England

England By Meagan Volocyk

"Dieu et mon droit" (God and my right)

Introduction England is located in the northwest region of Europe and the southern part of Great Britain. It is the largest country in Great Britain, known as an island country, and is also part of the United Kingdom. It is 35 km from France and the mainland of Europe. Its southern land is low-lying with hills and agricultural areas while the north is covered in mountains. The main language is English and population’s nationalities are either considered English or British. 2010 records show that a little more than 50,000,000 people currently live in England. England’s culture has been significantly surrounded by arts. From William Shakespeare to Elton John, the English population has had dominant figures throughout history that have impacted their culture. Within England’s education system, ranges of “foundation subjects,” including art, are included into daily curriculum for students. Students attend state-run or privately funded schools, which consist of nursery school, primary school, and secondary school. Higher education is also offered through colleges or other universities in England. England’s primary and secondary education systems are based off of the National Curriculum. The purpose of the National Curriculum is to standardize content taught throughout England. The incorporation of arts within the National Curriculum includes classes of Art and Design, Design and Technology, and Music. These Disciplined Based Arts Education courses offer students limelight to arts within their own culture. The combination of history and curriculum supply English students with vast exposure to the arts in and out of the classroom environment. Within many eras, English students have been mentored by the works of some of the most famous English artists the world including Charles Dickens, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, and many more. Arts education throughout England has been impacted greatly from the works of such influential people.

** One of England's Most Accomplished Artist ** The Beatles were a rock and roll band from Liverpool, England. They contributed to society through music, film, literature, art and fashion. Many arguethat they were the most successful entertainers of the 20th century. Their music contained dominant ideas of love, peace, help and imagination. Members included John Lennon (rhythm guitar and vocals), Paul McCartney (bass guitar and vocals, George Harrison (lead guitar and vocals), and Ringo Starr (drums and vocals). In 2005, a poll by Entertainment magazine named the Beatles the most iconic band of the 20th century. Their messages of freedom and happiness impacted lives across the world. Though some of them have passed, their legend still lives on today.  Some of their work includes popular hits as in:

“Love We Do” “I Want to Hold Your Hand” “Yellow Submarine” “Hello, Goodbye” “Hey Jude” “Let It Be” “Come Together” “All You Need Is Love” “Can’t Buy Me Love”

And many, many more! media type="youtube" key="SMwZsFKIXa8" height="315" width="420" align="center"

A Successful Arts Organization in England The Prince’s Foundation for Children and the Arts is an organization created by HRH The Prince of Wales. In 2006, it became an independent charity helping to introduce children to arts across England. According to their website, “Our mission is to reach out to the many children who are denied access to cultural venues.” The organization engages the fact that children who encounter art at a young age have “raising aspirations, increasing confidence, improving communication skills and unlocking creativity.” Each year this organization helps thousands of children obtain the art exposure they deserve. Staff and community members agree that they see a 100% difference and gain in personal skills for students who participate with Children and the Arts. Specific examples of programs offered by Children and the Arts are listed below. media type="youtube" key="iIpb25l56wI" height="225" width="401" align="right" *The Prince’s Foundation for Children and the Arts creates long-term partnerships between schools and art organizations in disadvantaged areas.

 *Run large-scale national arts projects called Quests

 *Empower teachers to feel confident bringing arts into their classrooms through a program called Catalyst.

 *The video to the right also provides a wonderful example of the work the Children and the Arts provides for children <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">in English communities.

** Arts Programs in School Environments ** <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: center;">After researching The Prince’s Foundation for Children and the Arts, I learned that the schools in England are very well oriented in the arts. As I said earlier, English attend nursery school, primary school, secondary school, and some attend universities throughout their lives. The National Curriculum that the education system is based off of ensures that all primary and secondary schools incorporate the arts into children’s daily agendas. Some of the classes include Art and Design, Design and Technology, and Music. Within Children and the Arts, teachers are educated through a program called Catalyst, which empowers them to include arts into their own curriculum schedules. Each Catalyst day includes personal, interactive working time between professional artists and England’s teachers. Teachers gain new confidence, resources and activities in which they bring back to the classrooms to share with their students. This teacher-training program ensures that students will be exposed to art education, which research shows, is very beneficial.

<span style="color: #bb2a2a; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 200%;">Conclusion <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Within my own learning experiences, I feel that the arts have been incorporated into my curriculum. Many of my classes were discipline based arts courses but on occasion there were some classes with an integration of arts. Particularly in high school, I enrolled in design and materials courses, fashion, and dance classes. Within core curriculum courses, like World History, we used acting to demonstrate and execute some of the lessons. Overall, I feel that most of my exposure to the arts came from my extracurricular activities. I was involved in dance, choir, and violin and trumpet lessons. These activities were my main involvement with the arts. I feel that England’s and the US’s focuses on arts education are very similar. Both countries have a majority of discipline based arts courses with a minority of integrated arts classes. I appreciate the effort that both countries are putting towards incorporating arts into education systems nationwide. I feel that it will be very beneficial for future students.

**__<span style="color: #a13647; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%;">Sources __**
 * http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/questions/britain/england_facts.htm
 * http://www.google.com/imgresimgurl=http://www.flags.net/images/largeflags/UNKG0100.GIF&imgrefurl=http://www.flags.net/ENGL.htm&h=259&w=430&sz=3&tbnid=QDyEe6SDjFHtlM:&tbnh=73&tbnw=122&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dengland%2Bflag%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=england+flag&usg=__VRbuXHOJgcUAZYr9Ugxa3RGDibo=&docid=CySThhGB6jJiEM&sa=X&ei=IprbT7LcMsOA2AXxivXNCA&ved=0CHgQ9QEwAQ&dur=163//
 * http://worldpopulationreview.com/population-of-england/#.T9vcveJYvDE
 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Curriculum_(England,_Wales_and_Northern_Ireland)
 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20_Greatest_Hits_(The_Beatles_album)
 * http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1397313/bio
 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles#Musical_style_and_development
 * http://www.childrenandarts.org.uk/our-projects/catalyst-teacher-training/