The Westport Arts Advisory Committee (WAAC) is hosting the third in its series of TEA (Thinkers Educators Artists) Talks on Sunday, Nov. 15 at 2 p.m. at Westport Town Hall in a forum titled “Where Are the Arts in CT Education?”
WAAC created the TEA Talk format to bring together Thinkers, Educators and Artists from within and beyond Westport, to discuss important issues relevant to the arts.
TEA Talks topics presented in 2014 included “Technology and the Arts and Healing and the Arts.”
The latest forum will address a trending conversation that is taking place on a national level, according to organizers.
These include such issues as where do the arts fit in curricula focused more and more on academics and preparation for jobs in a global economy? And, how are the arts integrated into Westport schools and neighboring school districts?
In the first of three 20-minute segments, arts advocate Kristin McKinney of Westport and state Commissioner of Education Dianna R. Wentzell will discuss the state’s current educational mandates and the role the arts play in a curriculum that emphasizes science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
In their segment “All STEAMED Up”, the two will delve into a growing concern that collectively, we are risking a trend away from a traditional liberal arts education.
Wentzell, a Connecticut educator for more than 25 years, has served as the state Department of Education’s chief academic officer and as assistant superintendent of schools in Hartford.
She has a master’s degree in educational leadership from University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Hartford.
In the second segment, “Visual Literacy and Westport’s 21st Century Classrooms,” the age-old adage “A picture is worth a thousand words,” takes on a literal definition.
Robbin Zella, executive director of the Housatonic Museum of Art (HMA) in Bridgeport, Julie Droller, director of elementary education for the Westport Public Schools, and Westport art teacher Jody Carlson, will examine how learning to read pictures at a young age stimulates the analytical thinking skills necessary for a child’s early development in speech, reading and writing.
Coined in the late 1960s, “visual literacy” is broadly defined as the ability to communicate and understand through visual means.
The panel will discuss the current interdisciplinary approach to learning that Westport elementary schools have adopted based on the tenets of visual literacy.
World-renowned piano impresario and music teacher Frederic Chiu of Westport will host the third and final TEA Talk segment, “Music During and After School,” in collaboration with Frank Derico, executive director of Bridgeport’s Neighborhood Studios, and Misty Beyer, executive program director of Music for Youth.
Chiu will engage the duo on the sharp differences that exist in structured music education in school districts within different socio-economic environments, according to an announcement.
Music for Youth and Neighborhood Studios each try to bridge the chasm of opportunities that exist within neighboring school systems in Fairfield County, both during and after the school day.
The Westport Arts Advisory Committee, appointed by the First Selectman, advises on the preservation, conservation, and perpetuation of the arts in Westport, and serves as a bridge between the arts and education in the community.
A Q & A and reception at Town Hall will follow the TEA Talk. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit westportarts.org.
