My name is Abbey Shaffer and I am the new art teacher to Jefferys Grove Elementary. I started my art teaching career in 2001 at Lead Mine Elementary after graduating from Western Michigan University with a k-12 art education degree. Lead Mine was my home for 15 years, but in 2015 I decided to make some life changes and stay home with my three children. For the past 4 years, I have been spending time at home, as well as training for triathlons, and teaching group fitness classes. I enjoyed my time away, but missed teaching art, and am EXTREMELY excited to be back!
We believe the arts greatly enrich the basic educational experience and prepare students for lifelong learning. Dance, music, theatre arts and visual arts are central to the standards-based curriculum. Study in the arts helps students develop skills in creativity, communication, collaboration, making connections, analysis, critique, problem-solving and self-discipline. -WCPSS
Why is art education so important?
Working in the arts helps learners to develop creative problem-solving skills.
Teaching through the arts can present difficult concepts visually, making them more easy to understand.
Art instruction helps children with the development of motor skills, language skills, social skills, decision-making, risk-taking, and inventiveness.
Visual arts teach learners about color, layout, perspective, and balance: all techniques that are necessary in presentations (visual, digital) of academic work.
Integrating art with other disciplines reaches students who might not otherwise be engaged in classwork.
Arts experiences boost critical thinking, teaching students to take the time to be more careful and thorough in how they observe the world.
The arts provide challenges for learners at all levels.
Art education connects students with their own culture as well as with the wider world.
A report by Americans for the Artsstates that young people who participate regularly in the arts (three hours a day on three days each week through one full year) are four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement, to participate in a math and science fair, or to win an award for writing an essay or poem than children who do not participate.
A study of Missouri public schools in 2010 found that greater arts education led to fewer disciplinary infractions and higher attendance, graduation rates, and test scores.