Integrated Arts – 6/11/18
This week’s class involved music and visual arts. In music, we made instruments from basic materials which can be easy for children to make in class. During the visual arts class, we watched a video of Professor Tim Ingold at the “Thinking Dangerously in Teacher Education” conference.

Tim Ingold believes there are two different meanings of education. The first being the “conventional” meaning which is to instil authoritative knowledge into young people. The anthropologist suggests that this is the more traditional way of teaching and educating younger generations. The seconds meaning could be that teachers take the hands of the children they teach and “lead them out into the world”. This can be unknown territory for both the teacher and the pupil however it is essential to find a balance between the first and the second meaning of education. Ingold’s main purpose of his talk is drawing in both children and adults. He believes that many people see drawing as an art that children “grow out of” and many adults are adamant that they are unable to draw. However, Tim Ingold says that the number of adults that say this only believe this as the result of their drawing does not resemble what they set out to draw. He continues with his talk and emphasises that children should have the freedom to express themselves and draw whatever they want (Ingold, 2013). They should not shy away from the unknown before they start, and it certainly should not cease adults from expressing themselves as well. Letting children start from nothing and giving them the tools to be able to flourish and create things while being imaginative is essential in an Expressive Arts lesson.

In the music workshop, the lecturer decided that we were going to make our own instruments out of basic materials. We made a banjo, made from paper plates, wooden sticks and elastic bands. Additionally, we made a harmonica from lollypop sticks, small straws and small elastic bands. The lecturer showed the class how to make these instruments, but we could choose the colours, shape, size and design of both our instruments so that they were unique and individual.

This lesson was fun and creative. It was pupil-led, and we were left to make these instruments exactly how we wanted them to look. For a class of my own, it would be an excellent way of introducing other instruments to the pupils, letting them be creative and giving them freedom to make things without following design instructions. Not one person in the class had instruments identical, which is the aim when combining two art forms together. By including visual arts in music, it opens a variety of creativity for the child and make them aware that, when it comes to these two art forms, they can be as creative and as free to express themselves as they please.

References
Ingold, T. (2013) Thinking Dangerously in Teacher Education. Conference at