Philosophy of Art Education Katelyn Bensen-Crawford
Arts in education plays a significant role in shaping who individuals are and what the trajectory of their life will look like. As an art educator, my philosophy is to guide students to harness their imagination, gain the confidence to be creative, be knowledgeable about techniques, and foster their individuality. With these skills students will be better prepared in life because of the ability to think critically and create abstract solutions to problems.
I am inspired by Maxine Greene’s philosophy about imagination. According to Greene, imagination is a necessary building block of education. “Imagination is required to disclose a different state of things, to open windows of consciousness to what might be, what ought to be. Imagination allows for empathy, for a tuning in to another’s feelings, for new beginnings in transaction with the world” (Greene, 2008, p. 18). In practice, nurturing students’ imaginations looks like providing resources for uninhibited exploration. Examples of creative resources such as a variety of media, images, textures, lyrics, melodies, and movement allow for students to gain knowledge and inspiration about new topics. Exposing students to different experiences fosters a rich environment to help them develop their identities.
It is important to intentionally support students in using their imagination, as much as it is for them to apply it. Sir Ken Robinstion spoke about how creativity is applied imagination (Robinson & Aronica 2015). As an educator, I want to facilitate students in applying their ideas, to be innovative, and create something tangible. Being equipped with knowledge about ways to express an idea is imperative. Much like providing students the resources for uninhibited exploration to support fostering their imagination, educators must place an emphasis and value on teaching studio techniques. To support learning technical skills, I will incorporate art history lessons to study how known artists have expressed themselves through their own unique mark making. In addition to learning technical skills, studying, and emulating artists in history provide students with examples of people who expressed their imagination. It illustrates the incredible accomplishments that can be achieved through trusting in one’s uniqueness, as well as the vitality of expressing individuality in a thriving society.
Creativity advances a student’s life because of the opportunity it provides to cultivate critical thinking skills by making connections and drawing conclusions from one idea to another. Through the perspective of Maxine Greene's arts aesthetic approach to education, imagination and creativity are explored and applied through cross-disciplinary learning. Students learn about a particular topic through a variety of arts disciplines with the intention to deepen the engagement of learning (Hoffmann Davis, 2018). I look forward to working with my colleagues to support students’ learning and advancement through cross curricular experiences.
School is where children and teens spend most of their time growing through academics, social interaction, and extracurricular activities. I believe having arts integrated into the fabric of learning has the potential to enrich students’ learning, which in turn supports the students’ ability to function and contribute to society. Innovators are needed to imagine and solve problems with creative solutions, and arts in education provides the foundation to learning these life skills.
References
Greene, M. (2008) Education and the Arts: The Windows of Imagination. Commentary: Education and the Arts: The Windows of Imagination, 1(3), 18. https://acurricu lumjourney.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/greene-education-and-the-arts-the-windows-of-ima gination.pdf
Hoffmann Davis, J. (2008). Why Our Schools Need the Arts. Teachers College Press.
Robinson, K., Aronica, L. (2015). Sir Ken Robinson: Creativity Is In Everything, Especially Teaching. Creative Schools: The Grassroots Revolution That’s Transforming Education, https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/40217/sir-k en-robinso n-creativity-is-in-everything-especially- teaching