Learning principles of writing the smArt way

By Gracie Bonds Staples

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Picture yourself teaching principles of good writing to children who might not yet know how to read.

If you’re having trouble conjuring such an image, come along with Ms. Harris’ class as they climb onto their imaginary motorbikes and take an imaginary trip to the beach.

“First we go up the hill,” they chant.

“Then we go down the hill.”

“Next we go around the corner and finally we’re at the beach.”

The exercise is intended to help kindergartners at DeKalb's Brockett Elementary School grasp key language arts concepts and improve their ability to tell a story with a beginning, a middle and an end.

This was the fourth session of eight artist Roelna Bashew will teach this year at Brockett, one of six Title I schools in metro Atlanta participating in the program.

The effort is part of  Young Audiences’ smART stART program, an early literacy initiative aimed at teaching kindergarten students using dance, music, theater or visual arts.

There’s mounting evidence that the arts aid achievement across disciplines, said Myrna Lubin, associate director of Young Audiences Arts for Learning, a national non-profit dedicated to teaching children through the arts.

“The research is definitive and conclusive about the benefits,” she said. “It inspires imagination, leads to creative thinking and multiple ways of problem solving.”

And because children learn in different ways -- visual, auditory and kinetic -- using the arts helps forms memory, said Lubin.

“It’s a powerful form of learning,” she said.

Because some teachers have little training in music, painting, drama, dance or other arts, they feel uncomfortable using the arts in the classroom.

Brockett Principal Tricia Sumpter, however, is already seeing Bashew’s techniques rubbing off on her teaching staff.

“They see what’s happening with the children and they want to continue it,” she said. “It really is transforming.”

For artists like Bashew, using the visual arts to teach is like taking a deep breathe and exhaling.

Storytelling is like theater of the mind, she said.

" Sometimes the stories are so out there, I have to pull them back in because I really want them to keep it simple,” said Bashew. “But it all starts with the imagination."

Bashew, who teaches ceramics and sculpting, has a tale of her own about how she came to such a rewarding career.

It started more than a decade ago with volunteering at her sons’ school in South Africa, where she wrote and directed a children’s television series.

Then about two years ago, a friend who was unable to fulfill her commitment with Young Audiences suggested Bashew fill in for her.

“I had an education in theater and teaching so it wasn’t a big leap for me,” said Bashew.

During a session last week at the Tucker school, she threw her long frame into the fray with enthusiasm. Her soothing South African accent drew students in, coaxing them to create stories with transition words such as “and then” and “after that.”

When she finished 45 minutes later, Bashew had not only entertained the class but had taught them the basics of storytelling.

“Once they know the rules they start to tell their own stories,” she said.

Now in its eighth year, smART stART is a program of Young Audiences Art for Learning, which started in 1952 by a group of parents who believed children should learn about classical music.

In the early 1960s, Lubin said other disciplines were added.

The program's  Atlanta chapter started in 1983 with nine artists and today has more than 60 artists and ensembles serving Georgia schools.

In 2005, Lubin said, Young Audiences joined the Woodruff Arts Center.

“This is ultimately about comprehension," said Lubin. “By telling and retelling, students gain the meaning of the text.”

At Brockett, it's hard to tell who enjoys the telling of stories more – Bashew or her students.