Wednesday, September 1, 2010
This I Believe about Art Education...
I believe that art education is going to be the saving grace of the public school system. I believe that it should be the one outlet kids of this generation have to express themselves without fear of test scores or academic achievement. I believe it is a way to teach children how to think critically about the world around them, question it, explore it, and thus find their own path through it. Through quality art education, students can learn to be expressive, open-minded, inquisitive imaginative, and well-rounded individuals. There are very few classes which can boast the same things as art. In a school day filled with rote memorization, numbers, textbooks, and endless exams and quizzes, the art classroom should be a place for freedom. This freedom and ability to explore with foreign materials and processes will foster the, often prematurely lost, natural yearning to create, and will give the students self-confidence in their abilities to handle unknown situations which they will undoubtedly be facing outside the classroom in day to day life. Art education can do more than build a foundation for higher education in art, it can be a class in which students learn quality life lessons, all the while having fun.
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I agree with your thinking. There is a lot going on in your blanket statements.
ReplyDeleteThe freedom art making provides is indeed empowering. Too many times students are being told what to think and know, and art allows us to process whatever information interesting us in a purely personal and revealing way. I also find this much more important to development than succeeding in an exam of general knowledge.
The critical nature of art making and thinking about art is also very important. The subjectivity is a relief from being an absorptive sponge of dates and facts.
It sounds like you are very excited about the work you intend to do, and I am sure this attitude will be infectious once your students are under you.
I totally agree with you.. And I like what you said here "I believe it is a way to teach children how to think critically about the world around them, question it, explore it, and thus find their own path through it." Because sometimes people need to explore by them selves to find the truth. And I agree that art education can teach students art and life's lessons too.
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