Mr Tse Wei KOK
KOK_Tse_Wei@nac.gov.sg
Manager, Arts Education
National Arts Council, Singapore

Mr Kok received a Bachelor of Communication Studies (Journalism) from the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information at the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, in 2006.

Prior to joining the National Arts Council, Tse Wei worked as an arts journalist in Singapore’s major English broadsheet, The Straits Times. He still contributes the occasional article as a freelance writer. He also performs as an orchestral musician with Singapore arts groups like The Philharmonic Winds, The Philharmonic Orchestra, Singapore Lyric Opera and Singapore Dance Theatre.

Tse Wei was the sole recipient of the National Arts Council undergraduate scholarship in 2002, and is currently serving the council in the Arts Education department as an arts administrator.

synopses

Arts Education can be interpreted in various ways, two of which are:

While the purist may argue that arts in education is a dilution of the arts and cannot be considered arts education, arts in education may actually provide a window for the “unconverted” to appreciate and enjoy the arts. If used successfully, the value of the arts will be more tangible (at least in this area), producing qualitative and quantitative results that can be used to articulate the arts’ contribution to society.

Under the Artist-In-School scheme administered by the National Arts Council (Singapore), some projects explore using the arts as tools to aid learning, while endeavouring to maintain the integrity of the art form.

One of the educational institutions here that have begun to explore using the arts as a pivotal tool in education is NorthLight School, which opened its doors to the first batch of students in January this year. The school aims to provide an engaging education for youth and prepare them for lifelong learning and employability. Besides providing an introduction to various art forms (visual arts, dance, music and drama), NorthLight School also uses the arts to build positive character traits that will help students learn more effectively. The three-year developmental dance programme also has a view to develop and prepare talented students for further dance education and to pursue dance as a viable career option.

While the education system in Singapore has traditionally focussed on academic excellence in core subjects like Science and Mathematics, programmes like the one in NorthLight School give students a chance to identify their strengths, including talent in the arts. Also, if the school successfully uses the arts to increase effectiveness of teaching or stir learning interest in students, this could be a model for other educational institutions to consider, thereby augmenting the value of the arts.

郭志偉先生

郭志偉先生是新加坡藝術局的藝術教育經理。他曾任《海峽時報》的文化記者。郭先生是2002年新加坡藝術局本科獎學金的唯一得主。

簡介

藝術教育有兩個解釋：向年輕人教授藝術或以藝術作為教育工具。新加坡藝術局轄下的藝術家駐校計劃推行不同項目，以藝術作為教育工具。其中一個例子是剛起步的NorthLight學校，該校課程目標是讓學生發展藝術才華同時兼顧終生學習及就業機會。新加坡教育制度一向偏重術科，不過NorthLight打破傳統，利用藝術強化教學效能及引發學生的興趣，日後可成為其他教育機構的榜樣。