Firstly, let me just mention that as someone who has always enjoyed a relatively comfortable success in conventional academic subject areas and environments, art is the most challenging thing I have ever done. For me, art is never busy work. I feel compelled to invest myself in it, no matter how small the project, because I regard what I produce as a reflection of my self. I see this in students as well. Art can engage them in a way that other subjects often cannot, by making the work deeply personal and meaningful to them as a way for them to explore their identity and show others who they are.
Creating and understanding art calls upon the most sophisticated synthesis of cognitive abilities and the work and reflective writing students produce provide evidence of their thinking. This evidence clearly supports the new Common Core Objectives which emphasize evidential reasoning, multicultural awareness, self efficacy, and collaboration. These new aims appear to reflect the way the world is changing and the kinds of skills young people will need to thrive in the future.
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly for me, art exercises and nurtures our humanity. Art enables us to explore and know ourselves more deeply, but it also presents us with the experiences of others, urging us to acknowledge the human condition and understand one another better. Art requires active observation, active listening, and encourages a desire to understand. It challenges our assumptions. It can change are minds, which is the essence of learning itself.
In short, art makes us smart. Art makes us sentient. Art makes us human.
I can just hear you saying these words to parents on back to school night and saying them with passion! Your thoughts are beautifully expressed here: Firstly, let me just mention that as someone who has always enjoyed a relatively comfortable success in conventional academic subject areas and environments, art is the most challenging thing I have ever done. For me, art is never busy work. I feel compelled to invest myself in it, no matter how small the project, because I regard what I produce as a reflection of my self. I see this in students as well. Art can engage them in a way that other subjects often cannot, by making the work deeply personal and meaningful to them as a way for them to explore their identity and show others who they are. Your conclusion rocks: art makes us smart. Art makes us sentient. Art makes us human. WOW!
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