Art Education

Art’s value extends beyond just the theories of color and design. Valuable lessons such as morals, tolerance, and even math can be taught using art. Morals are taught through teacher behavior and classroom rules as in a traditional classroom, but the students can also creatively explore there own morals through their works as each one tells a story. Tolerance can be taught by exploring the artwork of different cultures. Students are taught to appreciate the beauty of each style and foster an appreciation for the people who made it. Math is taught in art through design. Children learn geometry through working with different shapes and numbers in art. All of these aspects can be found in the art classroom making art a very valuable subject to teach many lessons through one medium.

Art Teaching Morals

With the attention given to school violence in recent years, it is more important than ever to teach children lessons about morals and integrity. The art classroom is a great way to do this. The lessons call for creativity but also respect for one another’s creations in a fun environment for children. However, teachers must actively take the lead in teaching their students lessons of morality. Leshnoff (2003) found that “relevant rules most commonly cited by the respondents in priority were: 1) Respect others; 2) Clean up properly; 3) Listen to directions; 4) Respect art materials and use them properly; and 5) Respect artwork-no negative criticism. These rules apply to how the individual can contribute to the general welfare of the student community in the art room.” Respecting others and the art materials teach children to be responsible and take care of the things that are provided to them. Cleaning up properly also teaches responsibility and how to take care of one’s self. Listening to directions and the no negative criticism rules teach the children to respect authority in the teacher and to be kind to one another. If they positively criticize, then they are learning to assist one another and engage in cooperative learning.

Another way that children are taught morals through art is during dialogue about artwork with one another and the teacher. Creating pictures that tell stories are very useful for this. For example, Leshnoff (2003) suggests using comics. She has her students engage in dialogue with her about the story the comic is telling and why the superhero is winning over evil. This gives children a sense of justice and helps them learn to do the right thing in situations. The comic heroes help the children to value good works. This idea can be applied to a number of mediums including illustrating a favorite fable, writing and illustrating an original story, or working with natural materials to demonstrate moral responsibility for the environment. In all of these instances art teaches children how to be moral and responsible beings in society. They are learning these lessons while having fun, which promotes greater retention and higher learning. The subjects are of intrinsic interest to the children so they are more motivated to learn. Once these lessons are learned inside the art classroom, they can be applied to the child’s world at large.

Art Teaching Diversity and Tolerance

In a world that is increasingly diverse and closely connected, it is important that children learn lessons of appreciation and tolerance for those that are different from them. Art provides a medium for children to explore a large number of cultures in the world as well as different styles and experiences within their own. Art, according to Johnson (2002):
Facilitates the opportunity for students to communicate and to share knowledge and information across cultures; Explores the cultural, historical, psychological, and political roots of students' own identity and examines the complex intersections and interconnections of race, gender, class, ethnicity, religious belief, sexual orientation, 'ability, and age that comprise the American culture; Develops critical thinking skills by providing students with activities that will enhance their capacities for imagination, intuition, reasoning, and evaluation, as well as contribute to achieving perspective, constructing and discerning relationships, and gaining self-awareness; Develops skills to differentiate between "looking" at the surface of art and culture, and "seeing" beneath the surface to discover meaning and values in one's own culture and the culture and art of diverse peoples.
Through their own works children are able to not only display their own stories, but are able to learn from one another. By studying works of art from different countries, a teacher can facilitate discussions about what cultural experiences led to the style of art being presented. The children can gain an appreciation for diversity by seeing the beauty in each work of art. This medium allows children to experience diversity through multiple senses and in multiple contexts. For these reasons art is a valuable tool in teaching children diversity and tolerance.

Children can learn to appreciate diversity within their class by creating a larger project through the combing of individual works. An example put forth by Skophammer (2004) is to have the children make a quilt in which each square represents a significant point in each child’s life. This helps the children to see what has made their classmates who they are to day, and hopefully give them a greater appreciation for one another.

A another example of teaching diversity through art is from Sacca (2003) who focuses on how art brings awareness to the political problems faced by native people in North America. The art work is used to trace the history of the people and pass it down to future generations. By displaying it for the world to see, it can educate children and adults alike of different cultures on the struggles face by Native American people. Hopefully this education can teach people to be more tolerant and work to help those who have experience injustices.

Mathematics in Art

For some students, math is a difficult subject and it is hard for them to maintain their interest in it for very long. Art can take a subject such as math and make it come alive by allowing students to see how math plays a role in everyday life. This is especially true when it comes to geometry. Art can teach the basics of geometry to children of all ages. A project that is useful for young children is to make a collage out of different representations of one number (Shreero, 2002). This project helps younger children to expand their schema of what the number looks like so she can recognize it in different situations. Geometry plays a part for older children when the design projects for different genres including architecture and even abstract art. Mathematics in art allows children who might not otherwise have an interest in math to gain insight and appreciation for the subject in a creative and fun way.


Conclusions

Art is a valuable tool to teach children a variety of lessons that extend beyond the subject of art itself. Morals and appreciation for diversity are just two that can make their way into the classroom. Art can also make learning math fun and interesting for students, while giving a concrete example of how what they have learned in math class can be applied to other areas of their life. Due to its diverse benefits, school districts should more greatly value its art departments than is currently the case. Since art can incorporate so many different subjects and learning techniques it should be better funded and considered an essential part of the school curriculum.