What Can a Kid Get Out of Art Class?

Back in the 1980’s, there was a big push for “back to the basics” and “accountability” in teaching. There were some good reasons for it: the 60’s and 70’s had seen a lot of experimental teaching and classes. Some good things had come from it, some silly things and a few just plain bad things. The current economic crisis was in the early stages of its creation (we thought we already had a crisis), and tax payers wanted to be sure they were getting what they were paying for: students who would graduate with the skills and abilities to support themselves in the real world.

One of the first casualties of this “back to the basics” business was that a lot of schools cut many of the electives they had been offering. Art classes were diminished in importance, and sometimes removed from school completely. But as time went on, educators (and others) became aware that art plays an important role in a child’s development. Fortunately, this meant that many education systems returned art classes to their curriculum, or kept the ones they had.

Art provides many things to students.

1.First of all, it can provide a time of free expression. Even in today’s educational environment which forbids their drawing gruesome events or ideas at school, (at least here in the midwest) students have an opportunity to exercise imagination and give vent to emotions that have been pent up in other studies.

2.It allows alternative exercise of the small motor skills needed for handwriting.

3.Correctly taught, it offers a milieu of cultural and historical awareness.

4.Learning the correct vocabulary for discussing art can carry over into general vocabulary for other areas of knowledge.

5.Art is inter-related with math.

6.Artistic application is necessary for many design and building trades-and more ordinary applications such as arranging a shelf display in a store or decorating a cake.

7.It can provide a means of communication and the opportunity to excel for students who are linguistically challenged-for whatever reason. (Don’t confuse this with number one.)

8.It can provide information to teachers about a child’s reading/writing readiness and/or psychological state of being.

9.It provides knowledge of how to mix paint and colors.

10.It allows practice of simple skills that may have commercial or personal application.

Art does all this and more besides. Practice with a variety of materials, maintaining the equipment, preserving the supplies while using them correctly, sharing, cooperation, kindness in criticism-all are part of an elementary art class. Faith Ringgold-artist and author of the children’s picture book, Tar Beach, says in a video interview, “Anyone who denies the children art should be brought up on charges…they are guilty of something”.

Broken pencils, bad attitudes, nibbled bits of eraser, scissored hair, painted faces not withstanding: children need art. They enjoy it, they learn from it. Moreover, they need it.