There are many rationales for having art in the schools. Here I expand on a couple of these.
I believe that cultural understanding is important for students to encounter in schools. I remember exploring other cultures while in elementary and middle school. It helped me to understand how cultures of the past such as the Romans must have lived and interpreted the world. Personally, I never really learned to use art to express my culture. This may be more important for people closer to their cultures.
I have always used art to express important events in my life and been pushed to do so. In elementary school, I drew pictures that illustrated events in my life. In my later years of school, I used writing as a form of art to share personal experiences. I made creative timelines of my life several times during my high school years using pictures, collage, and color. This ties in to Personal Communication and Expression. It is important that students learn to express themselves in various ways including the arts.
During middle school, I was encouraged to experiment with artwork to express my self in a bolder way. It is important to nurture different views in artwork. It helps to share feelings in a personal way. Vocations are important to mention to students. The world needs more people involved in artistic careers. For a long while, I wanted to be an interior designer and then a fashion designer.
Teachers should spend time letting students explore the beauty in nature. Students could observe nature and draw from it. I did this in school using photographs I had taken. Doing this makes children examine the world around them and escape from the fast pace of life for a short while.
It is important throughout a child's young life to incorporate artwork in the school's curriculum. I believe this should be done all the way through high school so students do not lose their sense of creative and imagination. I had many creative projects mixed in with all of my core classes through high school. English classes always challenged me to analyze books and convey my message in some sort of art such as videos and posters. I made many scrapbooks as well.
-Kelly
You make an interesting observation which made me think deeper about this:
ReplyDelete"Personally, I never really learned to use art to express my culture. This may be more important for people closer to their cultures."
Then you go on to talk about important events that you have expressed through art. Your writing leads me to think about the similarities and differences between culture and traditions.
Could it be that you are so close to your culture and consider it just an everyday thing?
If you would ask a person from another culture what their culture is all about, would they recognize their culture in the same manner that we do (or think we do)? In our time and place that has such ease of trade and movement can we even define certain cultures?
Anyway, thanks for causing me to think more deeply about this.
I probably think of my culture just as an everyday thing. Others seem to take more pride in being of a particular origin than I do. I see this in the Asian and Mexican cultures to a greater degree. I take pride in being American, but I feel that I do not see it as my identity as much as others do their cultures.
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