Running head: EXPRESSIVE ARTS FOR THE WHOLE CHILD LEFT BEHIND

Expressive Arts for the Whole Child Left Behind

The Benefits and Effects of Teaching to the Whole Child
By:
Lanie Bergin

WHOLE CHILD LEFT BEHIND

This research publication is an outgrowth from my academic and personal research on

Movement and Expressive Arts Education. My academic studies were supported by Lesley
University Graduate School of Arts & Social Sciences, The European Graduate School and
Tamalpa Institute. In this publication my research work continues in support of my Whole Child
Left Behind organization.
WCLB is a social advocacy organization whose purpose is to explore how personal mythology
relates to and influences education, society, culture, and child development. WCLB project now
has a documentary in production. For information about the WCLB documentary please email,
info@BerginLearningArts.com. Additional information about my work and services can be
found at www.berginlearningarts.com

WHOLE CHILD LEFT BEHIND

Abstract
Propelled by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, the current United States education system
places great emphasis on academic development. Non-academic programs, including arts and
physical education, are being reduced or even eliminated from the curricula to accommodate
more didactic teaching methods. This thesis evaluates the benefits of expressive arts as a part of
early-childhood development. The research identifies the significance of expressive arts as an
educational curriculum which can be taught in the time after school, to the benefit of the
emotional, physical and cognitive development of the child. The research includes observational
studies conducted in my classroom, video recordings of expressive arts practices, drawings, and
interviews. The purpose of this study is to consolidate my resources and improve my ability to
communicate the benefits of expressive arts education for children. My study also examines
how the teachers life-experiences relate to the development of children and how teachers can
learn and grow along with them.

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Dedication
To the teachers who work with children everywhere. May you see new ways to be with the
children; guiding them, helping them and enjoying them. And to the children who have worked
with me. May you be strong and continue to dream with your feet, hands, bellies and hearts.

WHOLE CHILD LEFT BEHIND

Table of Contents
Page
Introduction:
How Do I Know What I Know___________________________________________________12
Personal Mythology Shapes My Calling _____________________________________23
Project Overview and Purpose _____________________________________________25
Chapter One:
What is Expressive Arts ________________________________________________________29
Video Documentation: Introduction to Expressive Arts From Shapes to Motion

Video Module #1
Artifact: Narrative Slide Show
Purpose: To introduce expressive arts through a demonstration of the basic concepts in
my expressive arts curriculum
Run Time: 6:34
Video Documentation: Interactive Exercise with the Reader

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Video Module #2
Artifact: Experiential Guided Exercise
Purpose: To walk the reader through an experiential practice of expressive arts
Run time: 12:30
Chapter Two:
How to Work with Expressive Arts ____________________________________________40
(A.) Mythology in Process _____________________________________________41
Video Documentation: Introduction to My Mythology in Process

Video Module #3
Artifact: Portfolio of Heuristic research renderings
Purpose: To introduce an overview of my mythology in process
Run Time: 9:17
Video Documentation: Integrating Movement and Mythology Bridging the Gap

Video Module #4
Artifact: Applied Heuristic research
Purpose: To introduce you to the connectivity of the integrated development of a theme,
using movement, drawing, narrative, and sound.

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Run Time: 21:50

(B.) Myth Gone Missing ________________________________________________53
Video Documentation: Myth Gone Missing

Video Module #5
Artifact: Case Study with client
Purpose: To illustrate how an adult confronts childhood wounds and to reflect on the
importance of an expressive arts curriculum during the primary years of development.
Run Time: 12:17
(C.) Square Peg in a Round Hole ________________________________________________60
Video Documentation: In Collaboration with Children Words into Movement

Video Module #6.1

Artifact: Data from the field
Purpose: To show how movement, safety and expressive are regulated and grounded
through the use of a literary source.
Run Time: 3:45
Video Documentation: In Collaboration with Kids Making it better 1, 2, 3

WHOLE CHILD LEFT BEHIND

Video Module # 6.2

Artifact: Data from the field
Purpose: To show how emotions are intrinsic to the development of expression
Run Time: 1:13
Video Documentation: In Collaboration with Kids Sounds

Video Module # 6.3

Artifact: Data from the field
Purpose: To show how sound and voice are intrinsic to the integration of a childs unique
language into the emotional and social fabric that create their personal mythology.
Run Time: 1:33
Video Documentation: In Collaboration with Kids Silly Socks

Video Module # 6.4

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Artifact: Data from the field
Purpose: To show the important tenets of safety and boundaries during expressive
Run Time: 8:31
Video Documentation: The Myth Makers Portfolio

Video Module #7
Artifact: Overview of Applied Heuristic Research
Purpose: To show examples of childrens work coming out of a 9-week program
Run Time: 3:11
Video Documentation: Day One

Video Module #8
Artifact: Class Log/Interview and Observations
Purpose: To demonstrate a theme-based study
Run Time: 20:33
Video Documentation: Art Story

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Video Module #9
Artifact: Curriculum Implementation Interview
Purpose: To reveal the outcomes of how the children shape the curricula
Run Time: 20:20
(D.) Redefining the Teachers Role _______________________________________________77
Video Documentation: Redefining the Teachers Role

Video Module #10

Artifact: Applied Heuristic Research
Purpose: To demonstrate how the teacher analyzes her work for professional and personal
development
Run Time: 52:07 (View only the first 15:00 minutes)
Chapter Three:
Conclusion __________________________________________________________________93
References _________________________________________________________________100
Appendix:
Syllabus & Scores ___________________________________________________________107

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How Do I Know What I Know

I am eager to know more about myself every dayTo know more about why it scares me,
when my partner rejects me with the simple response of No, and why, depending on the
context of the No, my bodymy first responderreacts with a tight closed-fisted feeling in
my upper chest. My breath becomes short and shallow, my jaw makes a slight twitch and my
eyes hang out in space, wide-eyed, as if a camera flash went off. This is just one example of the
numerous feelings and body responses that I am aware of during the midst of my everyday socalled normal existence.
I tell you this, because it is important to understand the source of a new idea. It takes
time for new ideas to develop, to be researched, tested and accepted through popular demand.
What I want to reveal in my personal life and working with children is significant and should not
be dismissed lightly, just because it is inconsistent with what others have taught us over the
years. I would like to begin this discussion with thought-provoking ideas from Hillmans (1996)
The Souls Code; In Search of Character and Calling:
There is more in a human life than our theories of it allow. Sooner or later something
seems to call us onto a particular path. You may remember this something as a signal
moment in childhood when an urge out of nowhere, a fascination, a peculiar turn of
events struck like an annunciation: This is what I must do. This is what Ive got to have.
This is who I am. (p. 3)

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12

My thesis is about that call. If not this vivid or sure, the call may have been more like
gentle pushing in the stream in which you drifted unknowingly to a particular spot on the bank.
Looking back, you sense that fate had a hand in it (p. 3). My thesis is about this sense of fate,
These kinds of annunciations and recollections determine biography as strongly as
memories of abusive horror, but these more enigmatic moments tend to be shelved.
Despite early injury and all the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, we bear from the
start the image of a definite individual character with some enduring traits. (Hillman
1996, p. 4)
My thesis is about the power of character. With this potential for possibility, I now will
summarize my new idea. Hopefully my summary will encourage you to support your own
children, or give hope to another parent who may be struggling with their new ideas about what
and how their children are being taught. Hopefully you will have an open mind and open heart,
while you read about my ideas, as they could help you better understand yourself and the child
within and the children around you.

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