My ideas were:
- First of all it gives culture to the kids in a way they most likely won't get outside of the classroom. Kids don't really go to museums or art exhibits anymore and so I think that it is important for us as teachers to teach that aspect of life to them so that they can appreciate it and those that have put the time into creating it.
- Secondly, I think that it teaches kids social courtesies and appropriate interactions. When you are doing an art project in the classroom and then you give kids the opportunity to display their art and to see what everybody else did, they automatically compare them whether bad or good. I think that as teachers we can use this to help kids see that everybody's art is just as good as theirs' They learn how to compliment one another and see that there is at least one good thing about the art that others have done. They can learn not to compare what they do to the work of other students because we can teach them that everyone is good at different things and so it isn't fair to compare.
- Thirdly, we can use art to teach a lot of different subjects, content or ideas. Many of our students are going to be visual or kinesthetic learners and so using art will help them to better learn the material. The visual learners will be able to draw out how they see the topic or maybe prove their understanding by portraying it somehow instead of orally telling you or by completing a worksheet. Kinesthetic learners can use their hands to mold clay or create something that has to do with the current material. Art is a fun and different way to introduce new material while building on something they already know. Using art in the regular classroom will also be very beneficial to English Language Learners because a lot of time they don't have the vocabulary necessary to participate in regular classroom discussions. If we assess their learning using Art I think it gives them a better chance of proving themselves and helps us to better know what level they are at.
- Fourth, art is something that all children can connect to. They see it everyday, they've most likely done some sort of art before and they almost all enjoy it to some degree. Kids all understand the concept of making or creating something and so if we can build on that background knowledge then the kids will ultimately learn more. In the SIOP model of ESL teaching it says that if we teach a new concept without drawing on background knowledge there will be no learning(SIOP). This can be detrimental to our students if we as teachers think we gave this great lesson but our students haven't learned anything. Using art is an easy way to use background knowledge as a bridge to what we are trying to teach. It also builds self-confidence in our students which is necessary for normal development.
- Fifth, why not teach Art? I honestly see very little drawbacks to teaching art. Probably the only one I can think of that would truly stop a school from is lack of funding. Art supplies and quality teachers are expensive and are definitely the first thing to go when a school needs to cut back. I think that art is fun, exciting, different, colorful, creative all these good things that children need in order to grow and learn. I also love that it is a good way to see what kids are learning, it is very reflective. It is an easy and fun way of assessment when kids are bored of the everyday quiz or worksheet. Parents benefit from art in school as well because their kids can bring their art work home and display it in their rooms, in the kitchen or wherever.
- When I looked online I found a few other reasons to why we should teach art and I just wanted to tell about two of them. The Boston Globe had an article in Sept of 2007 that said, "The implications are broad, not just for schools but for society. As schools cut time for the arts, they may be losing their ability to produce not just the artistic creators of the future, but innovative leaders who improve the world they inherit. And by continuing to focus on the arts' dubious links to improved test scores, arts advocates are losing their most powerful weapon: a real grasp of what arts bring to education(Boston)." I think this is so important and a huge reason for keeping art in the classroom. Art isn't making kids better taking tests it is teaching them other things that cannot be taught through the other subjects. It teaches kids to be creative to think outside the box and to find new ways to do things. Those are the kind of minds we need in the future of this country finding new ways to run policies and government and to invent technology. That kind of thinking is what employers expect from our students but if we take away art in the classrooms they will fail to learn it. We teach kids in rows and columns; everybody the same, but then expect them to be inventive and abstract which is completely unfair.
- Teaching art helps our students become well-rounded individuals. This is significant because that is one of the biggest characteristics that college and universities look for as well as future employers. They don't a person who is simply good at math and nothing else. They want an individual who can do many things with a high level of proficiency. Teaching art helps build this in students at a young age. If they learn to like many things when they are young they will most likely continue to enjoy many things while they grow up. I think an article on YourDictionary.com said it really well, "Artistic education is part of being a well-rounded person. The discipline, creative problem-solving, patience, and productivity that must be used in order to create a piece of art are life skills that anyone can benefit from learning, particularly at an early age(Well-rounded)."It really is important for kids to learn these skills through Art and starting in the elementary grades is only beneficial because it gives them more time to practice and prefect these characteristics.
Boston- http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2007/09/02/art_for_our_sake/
SIOP- http://ptgmedia.pearsoncmg.com/images/9780205521067/samplepages/99ideas.pdf
Well-rounded- http://answers.yourdictionary.com/answers/jobs-education/why-teach-art-in-elementary-schools.html
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