Art, and the Heart of Learning

by
Jill Miller Zimon

Do you curse that umpteenth classroom art project your child brings home from school because no more places to display or store it exist? Before you do that, first consider the results of a 1998 study of students involved in after-school arts programs. According to Living the Arts Through Language and Learning, students who are involved in the arts are, among other distinctions:

• four times more likely to win schoolwide attention for academic achievement;

• four times more likely to participate in a math or science fair;

• three times more likely to win an award for school attendance;

• nearly twice as likely to read for pleasure; and

• over four times more likely to engage in community service.

Additionally, although nearly two-thirds of students in the study’s control group (pulled from the National Educational Longitudinal Sample of 1990) said that they expected to go to college, in the group of arts-involved students, 83 percent viewed themselves as college-bound.

What exactly is going on in those arts programs that benefits the students?

To begin with, Ellen Jackson, an artist, art teacher and mother of two school-aged daughters, doesn’t “think people give kids…enough credit for being able to learn about and appreciate art. Once, when I taught about Grandma Moses, I had a little girl tell me the following week that she saw one of Grandma Moses' paintings - at a Subway restaurant…And I had many kids who would come to a following class tell me the name and/or something about the artist that we discussed in the previous class.”

To make these kinds of lasting impressions, Jackson says that she always incorporates into the lesson “several facets of the painting and of the artist, such as the cultures, geography, literature, math, and so on that are involved. Talking and seeing art at a young age stirs up conversation on a wide variety of topics.”

Artists and educators like Lisa Schonberg, who has an MFA in printmaking and a BA in art education with a minor in drawing and painting, know that if nothing else, being able to describe with art leads to being able to describe with words. “There’s a big carry over in writing. Art helps kids describe. First, they draw something they see in front of them. For example, I’ll ask them to draw a dream they once had. And, through drawing it, they get an idea of how big something is, how small something is, how pretty, how ugly. By actually drawing it from imagination or real life, they are able to describe details better. They come up with adjectives and it enhances their creative writing.”

Schonberg also believes in the versatility of educating children through art. “With certain kids, you can give them a worksheet or a lecture and then give them a quiz or test. But others still won’t get it when taught that way. However, if you give those kids an art project, they might then be able to have an aha moment and say, I get it. There’s an additional oomph of understanding, especially when kids get older and all they do is read text and take a quiz. Then, art can really help provide examples and keeps kids excited about learning.”

So your kids bring home enough imitation Matisse and Tiffany glass creations from school. Why might you make room in your after school time and allow or even encourage or require your kids to learn more about creating the next centerpiece for your local art museum?

Dr. Sylvia Rimm, a nationally known child psychologist who directs the Family Achievement Clinic Inc and is a clinical professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, says that, “What kids really need are opportunities for intense engagement--of pushing themselves in an area they love and find challenging. It teaches them more about life than almost anything else.” And, when it comes to the arts, Rimm says that, “Arts are important for all children as appreciators, but the depth of engagement is so important. Whether they're practicing Irish dancing or designing the lights for the drama play, it's all about learning without grades, intrinsic reinforcement, finding talents that they never realized they had and providing them with memories that are unforgettable.”

So, before you decide that your child has created enough Popsicle stick photo holders and rock garden paperweights, take a look around your community and see what other venues for creativity exist. As Ellen Jackson, the mother and art teacher says, “I have been taking my girls to museums, special exhibits, ballets, theater, orchestra, etcetera since they were fairly young and they are both great students now. The arts had to have something to do with that!”

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