11/09/18 – Introduction to the Art and Creativity

Using the arts in education is one of the best ways to help children learn, grow and develop. Getting the opportunity to be involved in the arts gives children the chance to express themselves in ways they might not get at home or in the classroom doing regular activities. Having the freedom to express themselves will benefit them in ways such as making new friends, giving them a voice and growing creatively.

“The arts teach children to make good judgements about qualitative relationships” (Eisner, E. (2002). When taking part in the subjects of art, music, drama and dance; children don’t have rules of arithmetic or writing to obey. They can express themselves with confidence knowing they whatever they draw, sing or stage; they won’t be told their wrong. It also gives them the chance to say and feel things they cannot express otherwise, meaning they can be themselves and show their personality without fear of rejection.

Surrounding children by the arts in class, in the community and at home allows them to participate as an active and functioning member of our society. From listening to music in the car, learning an instrument or going to a concert or festival it gives children the chance to develop social skills and interact with people, and feel different emotions through music and the other arts.

The arts help children become:

• Successful Learners
• Effective Contributors
• Confident Individuals
• Responsible Citizens

Not only can children become active members of society but the arts also help them with their language skills, literacy, numeracy, creativity, intellect and personal development.

During our first session we discussed and learned about the importance of creativity and how it makes a big difference to children’s attitudes and outlook at their work and their life. “Creativity is a process which generates ideas that have value to the individual.  It involves looking at familiar things with a fresh eye, examining problems with an open mind, making connections, learning from mistakes and using imagination to explore new possibilities” (Education Scotland, 2013). Ensuring children have the right environment to do the arts and access to the right materials means they have what they need to help reach their creative potential. To see how creativity can change or be affected by influence, we looked at art work from students at different stages in education. From the pictures you can see that in the younger stages, the first two pictures, the work is very expressive and clearly not influenced by teachers or media. The pictures show slightly more structure and influence about what topic was being covered and show slightly less self expression, and the older stages work is very structured, fewer colours are used and and the least expressive of all the artwork.

This is what the curriculum and teachers are trying to change, they are trying to stop creativity been taught out of children when doing the expressive arts. It’s important for them to be taught different techniques and different ways of presenting their art but what they present and how they present it should be up to them, they should be allowed to express themselves using whatever materials and techniques they want.

          

Before this module I never realised just how much the expressive arts can change a person, even at this stage in education it was great fun coming together with other students and learning new things about music, art, dance and drama. Therefore, by giving children this opportunity to enjoy these subjects at an even younger age it means they can be free to have fun and express themselves with their peers and friends.

Reference List:

Eisner, E. (2002). The Arts and the Creation of Mind, In Chapter 4, What the Arts Teach and How It Shows. (pp. 70-92). Yale University Press.

Education Scotland (2013) Creativity Across Learning 3-18, Available at: https://education.gov.scot/improvement/Documents/cre39-impact-report.pdf (Accessed: 24th September 2018).