Passage 2 Read the following interview transcript and choose the BEST answer for
each question. Marcie Sillman: If you took an informal poll, most kids would probably tell you that
school is a drag. I am Marcie Sillman. Why does school get a bad rap? And what can
be done to change that reputation? That’s what educators want to know. Some
recent studies show that kids who are involved in the arts do better in school.
Researchers have a lot of theories to explain that success. Elizabeth Whitford directs
Seattle’s Arts Corps, an organization that sponsors after-school art classes. Whitford
says the arts are fun, they engage students. And they can instill certain character
traits.
Elizabeth Whitford: Persistence. Any artist has to show extreme persistence to learn
that skill, and discipline related to that. And courage and risk-taking. Some scientists
believe that making art can actually alter your brain. The data that link the impact of
the arts on learning are preliminary. But they’ve convinced some experts to venture
outside the box when it comes to classroom teaching.
MS: As Carmela Dellino strolls through the halls of Roxhill Elementary School, she
seems to know every child she sees.
For the past two years, Dellino has been the principal of this southwest Seattle
school. She oversees a wildly diverse student body. More than 30 percent of Roxhill’s 310 kids are bilingual, from Latin America, Africa, or Asia.
Carmela Dellino: “About 85% of our kids qualify for free and reduced lunch, so they
live in pretty extreme poverty.”
MS: Dellino says most Roxhill families don’t have the means to take their kids to the
ballet or the symphony. And Roxihill’s PTA can’t raise enough extra money to hire a
special art or music teacher the way they do at more affluent schools. So when the
Seattle School District asked if Roxhill wanted to take part in a pilot program that
uses the arts to teach literacy skills, Dellino didn’t hesitate to say yes.
CD: Especially in a school like Roxhill, where our students don’t have access to the
arts that other students might have, what a wonderful way to be able to use the arts
to develop literacy.
Jenny Dew: “Snakes, stand up, move around like a snake. I see zigzagging, hungry
snakes. I hear hissing sounds.”
MS: Twenty first graders slink across a brightly patterned rug in Jenny Dew’s
classroom. They hiss at each other, and thrust their heads forward, like pythons
ready to strike. Actor David Quicksall videotapes the action, and occasionally throws
out a word of advice.
David Quicksall: “Remember, we’re going to stay on our feet.”
MS: Roxhill is one of the four Seattle elementary schools involved in this literacy
project. It’s a partnership between the Seattle School District and a nonprofit called
Arts Impact. A classroom teacher from each grade in the participating schools is
paired with an artist mentor. The teachers study dance, theater, and visual arts
during intensive summer training sessions. During the school year, they use specially
developed lesson plans that infuse those art forms into the basic curriculum. In Jenny
Dew’s class, they’re using theater to build vocabulary.
JD: How can you move like a snake? Are you going to slither, are you going to flick,
are you going to zig zag, or swim or rattle or shake? First Grader: I’m gonna flick.
MS: The Arts Impact project is only in its first year at Roxhill, but Principal Carmela
Dellino says already, the kids are pretty engaged in what they’re doing.
CD: And when we can have student engagement increase, then we’re going to have
student learning increase. We know, and research tells us, then the body and the
brain and creative spirit are all engaged, then learning is going to really happen.”
MS: The U.S. Department of Education wants more hard data about how the arts
affect learning. So the Department awarded Arts Impact 241 million dollars to fund
this particular project. Arts Impact Director Dybil Barnum says art making has very
tangible connections to the core academic subjects kids study in school
Sybil Barnum: The artistic process involves gathering information, developing ideas,
refining your work, self-reflection, and revision. And all those things are also part of
many other discipline processes—the scientific process, the writing process. Having
the students see this process that they’re working through with the arts is also a
process that they use in another subject area, which is also very helpful. 【題組】50. What underlying assumption is made in the text to influence the overall
argument?
(A) The assumption that the arts are only beneficial for academically successful
students
(B) The assumption that the arts have a dubious impact on the development of
character traits
(C) The assumption that making art can alter the brain and improve learning
(D) The assumption that student engagement leads to improved learning
outcomes
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