With so many options now (everywhere) for how to educate our children, I have decided to include a piece here on A Child Grows about the The Juilliard-Nord Anglia Performing Arts Program in Chicago. It’s an inspirational collaboration and curriculum. One of my favorite takeaways from learning about it is this statement, “Through our music curriculum, every student can enjoy being be an engaged listener, composer, interpreter and communicator. Students will develop skills like critical thinking, resilience, risk-taking and discipline, which he or she can use in their learning in every subject.” Here is some information about the program which can hopefully make its way into our lives as parents with our childrens’ education here in New York City. Afterwards, I have a Q&A with Rachel White-Hunt, the Director of Music of the British International School of Chicago’s South Loop and Curriculum Fellow of The Juilliard-Nord Anglia Performing Arts Programme (Nord Angila education).
~Rebecca Conroy
Education is about inspiring people to learn and to be passionate about learning. But for too long, and in too many schools and countries around the world, a growing desire to reduce education into league tables has taken the joy out of learning. We, as educators, have a duty to bring inspiration back into the classroom. It is this belief that has led Nord Anglia Education – a network of international schools that attracts some of the most academically gifted pupils from around the world – to collaborate with the world’s leading performing arts school, The Juilliard School. Our new collaboration – through which we have developed a new curriculum with Juilliard staff and alumni working closely with NAE staff – has launched this academic year. And it came about because of a shared worldview – that the performing arts play a powerful role in society, not least providing the opportunity to inspire a love of learning for young people across all subjects.
It’s a common criticism of many schools, and indeed education systems themselves: he excessive emphasis on league tables of examination results has narrowed school curricula, limiting children’s education. Education should do more than this, with a focus on educating the whole child – and that means developing them intellectually, culturally and emotionally.
But why start with the performing arts? It’s an obvious question when there is such focus on the need to ensure young people are ready for the world of work. How can there be time for music, dance or drama, when a relentless pursuit of minutely measured literacy, numeracy and science is what is needed?
Because we believe that the performing arts is a key, unlocking many of those skills that inspire children to engage with all their studies and develop a love of learning.
The programme is not an attempt to develop world-leading musicians – that is the role of The Juilliard School. But we do want to use our combined expertise and the power of the performing arts to inspire and engage students. It is well-documented that young people, in particular, relate to music and the performing arts in a way that can rarely be replicated across the board in other academic subjects. If we can ignite their love of learning with music and the performing arts, we can ensure that flows across their studies.
We also know that learning music and the performing arts is linked to higher academic performance, helping improve literacy, mathematics and cognitive development. Evidence suggests that students who participate in learning the arts achieve higher grades in school, and students who receive musical instruction demonstrate enhanced brain performance.
The performing arts also teach students skills they are likely to need in the modern workplace – creativity, critical thinking and the ability to collaborate. And we know that if we can ignite a love of learning in young people in one area – for example music, which young people relate to in a very powerful way – than that can be used to spark a passion for learning across the board.
There is a clear, rational argument for using the performing arts as a building block for every child’s education. We need to educate the whole child, developing emotionally, academically and culturally rounded young people, ready to engage with the world. The performing arts connect people around the world like nothing else in human creation and we believe inspiring a love of culture at a young age is something all educators should make a priority. It would make us all the richer.
Who created this new curriculum?
One of the most powerful elements to this curriculum is the interaction with Juilliard alumni musicians. Juilliard curriculum specialists, teaching artists and touring performers will visit Nord Anglia schools on a regular basis. Julliard alumni just visited our school in Chicago ( British International School of Chicago- South loop) and the effect within our school community was deep. Students were inspired not only to witness such talent at work, but also to collaborate with our visitors to create music. The visit captured our student’s imaginations and showed them how ambitious they can truly be. We are already planning and eagerly waiting our next visit next term.
Why was the new performing arts curriculum developed?
Juilliard and Nord Anglia Education both recognize the importance of arts education in schools and wanted to build a collaborative teaching community that strives for excellence in the delivery of performing arts education for our students. We both wanted to develop a curriculum that equiped students with the skills, curiosity and cultural literacy to engage with the performing arts throughout their lives.
What does your school offer to enrich children’s development through music?
The music program at BISC is very strong. Our students are all exposed to music, drama and dance every year . Music and drama are in our student’s curriculum through age 16. Our students experience a wide range of musical instruments through their schools years, including brass, woodwind, strings, percussion, studio technology and mixing. We encourage creativity at all levels and hold regular performance recitals for all ages. One of our strengths is our student mentor program, which allows students of all ages and levels to support each other during recitals. We have also built time into the middle school student’s curriculum to practice and learn what good practice is and how to execute it. This has had a big effect on our student’s instrumental and vocal skills.
The music department works to create differentiated pathways for each individual student. We encourage the creativity of each student in whatever way is best for them, in a way that challenges them to take risks and be ambitious. We run a wide range of music, drama and dance clubs for all students before school, at lunch and after school. These include jazz clubs, orchestra ,ensembles, drumming squad, guitar groups, mini Mozart’s, 4 choirs and a full scale musical each year, as well as smaller plays each year in the primary school.
We host a range of concerts ranging from whole school events to smaller events. Students perform in public, for charity, and last year even on morning TV! We are currently preparing to offer one-to-one music lessons after school from Juilliard alumni as part of the After School Arts program, and will also be hosting masterclasses through the rest of this academic year.
We support our students instrumental and vocal skills by having the (Associated Boards of the Royal schools of Music) available for students to take.
From parent teacher bands, to busy practice rooms and morning booster sessions,the key to our thriving music department is that it allows our students a space to feel secure experimenting with their own ideas. They feel celebrated and know that the music and creative arts team know them as an individual and that we recognize their achievements.
What sets your program ahead of any others across the county/the world?
Through our music curriculum, every student can enjoy being be an engaged listener, composer, interpreter and communicator. Students will develop skills like critical thinking, resilience, risk-taking and discipline, which he or she can use in their learning in every subject. The activities from the Juilliard creative classroom have been designed to allow students to explore works in ways that nurture and express their imagination and creativity. In turn this will also help our students develop cultural literacy, broadening their understanding of cultural and social history around the world to give them a global perspective and these valuable skills will pay dividends in all aspects of our students learning and prepare them for future success.
I have been developing this project with the NAE and Juilliard team previous to its launch in our schools and I was excited then. Now having seen the affect it has had on our department in less than a term I can say without doubt that it sets us apart. As a teacher I am now part of a global network that includes a world leader in music education and a teacher neatwork that span’s the world, this in itself has created a network of professional development that I have never experienced before. My students are asking questions that employ critical thinking and global perspective and those who in the past may have not know their ”role” within the arts have found their voice and feel included and able to create, make music and express their opinion. My young students are describing how Stravinsky makes them feel and composing in multiple time signatures, and the entire schools feels united though this focus on cultural literacy and the “big picture”. We all know how significant the arts are to humanity and this new collaboration seems to mirror the arts role within society beyond just “learning an instrument”. I am excited about what we will achieve through this year and would love to come back and share this with you all.
Rachel White-Hunt Director of Music, British International School of Chicago, South Loop and Curriculum Fellow, The Juilliard-Nord Anglia Performing Arts Programme.