Why our Schools need the Arts

Good morning. I am currently taking grad classes and studing the importance of creativity and how creativity effects cultre and vice versa, so I've been doing a lot of reading. Today I'm going to share with you one of the books that I read

Davis, Jessica Hoffman. (2008). Why Our Schools Need the Arts. New York: Teacher’s College Press.

This is a wonderful book and easy read. Anyone interested in the arts should pick this one up. Below are the notes that I took while reading the book to give you all a little taste. Happy reading!
 
Arts must be important for their own sake not because of what they can do for other subjects




“ the arts in our schools are essential. They shed light on and give direction to the foundations that science provides. The things we think we know, and which we build, and form which we imagine- that’s science. The imaging. The building, the seeing beyond the given- that’s art.”



“ the arts are basic to us all”



our children all have a basic need to gain facility with making and finding meaning in the heights of human expression



if a school argues that they need more time to teach a tested subject before more times is added, one needs to analyze if it just needs to be taught differently



all teachers should have enough experience with art that they no longer say I don’t do art. This will help change students attitudes if they don’t see adults around them filled with excuses.



“ the arts need to be incorporated into every child’s learning for the more important purpose of enabling future generations to participate across circumstance, culture, and time in the ongoing human conversation that is perpetuated through art.”



“ If I can imagine and change the world I create in paint and in performance, am I not a person who can see beyond the given to alternate possibilities in the greater world?”



connection between art and express of emotion- looking at an artwork helps make them think about how others feel- empathy--- how did the artist that made that painting feel?



Young children naturally blur boundaries



When adults ask young children what their work is they are implying that the work must be something and not just an abstract creation. They are also saying that art must be like words




Students should have art to experience success and failure



Don’t just plead the case for art, present a plan---- assume that we are all on the same side of supporting students Pin It