The Focused Student: The power of the visual arts
With the new year just days away, the holidays are beginning to recede to memories — visual memories, what we might think of as the art of the holidays. Locked in our memories are certain visuals whether it’s from the light show at Descanso Gardens, the decoration of our homes or a drive up Altadena’s Christmas Tree Lane. When we recall the memories, we rarely stop to think about the art and what it does to make those memories so ... well, memorable.
Art unfortunately is too often relegated to a corner marked “frivolous” when people talk about subjects that should be taught at school. I would argue the opposite, that art needs to be an integral part of every student’s education. Not because everyone will be an artist, but because art is an educational element that comes into play in many ways, from the practical to the aesthetic. Art, as much as writing or speech, is a means of communication.
Art enables us, for example, to “see” the world in different ways. Think about Monday’s Rose Parade and all the decorated floats that will be featured in it. If I hadn’t grown up around the floats it would be hard for me to believe that flowers, seeds, leaves and other plant materials could actually combine to create a picture. It’s like a three-dimensional impressionist painting when you are up close, but you only see that if you “look different.”
Most children start out as visual communicators. In the early years, the coloring, cutting, pasting and tracing certainly help develop fine motor skills. Art also is one of the first opportunities a child has to literally make his or her mark on the world and have control over the result. Children quickly learn that pressing harder or less hard, using a big brush or a smaller one, combining or separating colors — all these techniques create different results, and they see the differing impact of their art on others. They learn that art has a social as well as an aesthetic impact, and it enables even children with speech or learning impediments to communicate in ways that can be powerful. Art is how a child can express what is otherwise only a fantasy in his mind, or an idea she has for a new invention that will save the world.
Art begins to make those connections.
Art is used to teach everything from English to geometry. I have seen English teachers use art to identify nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, etc. in a story on the computer. Nouns become one color while other parts of speech are different colors. It is fascinating to see the patterns they make. They employ colors to identify parts of speech and enable students to see patterns in their writing and that of well-known writers.
Math teachers use art in teaching their students to visualize one-dimensional drawings as three-dimensional objects. Drawings of the famed artist M.C. Escher are a great way to teach students to look at something from a different perspective. And then there are the architects!
There is also a social side to art.
Ever listen to a group of young children drawing at a group table? The conversations are insightful and hilarious at the same time. They observe each other, commenting, copying and criticizing. For some kids, it may be the only place they feel on equal footing with their peers. Art also takes a bit of concentration. I have seen ADHD children who are otherwise in ceaseless motion sit for hours at an art table.
So encourage your student to consider a visual arts elective. It’s not frivolous. A study at UCLA showed that students involved in the arts scored better on the SAT and other standardized exams, had better grade point averages, and spent less time watching television or playing computer games.
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ROBERT FRANK is the executive director of the Hillside School and Learning Center in La Cañada. He holds a master’s of science degree in special education and has more than 40 years of teaching experience. His column appears on the last Thursday of each month. He can be reached at frank@hillsideforsuccess.org.
