Art In Education
Position Paper: Role of Arts in Education
Much of what I have learned in the childhood and special education program thus far is that it is essential for teachers to be able to see their students as individuals and not as a whole. Teachers need to understand and identify the special needs of their students, in order to provide an appropriate education for them. This means that they need to be able to reach all students, regardless of how varied their skill levels may be. Teachers need to come up with ways to cater to all learning styles, abilities, disabilities, and interests of a wide range of students.
When you look up art in the dictionary, it is defined in a number of ways. For example, art is: 1) as the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, 2) the various branches of creative activity, such as painting, music, literature, and dance, and 3) subjects of study primarily concerned with the processes and products of human creativity and social life, such as languages, literature, and history. However, The National Standards for Arts Education Organization defines the study of the arts into two parts: the development of skills in creating, performing, and producing works of art, and the process of study, analysis, and reflection on the other. Art activities are often separated into two categories -- creating/art making activities (e.g. singing, painting, dancing, acting) and observation/exposure activities (e.g. listening to music, visiting an art exhibition, watching a video tape). Being able to fit and connect arts experiences into the basic ways in which the general curriculum and subjects are taught, is an extremely important and effective tool for teachers to have for the classroom. Since not all children learn the same way, infusing art into the curriculum is a way for children to become more engaged. While some might thrive academically with books, lecture, pen to paper, etc., others may not. Some children are...
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