Answers to Questions Submitted By Our Community

Q. How will you find out what young people think about their school experiences and their future?

A. By Asking Questions, Deep Listening and Action

Danez Smith poet, artist, educator and social justice voice hated to read when he was first in school. One day his 3rd-grade teacher asked him a question. This question would change his life. The question was “What do you really want to read Danez?” No one had ever asked him that before. He wanted to read about video games. His teacher heard him and said, “Yes, then let's have you read about video games”. With her dedication to what he wanted he was reading at a 5th grade level at the end of the year. http://www.danezsmithpoet.com/video/

This is an excellent example of how what we call intrinsic choice works. Intrinsic choice is student voice. The core of The Dynamic Arts philosophy is intrinsic choice. Our entire program is built upon this powerful premise. Intrinsic choice is all about listening and encouraging students to use, trust and explore their own voices. http://www.thedynamicarts.com/choice.html

Student voice is built into our vision and mission statements and we have designed student voice throughout our entire school approach. When a student first comes to The Dynamic Arts School they meet with one of the programs certified Concierge Coaches. Our coaches are trained personal development coaches specializing in high school age students. Their job is to listen, ask questions and then work with students. Students are able to design their own projects, as well as work on projects our partners/artists/teachers have created. Student and coach spend important time together. This coach/student relationship supports and creates a foundational structure from which the student can rely and build upon. Trust and responsibility are a very important part of this co-creative relationship. The student now has the opportunity to create their very own learning blueprints!

Our central project designs for the schools we work with includes a weekly multi-media presentation. Students will be able to use these formats for their stories and their voices. They will also be able to use these media programs to receive feedback from the community.

The culture of open transparency at Dynamic Arts is also part of how we support and receive feedback from our students. Our foundation of trust and respect create a continual open forum for conversation and student voices.

Q, How will you get input from educators, employers, higher education, and other constituencies about the knowledge and competencies

students need?

A. The Dynamic Arts is fortunate to have an amazing advisory board on our school’s team. We have educators, executives, business women and men, entrepreneurs and a strong core of higher education professionals. These diverse backgrounds allow for the school to draw from a vast pool of expertise and awareness. Each member is well connected within the greater community. The school will benefit greatly from their insights and from the learning opportunities that they have already begun crafting. These projects will be designed to offer students a way to put those important competencies into action.

Dr. Greg Helms Former Director of the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Facility at Washington State University and one of our advisory board members had a few thoughts to share with us.

“For science and research students need a developed and clever sense of curiosity and observation. Observing society and trends is another very important part of research. To get students ready for college we must begin to introduce them to a wider variety of real-world working experiences at a younger age. Early on we must earnestly start to have discussions with our students about what they might like to do with their lives. They need to know what makes life possible, how real life works and what’s on the other end of the Internet connection. Being exposed to different possibilities for future careers is important.Using project-based learning that students can participate in is critical.They need to be able to get their feet wet.This is of paramount importance to developing the competencies needed in today’s world. “

Elaine Holland is the Director of Coaching for Tony Robbins and is on our advisory board. She has held general management and sales roles in the technology and finance industries. Elaine has served on non-profit and industry related boards and spent six years as the Chief Talent Officer of a global marketing research firm. She is the author of “Making Feedback Work: the Key to Building Effective Teams”. Here are a few of her thoughts on the question.

"As students transition from high school into higher education or the work place they must translate cognitive learning into the practical skills. It is very important for students to experience learning as valuable and meaningful. Once a student understands why they are learning something, he or she will tap into an inspired level of motivation that is a key component to being successful in their careers and lives.

I have found in my work that the biggest drawback for college students or younger employees is their inability to relate what they have learned in high school to their current endeavors. The Dynamic Arts School bridges that gap by giving students the context for learning. Therefore, the Dynamic Arts School is necessary for students today and should not be considered as an alternative or an experiment".

The Dynamic

Arts

Dynamic Arts

Teaching integrated arts for over 25 years to students in public schools
Bringing experience, bold new approaches and successful outcomes onto the education landscape and into the real world
Developing curriculum for Urban, Native American Communities and Rural youth programs
Supported by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, OSPI
Developing and implementing project-oriented teacher training
Deep Learning, intrinsic choice, integrated, project-based learning

Answers to Questions Submitted By Our Community

Dynamic Arts

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