When someone asks me why I want to teach art, the answer has always been because I enjoy art and I want to pass this enjoyment onto kids. Ever since I was a young child, my mother would surround me with art supplies and tell me to do what I wanted with them. This gave me a chance to express myself through something. It didn’t even matter if my projects were good or bad, just the fact that I took the time to make something all by myself was enough for me. I see this same excitement with the students in my field. Many of them enthusiastically show me their work and explain how it connects to their lives. But they are also in kindergarten and fourth grade, and this excitement seems to wear off for a lot of people as time goes by. I want to be in an environment that reminds students why they enjoyed art in the first place.
Unfortunately, art programs are being cut more and more. It’s not that people don’t like art anymore, but many feel that it’s not a necessary skill. Although it is true that most people will never use art in their careers, it teaches a different way of thinking that is very valuable in life. Elliot Eisner points out, “Education can learn from the arts that open-ended tasks permit the exercise of imagination, and the exercise of imagination is one of the most important of human aptitudes. It is imagination, not necessity, that is the mother of invention” (25). Today with education, I feel that memorizing information is stressed above everything else. This isn’t a bad thing, there’s a lot of memorization used in art, too; however, people need more than good memorization skills to be well-rounded individuals. Imagination teaches students how to create by thinking out-of-the-box. So, no, not every career requires that you be artistically gifted, but most do stress creation in some way or another. Without it, we wouldn’t grow as a society; there wouldn’t be any innovation. If we look deeper into art education as opposed to viewing I as a blow-off subject, we’ll find that it really does teach important life skills that shouldn’t be overlooked.
You are correct when you view art as a value. I have always loved Eisner's statement that you quoted:"Education can learn from the arts that open-ended tasks permit the exercise of imagination, and the exercise of imagination is one of the most important of human aptitudes. It is imagination, not necessity, that is the mother of invention” How would you elaborate on this at a PTA meeting?
ReplyDeleteI really found myself connecting with a lot of what you said in your post. My favorite thing you said was when you wrote, "I want to be in an environment that reminds students why they enjoyed art in the first place." I hope, too, that excitement for art won't wear off for kids, and that like you say, in order for these kids to be overall well rounded, they need more than memorization skills, but they need to think "outside of the box." Also, when you mentioned the kids enthusiastically showing you their work, I definitely could relate because that is probably my favorite part of field and one of the best feelings ever! :)
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