art is important
After every year that I have taught, the impact of the arts on the young men and women who make up our class is always what sticks out most clearly. Research and reflection on this growth has made it clear that we must value and defend the time we give to art. Here's why.
1. The arts help students succeed in later life through hard work, bouncing back from failure, and an ability to express themselves. While such skills are applicable at any age, for our 5th graders moving into the grey area of adolescence, the arts have given them a foundation for their self identity; a safe place to express themselves and learn valuable life skills needed during the tough times ahead.
Students learn focus and endurance. For many students who do not know how to work on something challenging for a long period of time, the arts provide a jumping off point in learning how to work hard and be both focused and relaxed. Working through a tough math problem or a necessary job that you don't want to do is a skill that has to be learned. Working through a tough art task can be the first step in that learning; students start to build schema for what hard work looks and feels like.
The arts also teach students to take risks and deal with failure. Rarely does a plan for a piece of work turn out just as one had in one's mind. You have to make peace with the mistakes that were made, and move on to make something productive out of it and learn from the experience for next time. Working with what you have, by focusing on the solution and not the problem, is the way forward.
1. The arts help students succeed in later life through hard work, bouncing back from failure, and an ability to express themselves. While such skills are applicable at any age, for our 5th graders moving into the grey area of adolescence, the arts have given them a foundation for their self identity; a safe place to express themselves and learn valuable life skills needed during the tough times ahead.
Students learn focus and endurance. For many students who do not know how to work on something challenging for a long period of time, the arts provide a jumping off point in learning how to work hard and be both focused and relaxed. Working through a tough math problem or a necessary job that you don't want to do is a skill that has to be learned. Working through a tough art task can be the first step in that learning; students start to build schema for what hard work looks and feels like.
The arts also teach students to take risks and deal with failure. Rarely does a plan for a piece of work turn out just as one had in one's mind. You have to make peace with the mistakes that were made, and move on to make something productive out of it and learn from the experience for next time. Working with what you have, by focusing on the solution and not the problem, is the way forward.
Art also teaches students to think about how they express themselves. Art, however abstract, is a concrete expression of the things going on in our brain. As students identify the emotion and ideas coming across in their art they learn to be intentional in their presentation. This skill will be valuable when applied to other academic areas. It will be invaluable while making choices in their personal life: being able to identify your thoughts and feelings and be intentional about how you present and act on them is a skill any 12 year old, and adult, can make good use of.
All of the above points are really life skills, and the arts allow people to learn them in a meaninful way that can be drawn on during tough times later in school and life.
2. Visual arts are required by the state and national goverment: there are specific art standards we must teach. As there is really no accountability in ensuring that they are taught, I think we should hold ourselves accountable for ensuring that they are a core part of the curriculum.
On the practical side of this, in our class the arts are taught in the same way as other subjects. Each lesson is structured so that students first look at the works of experts and analyze the concept we are studying through videos, texts, and images. Next, we experiment and practice in our art journals. We then reflect on the work in our journals and start to plan a work that will be taken to completion.
3. Of the many ways a person can choose to spend their time, thoughtfully creating new images is a good one.
Humans are a highly visual species. We have regular instruction in visual arts so that students can learn to express themselves in the medium that is most accesible to us. Students become clearer and more intentional in their own communication, and learn to appreciate & understand the ideas expressed by others.
All of the above points are really life skills, and the arts allow people to learn them in a meaninful way that can be drawn on during tough times later in school and life.
2. Visual arts are required by the state and national goverment: there are specific art standards we must teach. As there is really no accountability in ensuring that they are taught, I think we should hold ourselves accountable for ensuring that they are a core part of the curriculum.
On the practical side of this, in our class the arts are taught in the same way as other subjects. Each lesson is structured so that students first look at the works of experts and analyze the concept we are studying through videos, texts, and images. Next, we experiment and practice in our art journals. We then reflect on the work in our journals and start to plan a work that will be taken to completion.
3. Of the many ways a person can choose to spend their time, thoughtfully creating new images is a good one.
Humans are a highly visual species. We have regular instruction in visual arts so that students can learn to express themselves in the medium that is most accesible to us. Students become clearer and more intentional in their own communication, and learn to appreciate & understand the ideas expressed by others.
