The aim of
art education in the public schools is not to make more professional
artists but to teach people to live happier, fuller lives; to extract
more out of their experience, whatever that experience may be. Grant
Wood, "Art in the Daily Life of the Child"
"Be Smart, Include Art,"
encourages the National Parent Teacher Association with its program
by that name.
"Learning about the visual arts
gives students a window onto the rich and interesting world around
them, teaching them about their own history and culture, as well as
those of other people." Plus, the PTA reminds us, it's a visual world
out there. "In a world in which ideas and information are often
delivered visually, children need to learn how to analyze and judge
the meaning of images and how to use them to communicate their own
ideas."
Still, most schools have seen
their art programs slashed to ribbons over the past decade. What's a
teacher to do? Make a tapestry! Using discipline-based art education,
weave art throughout the curriculum for a richly textured educational
experience.
Discipline-based art education,
advocated by the Getty Education Institute for the Arts, is an
approach to instruction rather than a specific curriculum.
"As more and more business leaders
are coming to realize, rote memorization and multiple choice answers
do not adequately prepare students for the global marketplace," says
Leilani Lattin Duke, director of the institute. "Art is a subject
that encourages children to think critically, solve problems
creatively, make evaluations, work within groups, and appreciate
different points of view. These skills are particularly suited to the
complex challenges of the contemporary workplace."
Integrating art education into the
curriculum also provides opportunities for students whose visual
skills are stronger than their verbal abilities, says award-winning
art educator Mary Parks, a teacher in Naperville Community School
District 203 in Naperville, Ill.
"When I was in elementary school,
my illustration for a book report was a much more personal response
to reading than anything I could write," Parks says. "Since all of
our students learn and express themselves in various ways, we need to
provide opportunities in our classrooms for all learners."
Parks advocates art centers in the
classroom as a "neat way" to integrate the arts throughout the
curriculum while meeting the needs of tactile and visual
learners.
Incorporating arts education into
the curriculum is also in line with Goals 2000, a national education
initiative that provides grant money to states for local school
improvements. More than 100 national organizations are participating
in the Goals 2000 Arts Education Partnership to promote the arts as a
pathway to improving education. For information and assistance,
write: The Goals 2000 Arts Education Partnership, National Endowment
for the Arts, 1100 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Room 515, Washington, D.C.,
20506.