Why Teach Art?

My personal answer for this had always been simple. I want to help teenagers by giving them an opportunity to say what they need to say. This philosophy remains intact in my advocacy for the arts. But through reading, class discussion, and fieldwork, my answer for this question, “Why teach art?” has gained even more support and justification.

As mentioned, it is very important in my personal educational philosophy that the arts incorporate psychological elements. The most important idea of this for me is that the opportunity for individual expression can be promoted as a healthy coping mechanism for kids to understand and utilize. With this cathartic act I believe kids of all ages will have a safe, healthy way to begin to work through difficulties of life in and outside the classroom. It is important that the arts continue to allow personal expression to happen to promote healthy lifestyles as many kids do have struggles, and limited opportunities to discuss them. From what I have noticed, most kids spend the majority of their time at school; other classes make few personal connections, and still face a social stigma when visiting a guidance counselor. Therefore, the arts are one of the few, rare places where a child has the opportunity to use their voice about their own life. Specifically, it is uncommon when a student is able to discuss big ideas that they are facing in life: identity, religion, sexuality, death, fear, joy, and so on. Students are dealing with really big ideas all of the time, and need a chance to work through them, talk about them, and develop an individual understanding of them. 

Furthermore, the arts are also rare in the sense that they provide a break from the rigorous standardizations and test scores being placed on schools. In my fieldwork, I have observed how excited kids are to be in the art class for the sake of getting to do something different. Instead of filling out worksheets, taking tests, or listening to lectures; they get a break. For a brief period during the student’s school days they have an opportunity to exercise their creative thinking with hands on activities. This makes art class a welcomed change in their rigorous school day where everyone is to produce the same work with a right or wrong answer. I believe that the importance now placed on standardized tests with one correct answer can hurt a child’s thinking by limiting their capacity to create multiple ideas or solutions.

However, if the enforcement of standardized tests remains intact, the arts contribute their own ways of helping students perform better on these tests. As previously stated, in art there doesn’t have to be one correct answer. When interpreting content in visual art, students have the ability to bring their personal background knowledge and experiences to create multiple meanings for one piece of work, instead of just one. Nor, does there have to be one correct solution when students are faced with a problem while making artwork. It is important for students to learn how to work through the process of understanding a new medium, exhibiting an idea, or knowing how to handle an accident. While doing so, students must identify the problem, think of multiple ways to deal with it, and determine the best answer for their situation. Another example of a skill that will help student performance on tests is critical thinking. In art, students learn to observe visual art, deconstruct it, analyze it, form a personal connection, and articulate what they believe is happening. This skill set can be directly transferred to other literacy forms such as reading comprehension. Also, when students have the opportunity to articulate their own thoughts of their work or the work of others, they improve communication skills that are a vital form of literacy and socialization. Finally, art projects lead kids to think holistically of a specific concept. Students learn to research a topic, look at the work of others, and process multiple opinions or perspectives. Instead of being limited to one viewpoint of a subject from a textbook or teacher, students can engage a subject on multiple levels and create their own perspective on an idea.

These are a few of the reasons why I am truly gaining even more motivation to be an advocate for the arts. Schools do need us as art educators and promoters! Art is not a subject that is useless, silly, outdated, or limited in the skill sets required to produce art. Art is necessary and I see the kids that rely on it, as well as the schools who thrive with it.