Art:
Missing In Action
Nanette
Bertoni
October
6, 2013
Abstract
Our society is
surrounded with art and music. We depend on them for our advertising, movies,
and enjoyment. Whole industries are dependent on patrons who are reasonably
literate in art to appreciate its existence. Removing art and music from our
school curriculum hampers the development of art appreciation in our children.
Objections to keeping art education in our schools are raised in the areas of
value, funding, and time. A great number of administrators, teachers, and
citizenry believe that art education is unnecessary or at least a luxury the
schools can do without. They also believe that our children will have better
test scores if they remove art and music and spend that time in tested
subjects. Many studies have been conducted to prove that students who engage in
art and music actually do better on test scores compared to children who do not
engage in art education. This paper provides a summary of these studies and
shows conclusively that art education helps develop a child wholly and
effectively.
Art: Missing In Action
by
Nanette Bertoni
Art and music surround us. We have devices that can keep
our favorite songs close at hand and have the ability to listen at a moment’s
whim. People who have learned how to create music and art most likely started
learning at a young age. Businesses rely on people to be creative in their
approach to their jobs. They also rely on people to create the art and music
that is used in advertising. These skills take time to develop. They also take
inspiration to spark the interest. How do we expect art and music to continue
if we do not give our children the opportunity to learn them? Children learn
better and faster when they have art and music teaching them to be disciplined.
They become more involved students when they have a fun reason to return to
school every day. If students were more involved in school, high school
graduations would increase, thus providing more federal funding for the schools
budgets. With minimal cost to schools, most art and music programs can be
maintained in grade schools. We cannot eliminate art and music from schools
because that would be taking away tools from our children to help them succeed.
English art historian and poet, Sir
Herbert Read argued that, “. . . the aim of education ought to be conceived of
as the preparation of artists” (pg. 8). The label ‘artist’ is meant as an
individual who has developed the idea, imagination, and skill set to create
work that is well balanced, executed masterfully, and is imaginative. The
highest tributes we offer to someone are when we say that they are an artist
whether as a cook, engineer, surgeon, or teacher. The fine arts do not
monopolize the word artistic.
In
order to create artfully crafted work, distinctive forms of thinking are
needed. Again Read states, “They are relevant to virtually all aspects of what
we do, from the design of curricula, to the practice of teaching, to the
features of the environment in which students and teachers live” (pg. 8). Students
deserve creative thinkers. Of all the forms of distinctive thinking, a couple
of them are to be reviewed.
The
first to consider is the act of working on a painting, creating a poem, or
composing a musical score. The musician composes harmonies among practically uncountable
numbers of possible sound configurations. A painter’s task is similar in that
the artist needs to see their work and be able to make judgments about them.
Being able to make judgments about quality is not dependent on a formula.
Unlike arithmetic which has correct answers that can be proven, the arts
require a judgment. The arts teach attention to nuance and the need to rely on
feelings. For instance, the hotness or coldness of a color might be too warm or
cool next to another color. A shape might be too sharp in a drawing or the
percussion in a musical score might need to be more dynamic. Artists “. . . try
to achieve a rightness of fit” (pg. 9).
They depend on knowledge or a sense of when the composition feels right.
Learning
to ask not only what is being said but how someone has put together an
argument, an image, or a musical score is what students need to know most. Most
of our perception is highly visceral. A visitor to a gallery may pace back and
forth while viewing a painting. This example shows an effort of someone trying to
concentrate on both focal awareness and the consideration of design. Teachers
carry out activities such as this, being able to focus on an individual while
looking after the classroom as a whole. These patterns in the classroom change
over time and a good teacher must pay attention to many operations at the same
time.
Another
form of thinking is that not all that is knowable can be expressed in theoretical
form. Our intellectual activities have limits and cannot be defined by the
limits of our language. John Dewey tells us that the meaning in science is
expressed in actual words, whereas the arts connote meaning. We use expressive
form to say something that language literally cannot convey. We build shrines
to express our sorrow or pride. We use poetry when we bury someone or partake
in marriage. We need to remember that when we perform a task, including
science, it can have an artful ending.
In
the end, the arts are a special form of experience. When touched by one of the
arts, there is a sense of energy or we feel the surge of emotion which can
stimulate an appetite for learning. In this respect, education can look to the
arts as a model. Our world does not concede to single correct answers to
questions or have clear-cut solutions to problems. We need to be able to envision
new options; we need to have a feel for a situation when it appears. Our
schools need to create a culture of placing importance on exploration and not
just discovery. Perhaps place more value to surprise than control. Placing more
value on the imaginative help schools become what they are meant to be. The
final destination should not be the only focus for our schools. We need to
foster ideas and imaginations so that our children may become better equipped
thinkers and future leaders.
Art
and music should stay in our schools because we want our children to be
educated in both. Data and research has shown that test scores are higher when
children are involved in art education. We need to create children who can do
more than pass tests. We must help children become better citizens. Doing this
we will have a more productive society in the future. We will have a society
that can think creatively.
References
Eisner, Elliot W. (2002). WHAT CAN EDUCATION
LEARN FROM THE ARTS ABOUT THE PRACTICE OF EDUCATION?. Journal of Curriculum
& Supervision, 18(1), 4.
