Why Teach Art in Elementary Schools?
Art classes can benefit children in many ways, helping them to grow mentally and emotionally. Not only is it a fun reprieve, it can help students to succeed in their other classes while developing important life skills, says David F. Lopez in his paper "Why Art Education?"
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Fosters Creativity
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Doing art projects stimulates a child's creativity, which can help her to think outside of the box in other areas of life. This can help the child to become more open-minded toward others while fulfilling her goals.
Teaches Critical Thinking
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Art teaches children to think critically by requiring them to make choices about colors, balance, shading, and other elements of design, say the National PTA and the Getty Center for Education and the Arts.
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Improves Confidence
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Art classes help many children to discover and develop their talents, boosting their confidence and self-esteem, especially for those with strong artistic abilities.
Teaches Adaptability
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When drawing or painting, artists have to be adaptable, not letting a splash of paint or other so-called mistake ruin a painting in progress. Instead, they must learn to incorporate such "mistakes" into a painting, and teachers can encourage children to develop this attitude in their art.
Therapeutic Benefits
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Art can act as a catharsis, helping children to work through and seek help for issues they may not have been willing to talk about. These could be major issues such as abuse, or more routine aspects of child development, like becoming an older brother or sister.
Other Benefits
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Additionally, art classes can prepare students to evaluate how to create and interpret messages with art, a skill more necessary today than ever because of the dominance of visual information in contemporary society, say the National PTA and the Getty Center.
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References
- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Umair Mohsin
