Page 40 - The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9 and 10: The Arts, 2010

THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 9 AND 10 | The Arts
Students should be made aware of the historical, cultural, and political contexts of both the traditional and non-traditional gender and social roles represented in the material they are studying. Attention should be drawn to the ways in which minority groups are represented. In visual arts, for instance, examples can be taken from traditional art forms and crafts, which in the past were largely the purview of women, as well as from fine arts. In music, male and female students should be encouraged to play instruments of their choice without facing gender bias. In dance, opportunities to explore non-stereotypical social roles in dance forms should be provided. The dramatic arts provide opportunities for teachers and students to examine the work of Aboriginal storytellers and playwrights and those from other minority groups.
Outside the classroom, the work of women and many minority groups is underrepresented in public galleries, theatres, dance and music concert halls, and the world of popular culture. As a result, women’s and minority perspectives and viewpoints in drama, film, dance, music, and the visual arts are limited. Changes are occurring, however. For example, many instrumental music groups hold auditions for new members behind a screen so that the evaluators cannot tell whether they are assessing female or male instrumentalists. Nevertheless, there are few female conductors of major orchestras in the world, and in the dance world, the works of male choreographers predominate. Teachers should make students aware of these equity issues and ensure that the work of a socio-culturally and historically diverse range of both women and men is valued and explored. As well, teachers should provide positive role models for both male and female students in the areas they are exploring, both to engage the students and to help them consider the possibility of careers in those areas.
The arts give both students and teachers a unique way to explore positive ways of dealing with the social and emotional impact of various forms of discrimination, such as racism, sexism, homophobia, and religious intolerance, as well as the effects of bullying, harass- ment, and other expressions of violence and hatred. Teachers can help students link the understanding they gain in this regard to messages conveyed through the school’s antibullying and violence-prevention programs.
Participation in the arts can also benefit students who have not had educational or economic advantages. By being actively engaged in arts activities, students become motivated and can develop the ability to be persistent in tasks; through their successes, they develop self-confidence. In addition, participation in the arts gives them opportunities to develop social skills, such as skills in conflict resolution, self-control, and collaboration, as well as social tolerance and empathy. They can also learn to take creative risks in a safe environment.
MULTIPLE LITERACIES IN THE ARTS
Literacies in the arts are developed as students learn in, through, and about different art
forms within the arts disciplines and as they learn to use the “languages” of these disci- plines to communicate and to interpret meaning. There are many ways of knowing and of communicating what we know and understand, and the arts provide multiple avenues for expression. These include the visual (e.g., still and animated images, layout, design, hypermedia, three-dimensional forms), oral (e.g., timbre and tone of voice), gestural (e.g., body language, kinesthetic movement), and aural (e.g., music, sound effects) –
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