>>> FOR YEARS, ENCHANTED CIRCLE THEATER IN HOLE WOKE HAS BEEN
WORKING WITH SCHOOL SYSTEMS TO INTEGRATE ARTS INTO THE LESSON
PLAN.
THERE IS A NEW PROGRAM THEY'VE INTRODUCED AT METCALF SCHOOL IN
HOLYOKE THIS YEAR, IT'S CALLED A DUAL LANGUAGE ARTS INTEGRATION
PROGRAM, AND IT WEAVES IN MUSIC, DANCE AND STORY TELLING INTO
EVERY DAY LESSONS.
CAROLEE MCGRATH SAT DOWN WITH REPRESENTATIVES FROM ENCHANTED
CIRCLE TO LEARN MORE.
>> ENCHANTED CIRCLE SPECIALIZES IN ARTS INTEGRATION.
SO WE REALLY ACT AS ARTS PARTNERS WORKING WITH SCHOOLS,
COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCIES.
RIGHT NOW AT METCALF SCHOOL WE ARE BRINGING OUR ARTS INTEGRATED
LEARNING INTO THE CLASSROOM DIRECTLY WITH TEACHERS AND
STUDENTS IN A DUAL LANGUAGE PROGRAM.
(SPEAKING SPANISH).
SO WE USE THEATER ARTS, DANCE, MUSIC, VISUAL ARTS, MEDIA ARTS,
TO LIVEN UP LEARNING, TO ENGAGE STUDENTS, TO COMPEL THEM TO GET
INVOLVED, ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN WHATEVER THEY'RE STUDYING.
>> THIS IS EVERY FRIDAY?
>> EVERY FRIDAY IS ENCHANTED CIRCLE DAY, ABSOLUTELY,
THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, SEPTEMBER THROUGH JUNE.
>> SO THEY MUST BE EXCITED, EVERYONE IS ALWAYS EXCITED FOR
FRIDAY, RIGHT?
>> THEY SEEM TO BE.
>> SO TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT WHAT YOU DO IN THE CLASSROOM.
I KNOW YOU'RE IN A FEW DIFFERENT GRADES, BUT LET'S SAY FIRST
GRADE, FOR EXAMPLE, WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU WALK IN?
>> SO I WALK IN AND WE'RE TO GET THEM WHILE THEY'RE STILL EATING
BREAKFAST SO WE HAVE A VIDEO THAT THEY'RE SINGING WITH IT.
THEN I ABOUT OUR CHIMES AND WE GET INTO A YOGA POSE TO SETTLE.
(SPEAKING SPANISH).
WE SIGN LANGUAGE, AND THEN WE GO INTO WHAT WE'RE GOING TO BE
DOING.
SO I BRING MY PUPPET WHO SPEAKS SPANISH AS WELL.
(SPEAKING SPANISH).
AND GUS EXPLAINS WHAT THEY'LL BE DOING FOR THE DAY.
SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE CURRENTLY DOING ANIMAL CLASSIFICATION,
WE'RE WORKING WITH ANIMAL PUPPETS, AND SO HE'LL EXPLAIN
WHAT'S GOING TO BE HAPPENING AND THEN WE GET INTO THE PROJECTS AT
HAND.
AND IT'S EITHER, SO WE START WITH OUR PUPPET MAKING AND NOW
WE'RE GOING TO BE WRITING A LITTLE ABOUT AND DOING THEIR
ENVIRONMENTS AS WELL.
>> AND IT'S ALL IN SPANISH?
>> YES.
>> DOES EVERY KID IN THE CLASS SPEAK SPANISH?
>> YES.
AND IF IT'S NOT, WE HAVE, THE FIRST GRADE TEACHER, WE TELL
THEM TO -- THEY ARE LEARNING IN BOTH
LANGUAGES.
>> FAIRY FINKERS TO THE TOP OF OUR HEAD, OVER OUR EYE BROWS,
OUR TEMPLES, OUR EARS.
>> METCALF SCHOOL IS ONE OF TWO SCHOOLS IN HOLYOKE THAT IS A
DUAL LANGUAGE PROGRAM.
SO THROUGHOUT THE DAY THE STUDENTS
ARE LEARNING HALF IN SPANISH AND HALF IN ENGLISH, AND IT'S REALLY
A 50-50 MIX.
>> COMPLETELY, SO IT'S LIKE AN IMMERSION PROGRAM.
>> RIGHT.
AND IT'S THE EASIEST, AND WE KNOW THAT'S THE WAY YOU CAN GET
THE LANGUAGE THAT'S COMPLETELY, EVEN GUS SAYS --
HE REMINDS THE CHILDREN, YOU'RE IN SPANISH CLASS.
SOME CHILDREN THAT'S THEIR FIRST LANGUAGE, SO IN SOME CHILDREN,
MOST CHILDREN ENGLISH IS THEIR FIRST LANGUAGE.
BUT IT'S INTERESTING TO SEE HOW THEY WORK TOGETHER AND HELP ONE
ANOTHER WHEN ONE IS SPEAKING ENGLISH AND THEN WE'LL HAVE
ANOTHER PERSON TRANSLATE, SO THEY REALLY HELP EACH OTHER TO
BUILD THEIR KNOWLEDGE.
>> SOME KIDS WHO ARE BETTER SPANISH SPEAKERS OBVIOUSLY THAN
OTHERS.
BY THE TIME THEY GET TO HIGH SCHOOL, MY SON IS TAKING
SPANISH, AND OH MY GOSH, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN GREAT, BUT
THAT'S ANOTHER SEGMENT FOR ANOTHER DAY.
>> AND WE LEARN FROM THEM, TOO BECAUSE SOMETIMES, GRAMMAR, I'M
CONVERSATIONAL, BUT GRAMMAR IS A VERY DIFFERENT BALL OF WAX.
AND ENGLISH IS HARD FOR ME TOO SOMETIMES.
AND THEY'RE GREAT TO HELP OUT WITH THAT.
>> GETTING THE FUNDAMENTALS AT THE BEGINNING NOW THAT STARTING
OUT THIS IS HOW WE'RE STARTING IN BOTH ENGLISH AND SPANISH, SO
YOU'RE BUILDING UPON ALL THAT.
SO BY THE TIME THEY GET INTO SOMEWHERE ELSE, SPANISH WAS MY
FIRST, IT HAS HELPED ME WITH MY ENGLISH, AND I'M LEARNING WITH
THE STUDENTS, IT'S FUN AND THE STUDENTS ARE SHOWING ME THINGS I
DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT MYSELF.
>> LET'S TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU DO IN THE CLASSROOM.
YOUR STYLE IS GOING TO BE DIFFERENT THAN GABRIEL LA'S
STYLE.
>> I'M MORE OF A PERFORMANCE BASED TEACHING ARTIST.
SO A LOT OF THE WORK I DO WITH THE STUDENTS INVOLVE US GETTING
UP AND WORKING WITH OUR BODIES.
(SPEAKING SPANISH).
THEY HAVE BEEN DANCING, SINGING, THEY'VE BEEN JUMPING AROUND.
IT'S CREATING BOTH THE ARTS AND EDUCATION INTO ONE EXPLOSION OF
MAGIC.
>> WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT KINDERGARTEN, BECAUSE I HAVE A
KINDERGARTENER RIGHT NOW, HE HAS LIKE MORNING MEETING AND THEN
YOU DO SIGHT WORDS, THEN YOU DO SHE, LIKE A THOUSAND DIFFERENT
WAYS.
HOW DO YOU WORK THAT IN AND KEEP THEIR ATTENTION WITH WHAT YOU'RE
DOING?
>> YES, IT'S ALL ABOUT TAKING PARTS OF IT.
YOU DON'T WANT TO DO ONE THING FOR A LONG TIME BECAUSE
ATTENTION SPAN GOES QUICKLY.
SO MY DAY STARTS WITH READING WHAT
WE'LL BE DOING TODAY.
AND I HAVE THE STUDENTS READ IT THEMSELVES, SO THEY'RE READING
IN SPANISH FOR EACH OTHER, SO YOU'RE CREATING ALL THIS PUBLIC
SPEAKING, A SENSE OF DIRECTION, AND A SENSE OF LEADERSHIP.
THEN WE GO INTO OUR WARMUP, WE DO SIGNS IN OUR WARMUPS, THEY'RE
CREATING TREES OUT OF THEMSELVES, CHEWING GUM THAT WE
DON'T HAVE.
THEN WE GO INTO GAMES, I THINK THE GAMES ARE SO IMPORTANT
BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT JUST SITTING DOWN, YOU'RE DOING THINGS.
WE'RE PLAYING ALL THESE THEATER GAMES INVOLVED WHERE THE
VOCABULARY.
THEN WE READ A BOOK AND CREATE SOMETHING OUT OF THE BOOK.
>> THIS SOUNDS FUN FOR ME.
I WISH WE HAD THIS WHEN I WAS LITTLE.
BUT HOW DOES THIS WORK WITH THEIR ACTUAL LEARNING?
BECAUSE YOU'LL HAVE NAYSAYERS WHO SAY LET'S JUST STICK TO MATH
AND ENGLISH, THERE'S MCAS, SO HOW DOES ARTS REALLY ENHANCE THE
LEARNING PROCESS?
>> IT TEACH TOES THE WHOLE CHILD, RIGHT.
IF YOU ARE ACTING OUT VOCABULARY, IF YOU ARE SHOWING
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN IN BETWEEN AND NEAR, OR NEAR AND
FAR, BY ACTING IT OUT, IT'S IN YOUR MUSCLE MEMORY, IT'S IN YOUR
VISUAL MEMORY.
YOU ARE, YOU'RE PROBLEM SOLVING AT ALL TIMES.
WE HAVE STUDENTS SOMETIMES ACTING UP WHEN AN ISOSECLES
ANGLE IS, AND THEN THEY KNOW WHAT AN ANGLE IS.
A PARALLELOGRAM HAS TWO PARALLEL SIDES AND THEN THE OTHER SIDE.
SO IF I'M THIS WAY, LET'S DO IT WITH OUR FINGERS, BY DOING THAT
WE'VE JUST COLLABORATED ON SOLVING A PROBLEM.
>> WE HAVE.
I DIDN'T REALLY HELP YOU, THOUGH, YOU SOLVED THE PROBLEM.
>> BUT I THINK IT DOES DRILL IT IN A LITTLE BIT MORE AND MAKE IT
MORE EXCITING.
SO TELL US, THIS GOES THROUGH THE END OF THE YEAR?
>> WE STARTED IN SEPTEMBER, WE END IN JUNE.
AND YES, IT'S A YEAR-LONG IMMERSION.
AND AT THE SCHOOL THEY ARE REALLY PIONEERING THIS DUAL
LANGUAGE, SO THEY'RE PIONEERING DUAL LANGUAGE IN AN ARTS
INTEGRATED WAY.
THIS IS A PARTNERSHIP THAT WE'VE BEEN
WORKING WITH METCALF SCHOOL FOR AT LEAST THREE YEARS.
AMY BURKE WHO IS THE PRINCIPAL, I TWAS TEACHING ARTIST IN HER
CLASSROOM WHEN SHE WAS A FIRST GRADE TEACHER MANY YEARS AGO.
SO THERE'S A LONG HISTORY HERE.
>> SO THERE'S A LOT OF EXCITING THINGS HAPPENING AT THIS SCHOOL
IN PARTICULAR.
I'M GOING TO GO HOME AND ACT OUT MY TRIANGLE.
BUT THIS IS GREAT, WHAT YOU GUYS BRING IS A LOT OF ENERGY, AND
YOU MUST BE EXHAUSTED BY THE END OF THE DAY.
>> I LOVE IT.
I THINK THAT'S WHAT HELPS DRIVE ANYTHING.
I GO INTO THE SCHOOLS AND I HAVE KIDS SURROUNDING ME LIKE THIS,
ALL AROUND GIVING ME HUGS AND TELLING ME HOW MUCH THEY LOVE
US, BECAUSE THEY TRUTHFULLY LOVE WHAT WE DO.
>> (SPEAKING SPANISH) >> SOMETHING HAPPENS WHEN YOU
NURTURE CREATIVITY.
AND THERE'S THIS SENSE OF, STUDENTS GO FROM I CAN'T TO I
CAN ALL THE TIME.
AND YOU'RE BUILDING UP CREATIVE FLUENCY AND CRITICAL THINKING
THAT WILL THEN TRANSFER INTO EVERY OTHER ASPECT OF LEARNING.
>> THANK SO YOU MUCH FOR COMING IN TODAY, THIS IS FANTASTIC, AND
THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU'RE DOING.
>> THANK YOU.