More Artsbridge

The ArtsBridge America program, recently restored at SUU, is providing SUU undergraduates the opportunity of teaching Cedar North Elementary students about the importance of art.

ArtsBridge America is a program funded by a grant from the Dana Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to improving education, and it was brought to SUU through the College of Performing and Visual Arts. The goal of the program is to keep art in K-12 schools through emphasizing its importance in curriculum. ArtsBridge also provides service learning opportunities to SUU students.

Jessie Brinson, Kelsey Hayes, Alexandria Wall, Marissa Brown, Madisen Hayes and Jacqueline Trujillo are working toward these goals by traveling to Cedar North Elementary School twice a week to aid in the youngsters’ learning by integrating science and math with dance, music and drama.

Marissa Brown, a sophomore music education major from Farmington, said she has found this method of teaching both fun and inspiring for the first graders she teaches.

“They ask interesting questions and help me learn a lot myself,” Brown said.

Understanding that one can’t get too serious with science for first graders, Brown said she likes to emphasize the connections between music and science by coaching her students to keep an ear open for the sounds we hear every day.

“Everything around us is music. It’s in the wind, trees, birds you hear singing and even the person breathing right next to you,” Brown said.

The participants have found that the youth involved in the program are not only learning, but having a great time.

“They like it, especially when they get to learn how to make and play drums,” Brown said. “It’s making it a little more fun to learn science and a little more interesting to learn music.”

To get involved in the program, each SUU student had to get a faculty recommendation, submit a resume to the CPVA and design lesson plans to prepare elementary students for a final project. All the participants said they have found the program to be well worth their time and say it’s a great opportunity for anyone thinking of a career in education.