It has been acknowledged that arts education contributes greatly to children’s development. However, some people (even primary teachers) have quite a distorted idea of the arts education as they see it as a fun pastime for children (Smilan & Miraglia, 2009). Nonetheless, I second the opinion of Dinham (2011) who claims that authentic arts education is what our schools need. Such kind of approach enables children to develop their arts literacy, creative behavior, “self-expression through arts” and “identity formation and self-confidence” (Dinham, 2011, p.19).
As far as I am concerned, these are most important qualities to develop in children. These qualities will help them develop specific outlook which will enable them to look at various issues from different perspectives. Thus, I will try to develop these qualities in my students to make them ready to succeed in their lives.
Apart from this, it is of paramount importance to link authentic arts learning to other disciplines in the curriculum. Dinham (2011, p. 29) claims that it is essential to put arts education “in an integrated learning environment”. This is one of my approaches. I try to incorporate various themes connected with different disciplines across curriculum.
Of course, I choose themes and topics which can be interesting to children. I think this is one of the most effective approaches to education as children gain knowledge in a very interesting form. This is also a good opportunity to make children revise material and try to look at it from different perspectives, which is one of the major aims of authentic arts education, and education on the whole.
Therefore, I think I can help children open up new horizons. I am sure I will also be able to help the school develop through exploiting new approaches and new effective techniques.
Arts education is often seen as a way to make children relax and have rest after ‘difficult and important’ classes. Of course, educators understand that the major aim of arts education is to develop children’s creativity (Power & Klopper, 2011; Stephens, 2006). However, arts education is not one-sided as it helps children develop as unique personalities who are ready to look at the world from different perspectives (Dinham, 2011).
Unfortunately, sometimes arts lessons are full of activities seen on the Internet or in different books. However, this inconsequent approach leads to a complete failure as such lessons are rather fillers (Dinham, 2011). Therefore, I pay a lot of attention to preparation to every class which consistently serves major aims of arts education.
I use a variety of techniques to develop children’s creativity and arts knowledge. I balance activities which develop children’s motor skills and activities developing creativity, critical thinking and confidence. I always complete worked examples while preparing for my lessons. This helps me achieve my teaching objectives. Besides, I do not only try to encourage children to create. I also try to encourage them to assess and evaluate their works as well as their peer’s creations. This is really important as this develops children’s critical thinking. Apart from this, sharing ideas and assessing each other’s works helps to create the necessary creative atmosphere.
This approach also helps children become tolerant and learn more about other cultures. Finally, this approach lets children develop their outlooks and, more importantly, it helps children develop multifaceted vision. Thus, children will be able to provide new insights into seemingly trivial things.
Reference List
Dinham, J. (2011). Delivering authentic arts education in the primary school. South Melbourne: Cengage Learning Australia.
Power, B., & Klopper, C. (2011). The classroom practice of creative arts education in NSW primary schools: A descriptive account.International Journal of Education & The Arts, 12(11). Web.
Smilan, C., & Miraglia, K.M. (2009). Art teachers as leaders of authentic art integration. Art Education, 69(6), 39-45.
Stephens, P. (2006, August/September). Are the arts important in education? SchoolArts, 10.