Education in educational institutions is when a person acquires knowledge and learns to position themselves in the world. In modern realities, one-way training aimed at mastering one field will not bring the desired result. It is essential to combine different areas for diverse personality development. Thus, art, music, dance, sporting activity, and literature should be a fundamental part of every school’s pre-K to 12th-grade curriculum because it will help develop irrational thinking, express emotions adequately, and develop emotional intelligence.
Most lessons in educational institutions are aimed at developing rational intelligence. Rational thinking can be a type of thinking in which optimal solutions are found based on comparing a set of facts rather than based on sensations or emotional impulses. However, there is still irrational thinking, which develops in school solely through artistic disciplines. Irrational forms of cognition include intuition, imagination, fantasy, emotions and feelings (McAvoy, 2019). Modern man must be creative, flexible and able to solve non-standard tasks. Irrational thinking must be used to develop these skills. Therefore, in a contemporary school, students need to form rational and irrational thinking and irrational. The student must learn to think with artistic images, develop imagination, sensory sphere and think creatively in any sphere of activity. To form these qualities, it is the objects of the artistic and aesthetic cycle that are necessary.
Art is somehow present in the life of all people. But this does not mean that it is less important than, for example, physics or mathematics. There are two forms of knowing the world. The first one is logical, scientific, or objective, built on laws and regularities (McAvoy, 2019). However, there is also an emotional-figurative perception of the world. It is a necessary component of the human experience of life, and it is created not only by politics and science. Art helps to inherit, transmit and comprehend one’s own experience of feelings. Art actively participates in the formation of the value picture of the world. Artistic development at school introduces the child to the inheritance of spiritual culture and the inheritance of the world outlook.
The uniqueness of the influence of art objects on the child’s personality is inherent in the very nature of art. When a person looks at a picture, in an instant, he or she can capture both the content of the image and the feelings of the characters and feel his or her attitude to this plot. It is the ability to perceive different processes simultaneously that is a unique phenomenon that is inherent like art (Kennicott, 2014). Music and fine arts have the unique property of bypassing rational perception and influencing human emotions and feelings quickly.
The high level of teaching music and fine arts, dance, sporting activity, and literature has a good effect on the perception and awareness of other subjects. Thus, the better the emotional and sensory sphere of the personality is developed, the better the influence of a literary work on students’ character. The introduction of art classes in school gives the ability to carefully comprehend, evaluate and express oneself, as well as the ability to manage emotions, which contributes to the emotional and intellectual growth of the individual (McAvoy, 2019). Competencies in the art will promote the development of emotional intelligence – will allow students to understand their own and others’ willing, will form the ability to find tools to manage thoughts.
The development of emotional intelligence using art means learning through a set of methods and techniques for the formation of skills to observe and understand people’s emotional state, develop skills to empathize with their state of mind through art. The development of emotional intelligence can be achieved only through the systematic teaching of art, through the gradual mastery of the language of music or dancing, mastering the means of creative self-expression through artistic and creative activities, and acquiring skills to interpret works of art (Solnit, 2021). Art lessons should form attitudes to creativity, develop the sensory sphere of students’ personalities, form artistic and creative activities and develop aesthetic taste.
Literature also has a significant influence on the development of personality. Fiction helps to increase empathy, and this is the ability to understand another person, build relationships, develop emotional intelligence. The invention teaches us to look at the world through another person’s eyes, understand its motives, feel the difference between various psycho types, and predict their actions in different situations (Solnit, 2021). This is especially true of literary works, which emphasize the heroes’ social, domestic life, and relationships with others. Therefore, literature lessons in educational institutions form personal values ​​and principles.
In conclusion, an essential element of each pre-K to the 12th-grade curriculum should involve art, music, dance, sports activity, and literature. Art plays a significant role in everyone’s life because it helps to develop many vital skills. With the help of art lessons, a person begins to enrich irrational thinking, build imagination and see artistic images and aesthetics. Also, the introduction of art and literature classes will help to express emotions appropriately. Through the systematic study of the creative direction, the student develops emotional intelligence and becomes a sensual person.
References
Kennicott, P. (2014). How to view art: Be dead serious about it, but don’t expect too much. The Washington Post.
McAvoy, M. (2019). Theater arts, global education, and policy; or, what Chance the Rapper taught us about arts education. Arts Education Policy Review, 121(3), 98–105.
Solnit, R. (2019). How to be a writer: 10 Tips from Rebecca Solnit. Literary Hub.