“Logic will get you from point A to point B. Imagination will get your everywhere.” (Einstein, 2005) This famous quote by Albert Einstein embodies the importance of art education for our students and society as a whole. Art, imagination, and creativity are important aspect of learning logic. From learning creativity in school, to using art in your career, art can open up a new world of ideas. However, art education still remains one of the most debated topics in our society today. Many school have taken away the privilege of art education given to students at schools. However, it is important that students receive an art education that promotes many skills including problem solving, teamwork, creativity, discipline, critical thinking, and other life skills. Creativity is vital to our world today; therefore we must encourage art in the schools. Four key components will be discussed concerning art education including what art education is, why it is important to children and teenagers, why it is important to society, and what we can do to make a difference in art education to better understand art education’s importance. Art education is based around three ideas that everyone needs and aims to achieve including work, language and values. People can learn the meaning of work through art education. Art is visible evidence of a job done to the best of one’s ability. Art education includes literacy or the ability to understand, study, read, and interpret images. It also stimulates verbal expression that can be taught when describing, analyzing and interpreting images. Finally, art education teaches values about family, work, hobbies, society, certain individuals, nature, love, the environment, and beauty through the expression of human concerns in artwork. (National Art Education Association, 2005) Art education needs to be emphasized in schools, “While children in art classes learn techniques specific to art, such as how to draw, how to mix paint, or how to center a pit, they’re also taught a remarkable array of mental habits not emphasized elsewhere is school.” (Winner, 2009) Not only does education in art teach us particular artistic based skills, but also art education teaches children skills and techniques that cannot be taught through any other subject. For example, “reflection, self-criticism, the willingness to experiment, and learning from mistakes” are all important skills that art education provides to students, teenagers and adults. (Winner, 2009) Contrary to popular belief of the common people, it is more than just drawing, coloring, painting or sculpting. “Art programs teach a specific set of thinking skills rarely addressed elsewhere in the curriculum.” (Winner, 2009) Art education allows us to “understand that there is a connection between an artwork’s content and the culture and time in which it was created.” (Clements, 2010) Art education is the gateway for learning about our culture, the past, language and our values as an American society. Art education is important to children and teenagers because of its “power to impact in positive ways the physical development and condition of our students.” (Stephens, 2007) Art education seems to sharpen critical thinking skills and other skills that transfer to other subjects and impact a student’s learning across all curriculums. First, “the arts teach children to make good judgments about qualitative relationships.” (Eisner, 2002) Like mentioned before, art education goes beyond the correct answers and curriculum created for schools and instead teaches students to use their imagination, creativity and personal judgment to develop ideas. “The arts teach children that problems can have more than one solution.” (Eisner, 2002) Children learn from art education that they can use their creativity to come up with opinions, thoughts and ideas that differ from other children. By practicing the arts, children begin to learn that your work does not always go as planned; therefore, problem solving and a willingness to accept new ideas is an important skill learned by children in art education. (Circle for Arts Education Business) Art education also, “helps children learn to say what cannot be said.” (Eisner, 2002). As children create their own artwork, they are encouraged to express how they feel, what they were thinking and the meaning behind their personal artwork. Often times, art education becomes an outlet for students that are struggling with violence, aggression, bullying, or other problems in life. (Circle for Arts Education Business). It allows their voice to be heard in their artwork as they learn to develop self-esteem and confidence through the art they create. Art allows the children to experience deep feelings and meaning that no other source can allow us to feel. It is important for students to be able “to express what hey have experienced in forms that will make their experiences shareable with those of others.” (Eisner, 2009) Art education gives a voice to students that allows them to say what they have never been able to say before through their artwork and creativity. Without art education, some teenagers would not “hear the ways in which sounds can be organized to create music… deprives them of learning how to see the human being in that form of motion we call dance” (Eisner, 2009). Art education is vital in the development of children and teenagers. Art is important to society because “the arts celebrate multiple perspectives” (Eisner, 2002). With such a diverse culture, the American society must be willing to understand and be open to many different cultures, perspectives, ideas, nationalities, and artistic expressions. Cultural value and meaning of religious, political, and social aspects are displayed throughout artwork. “Art education serves to develop such skills, broadening understanding and enhancing acceptance of fellow human beings” (Clements, 2010). Because of our nation’s diversity, people must be able to think for themselves, communicate effectively and appreciate our culture. Art is a way that our society can communicate to others with cultural, ethnic, or economic boundaries. (Circle for Arts Education Business) Art is also important to society because many careers are art based and require visual creativity such as filmmaking, publishing, photography, architecture, computer graphics, interior design, product design, fashion design, landscape design, and advertising. (Clements, 2010) Many careers require their employees to be educated in the arts; therefore, art is important in making this society work and run. Art can be defined through work since “art is the visible evidence of work carried to the highest possible level” (National Art Education Association, 2005). Art is the best way for children and teenagers to learn the value of work since work is done to the best of one’s abilities. Today’s careers require more creativity and skills in the arts because of changes in technology. There are many things possible that others and myself can do to make a difference in art education. First, art education requires a sense of freedom in the classroom. Being a future teacher, I must encourage my students to use their creativity in everything they do in the classroom. “Teachers of academic subjects might well benefit from making their classes more like art classes.” (Winner, 2009) By creating an art-centered classroom, I can incorporate art into other subjects such as math and history. For example, in history, the student can become involved in long term investigations that promote children to think, problem-solve, and use their creativity as art education teaches them to do. (Winner, 2009) I can ask questions that promote their creativity and get their minds to think. I can make a difference in art education by showing my support through the integration of art into my own classroom. On a more political level, a teacher can make a difference by voicing their opinion to principals, superintendents, governors, or even the president as Mr. Elliot Eisner did. Teachers can also encourage the importance of the arts to students’ parents by showing them the quality of education that their student is receiving because of art integration into the classroom. In order to make a difference in art education, the teacher must fully believe in art and be able to integrate it into his/her classroom. “America needs a workforce that is flexible, adaptable, and highly creative; and it needs and education system that can develop these qualities in everyone” (Robinson, 2005). This quote by Sir Ken Robinson shows how vital art education is in the classroom and within society. Americans must try to make a difference in art education so that future generations can see the importance of art to students and society. Students need art education in order to develop and learn valuable like skills. And society needs art to help people understand diversity and also be a baseline for many careers. How can you use your creativity to win back belief in art education in schools?
Circle for Art Education Business. Arts education: the core of Oklahoma’s future. Art at the Core of Learning.
Clements, R., & Wachowiak, F. (2010). Emphasis art: A qualitative art program for elementary and middle schools (9th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Einstein, Albert. (2001). Brainy Quote. Retrieved September 3, 2014. http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/alberteins121643.html
Eisner, E. (2002). 10 lessons art teach. The Arts and Creation of Mind, 4, pp.70-92. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Eisner, E. (2009). Dear Mr. President. Stanford University.
National Art Education Association. Why art education? Virginia, 2005.
Robinson, K. (2005). “How creativity, education and the arts shape a modern economy,” Art and Minds: Conversations about the Arts in Education.
Winner, E. & Hetland, L. (2009). “Art for our sake: School art classes matter more than ever-but not for the reasons you think,” Colleagues: Vol. 4: Iss. 2, Article 5.