Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Posts from the National Art Education Association Conference NEXT WEEK!

Photo taken by Paige V. Baggett , Easter 2010

10 Lessons the Arts Teach
1. The arts teach children to make good judgments about qualitative relationships. Unlike much of the curriculum in which correct answers and rules prevail, in the arts, it is judgment rather than rules that prevail.

2. The arts teach children that problems can have more than one solution and that questions can have more than one answer.

3. The arts celebrate multiple perspectives. One of their large lessons is that there are many ways to see and interpret the world.

4. The arts teach children that in complex forms of problem solving purposes are seldom fixed, but change with circumstance and opportunity. Learning in the arts requires the ability and a willingness to surrender to the unanticipated possibilities of the work as it unfolds.

5. The arts make vivid the fact that neither words in their literal form nor numbers exhaust what we can know. The limits of our language do not define the limits of our cognition.

6. The arts teach students that small differences can have large effects.The arts traffic in subtleties.

7. The arts teach students to think through and within a material. All art forms employ some means through which images become real.

8. The arts help children learn to say what cannot be said.When children are invited to disclose what a work of art helps them feel, they must reach into their poetic capacities to find the words that will do the job.

9. The arts enable us to have experience we can have from no other source and through such experience to discover the range and variety of what we are capable of feeling.

10. The arts' position in the school curriculum symbolizes to the young what adults believe is important.

SOURCE: 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. Available from NAEA Publications. NAEA grants reprint permission for this excerpt from Ten Lessons with proper acknowledgment of its source and NAEA.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I really like these ten lessons, and I could not agree more. Art is something that challenges students to use their imagination and to think outside the box. Art is a great way to get children (and adults for that matter) to open up and share their feelings with others. While all subjects in school are incredibly important for young people, art is by far one of the most important because it it something that can inspire them and stay with them for the rest of their lives.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Anonymous, in that these are great lessons. While all subjects are important, I believe art could and should be incorporated into every subject in school. I also believe that art should be used to inspire kids and boost their self esteem, and to help encourage them to dream, and dream big. There are no limits to what they can create!!
Sarah Fakouri

Anonymous said...

I really liked lesson number ten!
I believe that the position in the curriculum any subject takes shows how much the school appreciates it. The sad truth is that in many schools, art is put to the side. That makes children unfamiliar with it and sometimes fearful of it.
I also liked number nine! Being an avid artist myself, it allows a special way to express myself that no other form of pleasure can, and allows my emotions to reveal themselves if hidden.

Anonymous said...

I believe that my favorite lesson was #2! I think that children sometimes focus so much on that "one correct answer" that they never have the courage to "go outside the box" with their questions OR answers! I also agree with Sarah that if we could intergrate art into our subjects, we would probably have a much higher success rate as teachers! I feel that if we allow the students to become more PERSONALLY involved with their lessons, they would be able to grasp more of the knowledge we are trying to teach! And integrating art into each subject is a great way to do that! Lesson #6 is also GREAT! I feel that so many times we overlook the small stuff to the point where students think that if they only have a small amount to contribute, or only have the capability to contribute towards a small change, that it isn't even worth it! I really think that EVERY teacher should have a copy of these 10 Lessons the Arts Teach, and they should hang it in their rooms just as a reminder!
Jamie McKeough Section 102

Unknown said...

Lesson number 9 really hits home with me. "The arts enable us to have experience we can have from no other source and through such experience to discover the range and variety of what we are capable of feeling." How true! Looking at art allows us to enter the mind of another individual and see what they see. Colors are equivalent to feelings, textures are equivalent to sensations. I love how art allows us to explore our inner beings.

Jim Fawcett said...

By allowing people to have a voice when they may not otherwise have that ability to express themselves is amazing. Sensing the feelings and emotion being expressed as you perceive them allows growth to flourish in people. This leads to the experience and growth that make us better people and more understanding. Confidence.

Let children flourish....

Anonymous said...

I think lesson #2 is so important in a childs life and that we should make sure that they understand that in the classroom.

Megan Stewart (AED 9:30) said...

8. The arts help children learn to say what cannot be said.When children are invited to disclose what a work of art helps them feel, they must reach into their poetic capacities to find the words that will do the job.


I agree and love this!! Students can use art to express themselves. If they are mad, let them draw mad art work.(This would probably consume of reds, and possibly scribbling or something) If they are sad, they can express themselves with possibly some blues and maybe rain?!! Art can be soothing and therapeutic. Art is a great way to express your feelings! =)

Sheree Orso's EDM310 Blog said...

Well I must say that I totally agree. I never knew how educational art really is. After taking this course and seeing the passion that you have for it, seems to inspires you want to know all about the topic. I enjoy your class and your energy. Thanks for inspiring us all.

Hillery AED 11:30 said...

I agree with all of these points. Art is such a great way for kids to learn and really express themseleves. It give kids an outlet to show us things we might not have other wise see.

Anonymous said...

I agree strongly with #1,2,and 5. It allows all of us, whether its an adult or a child to express ourselves in many ways.


Lynne L. Williams