Education Through Art
“Education through Art” programs bring professional and amateur artists of visual and performing arts together with education experts to provide an enriching learning experience to children. Children who are not comfortable talking about a particular subject or younger children who cannot yet fully express themselves learn how to use art to express their emotions and difficulties. This healthy expression helps them cope with the issues prevailing in their lives and empowers them to reach their maximum potential. The most famous researcher on education and art, Sir Herbert Read rightly equated creative arts to the fundamental modes of expression and human development. According to Read, “Art should be the basis of education. The aim of education is after all, to create artists – people efficient in various modes of expression.” Read takes the view that art – creative activity – should take the core focus of educational work and at a young age, children are full of creativity and should be encouraged to express themselves through it.
Most educational institutions offer programs based on educating students through arts. Such programs are based on a strictly constructed curriculum that emphasizes on the development of the students’ artistic abilities. Subjects like history which are thought to be boring by students are made more interesting by role playing activities, whereas visual arts are used in teaching mathematics while physics and chemistry include the use of scale models. With highly positive results from students after the implementation of such programs, schools and educational institutes around the world adopted the “Education through Art” programs to some extent the main example of which is laboratory work, experimentation and use of scale models for learning.
With the increased popularity and common use of computers, the internet and other media devices, students are increasingly inclined toward expressing themselves using media arts. Various types of digital technology including photography, film making, documentaries and videos are used for learning. Students also use such technology on various projects that reflect their creativity and learn how to edit videos and images to express their own interpretation of certain events. Professional media artists work with students to develop their creative abilities and critical thinking skills. By using digital technology, students have the opportunity to excel as creators and process and present digital information.
Among other arts, dance is also used in education, especially in mathematics. Dance is highly engaging and immersive and gives students a fresh insight into developing core mathematical concepts. Students who otherwise struggle with complex mathematical equations acquire genuine analytical and problem solving skills. Some teachers use puppets to create a visually attractive learning environment for their students, while others use music with their students. Art has always maintained its importance as the highest level of expression from prehistoric times to the current age. We can learn a lot through the different aesthetic arts, dance and music. Art is a universal language and truly cuts across borders and individual differences to bring together the masses on a combined platform and convey a message of peace and harmony.