it, and asked him what inspired him. Javier told me that it was his mother's idea. She knew school was not always easy for Javier, and wanted him to have something he loved about school to look forward to – he chose art class!

When we came back from the holidays, Javier once again pulled a calendar out of his backpack, this time several pages long. For each day on his calendar during the school break, Javier had drawn a picture. He called the collection his countdown to a new year of art, and said he couldn't wait for vacation to be over so he could get back to school!

From: Kate Sobel, Principal
School: Camino Nuevo Charter Academy- Harvard
On Friday I saw two of our middle school boys come alive in drama with Mr. Tee. One student is in our Special Day Class and is particularly quiet. He walks through the hallways of our school somewhat withdrawn and is regularly encouraged to speak up and ask for help when he needs it with his academics. In drama he stepped out of his shell and into the character painted by his teacher. He interacted with the other student in his sketch and put on a show that had the class in hysterics. Later that day he came up to me and thanked me for coming to see his skit – it was clear to me that his confidence had strengthened because he’d had an audience for something in school in which he feels successful.
 
In our art class with Ms. Leah, I sat down with a girl who aspires to be “a doctor…but also an artist” when she grows up. She was intently working on a project that required her to use the same materials as everyone else in the room – shiny green paper, Xerox copies of a set of characters and objects, and a black sharpie. Her mission: use variety to make her piece stand out. After the students finished their work Ms. Leah gave them a chance to walk around the room to compare the work of their classmates to their own and look at the variety in the products everyone created from the same materials. She glowed as people commented on hers – the thoughts behind the work combined with careful attention to detail made it stick out and her vision was accomplished.

Your program is appreciated by all here at (CNCA) Harvard!

From: Tamie Smith, Teaching Artist
School: Grand View Elementary
I just wanted to call and tell you that a student told me today that he couldn't sleep last night because he was too excited about coming to art class the next day!

From: Michael Cappelli, Former Teaching Artist
School: William Green Elementary
This week, I am teaching Romeo and Juliet to my 1st and 2nd graders and we began talking about Shakespeare.  For the main activity, I tell the story of Romeo and Juliet and the boys act out parts of the story in tableau as Romeo and the girls act out the story as Juliet.
 
At the end of the story, I explained how Romeo and Juliet die and then we discussed why their families disliked each other so much.  I asked the class why Shakespeare's plays are still performed and if they reminded anyone of anything that happens in real life.  One little girl, Jenny, gave a remarkable and insightful answer.  She said that it reminded her of Martin Luther King Jr. and the way he tried to bring blacks and whites together.  She said sometimes black people and white people fall in love and that their families and friends don't like it.  
 
I thought the connection she made to MLK was beautiful and incredibly mature for a 2nd grader and I was thrilled she was able to take so much from a simple retelling of Romeo and Juliet.  

From:  First GradeTeacher
School: Tamarack Elementary
As a first grade teacher at Tamarack Elementary School in Avenal California I am proud of the two teachers that are putting on the literacy based art lessons.  I have found that several of my students have been able to really come out of their shells.  Where they do not like to read and write yet, they are able to manipulate and play with the paints and glues and think about the elements inside of the story better, clearer and hopefully this extra reinforcement will help them appreciate literature more. I myself would like to learn more from these art teachers so as to be able to incorporate this type of teaching into my own lessons with fluency.

From: Claire Bergen, Teaching Artist
School: William Green Elementary
In fourth grade, while learning to play the recorder, we have been playing some basic music staff-reading games with a big "floor staff." Finally, a few weeks ago I decided to try having the class play a whole song from staff notation, and as I placed the oversized sheets of music notation on the board, there was a collective gasp from the class. To my surprise, they couldn't contain their excitement: "MUSIC NOTES!" they exclaimed, excitedly. I had a class of 30 nine-year-olds, on the edge of their seats at the simple prospect of reading and playing music!

From: Jenny Swan, Teaching Artist
School: LAUSD
Recently I did a two hour Professional Development Workshop with about thirty LAUSD teachers.  They had a planned union walkout in protest of various concerns. Since I had been working with these teachers previously, when they saw it was me they warned me of what would be happening. They said they planned to walk out halfway through the session. I figured that half a session was better than nothing, so I proceeded to do a workshop about the history of popsicle sticks and their use in the arts. When I looked up at the clock, to my surprise, the two hours had almost passed! The teachers were so absorbed in building sculptures and drawing elaborate bases that no one had walked out!