Why Teach Art?
In todays world everyone is worried about their children getting a degree that will pay them the most amount of money possible. The emphasis is on taking math, language art and science classes, because these are the fields that will help them to make the most amount of money possible. Am I saying the our children should not learn these things? No. What I am saying is that they should not just concern themselves with these subjects only. At the website, habithacker.com, they talk about ways to improve yourself. One of the ways discussed is educating yourself in the field of arts. “Most studies have shown arts education is correlated with improved scoring on standardized tests.” This is one reason alone to make sure that our children take art while in school. It was very interesting to me to read about how students can benefit from art education. In The Arts and the Creation of Mind, Elliot Eisner says: “We also have clear empirical evidence that children, in what we have called the low-arts schools, are less able to extend their thinking.” At edutopia.org I read this: “Arts education enables those children from a financially challenged background to have a more level playing field with children who have had those enrichment experiences.”
In todays world everyone is worried about their children getting a degree that will pay them the most amount of money possible. The emphasis is on taking math, language art and science classes, because these are the fields that will help them to make the most amount of money possible. Am I saying the our children should not learn these things? No. What I am saying is that they should not just concern themselves with these subjects only. At the website, habithacker.com, they talk about ways to improve yourself. One of the ways discussed is educating yourself in the field of arts. “Most studies have shown arts education is correlated with improved scoring on standardized tests.” This is one reason alone to make sure that our children take art while in school. It was very interesting to me to read about how students can benefit from art education. In The Arts and the Creation of Mind, Elliot Eisner says: “We also have clear empirical evidence that children, in what we have called the low-arts schools, are less able to extend their thinking.” At edutopia.org I read this: “Arts education enables those children from a financially challenged background to have a more level playing field with children who have had those enrichment experiences.”
I have known for many years that I am not the most artistic person in the world, I know that I could no more paint a picture than I could overhaul an engine from a car. If I had learned at a very early age to enjoy drawing or painting would that have made a difference? At answers.yourdictionary.com I read this: “While it's all well and good to create a drawing or a ceramic bowl, the real benefit of an art education in elementary school is not the final product. It's the way it teaches the student to think. Patience, perseverance, creativity, problem-solving, and all kinds of other important life skills are often best learned through art.” The article Champions of Change: The Impact of Arts on Learning stated: “One important feature of the arts is that they provide not only permission but also encouragement to use one's imagination as a source of content.” This is another important life skill to learn. Finally Chapter 1 tells us that art can help us and our children to find a cultural understanding of who we are. When all is said and done, the lessons that art could teach us are not just how to draw a person or a bowl full of fruit, but can teach us how to be a better person and help to preserve our future.
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