Why art?

So, why are we so focused on art – both pedagogically and in our practice? It's a question I have asked myself recently, just why as a teacher does so much of my day involve art. Not just 'doing' art in the traditional sense, but thinking, observing, and acting in an artful way.

The lens' that generally guide my assessment/planning process of 'notice, recognise and respond' cold be described as scientific, learning dispositions, social skills, creative expression a la 'the 100 languages', and fostering self-esteem – but I'm now realising just how much 'art' is threaded through these different areas of learning. There is of course nothing ground-breaking about the notion of 'art' moving beyond the realm of paint, clay and pencils. How about considering...

• Science with its creative thinking, hypothesising and experimentation that are daily generated by those glorious fundamental questions children ask - “will the brown grass go green again?”
• Nature-based learning in which observation and exploration engage all the senses and provides endless opportunities for artistic play and representation. We garden, study leaves, bark and moss, follow spiders and ants trough the grass, lie back and watch the clouds...
• Socio-dramatic play where real and imaginary props and narratives can be described as both process art and producing artistic representations.
• Music and dance...
• Story-telling...
• Life...

Art is a response to living and everybody consciously or unconsciously engages in it to some degree. Art is everything and anything – if we have our art 'lens' on that is ...

At our centre we draw upon the teaching and learning philosophies of Reggio Emiia which has at its core a concept developed by Loris Malaguzzie referred to as 'the one hundred languages of children', a reference to the myriad of ways children express their understandings of themselves and of the world about them. The Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education is internationally acclaimed for its empowering image of the child, the child-led project approach to learning, an exhaustive documentation process that often includes public exhibitions, and the fact that it is focused on creative art as it's primary vehicle for learning...

But... Reggio Emila is unfortunately also renowned for the awful academic nature of its literature which can be difficult for lay people to understand. What does 'The Reggio Emila approach' mean to parents and many of the teachers tasked with leading this approach?

Probably fuck all right?

Personally, I (a teacher and a parent), stopped reading anything directly to do with Reggio Emila a long time ago as I found it largely inaccessible and so removed from my context of work as to be more confusing than helpful. Ann Pelo and Susan Wright are now my principle guides when it comes to art and my role as a teacher. (In saying this, I do however recommend the Reggio publication In the Spirit of the Studio, by Lella Gandini which has a more practical focus and worth seeking out.)

Pelo advocates intentional teaching to develop foundational skills and draws strongly from Reggio practice (I highly recommend her very accessible and practice-orientated book, The Language of Art, 2007) and describes art as “a process of engagement with a range of materials that is sensual and reflective, creative and deliberate, and which deepens and extends children's learning.”

In answering my question Why Art?, Pelo proposes that “as children become more comfortable and skillful with these media, they are able to use them to communicate their understandings, emotions, and questions. Their fluency in a range of art 'languages', in turn, opens new possibilities for collaboration and dialogue, for taking new perspectives, and for deepening their relationships with each other.”

And that's about it from Pelo as far as the 'why' goes as her focus is on the 'how' of teaching art to young children. Get her book, it will be the only art book you will need as a teacher.

I know a teacher who bases herself at the art table at her centre because that's where it all the action is. Sure there's a lot of intentional teaching happening as she guides and models art techniques, but there's more to it than that and this is when I draw upon Susan Wright (Children, Meaning-making and the Arts, 2003) who takes an indepth look at why the art studio/space is the place for learning.

Briefly, this is why we 'do' art all day, everyday – and why you should too...

Art is a language and we want our children to be literate. It can be considered as stopped action frames which provide children with a pre-conceptual understanding of how they operate in the world. It is a symbol system for communicating ideas and experiences. This process of representation is all about creativity, about thinking outside the box. “Research indicates that a child who is exposed to the arts acquires a special ability to think creatively, be original, discover, innovate, and create intellectual property” (International Child Art Foundation). Art is an activity that engages all the senses and gets all the brain's synapses firing away as they draw from imagination, memory or in response to immediate stimuli – and don't forget that children think with their bodies...

Art builds fine motor skills as they learn to control a wide variety of tools and coordinate movement. From scribble to shapes to repeated and precise symbols with more complex meanings such as numbers and letters of the alphabet.

Art that is open-ended and (to a degree) process orientated offers endless opportunities to make choices, hypothesise about results, evaluate, reflect, and build upon this new knowledge. In art we behave like a scientist.

Art is a perfect outlet for children to process their feelings, thoughts and discoveries in a way that is often easier and more comfortable than words. Movement, image, colour, line and imagination all help children express themselves in multidimensional ways.

These are all wickedly important, but the clincher for me is that the art space is recognised as a prime location for collaborative learning amongst peers. Here we can see a group of children (and adults) who are emotionally, intellectually, and aesthetically engaged in solving problems, creating products, and making meaning – an assemblage in which each person learns autonomously and through the ways of learning of others.

In groups we encounter: new perspectives, strategies, ways of thinking.

We learn to reflect, modify, extend, clarify, and enrich. Fantastic! It is an adventurous, enquiry based approach to learning where participation can move on from a traditional transmission style of education to one that can include the whole community.

Consider these further points from Krechevsky & Mardell (Four features of learning in groups, 2001):

“While we acknowledge that learning is individual, we think it is critical to consider the social construction and existence of knowledge as well. Learning in a group supports a quality of learning that is different from individual learning. A focus on collective understanding – requiring constant comparison, discussion, and modification of ideas- makes possible learning that is not accessible to individuals working alone.”

Intentionally include adults in the learning journey – we do not leave the children to 'naturally develop their knowledge and skills'! Adults play different roles, but all engage in enquiry. The teacher's role includes listening, observing, providing provocations for discovery and joy, intervening at critical moments to model techniques. Rather than being seen as the sole or primary sources of information, teachers help children enlist the cognitive and emotional support of their peers. Teachers also serve as the groups memory, reminding children of earlier work etc.

So gather round the art table and explore meaning making...