It will take some time to have arts wholly incorporated in the school curriculum, especially in public schools all over the United States. However, some crucial steps are being taken to facilitate the process. For example, Chicago has added more art teachers in public schools.
We are not there yet, but more can still be done to ensure that students achieve the best, both in academics and art. The main aim of incorporating art in other subjects is to enhance the growth of certain skills that would make students all-rounded. Apart from making learning enjoyable, this integration has more benefits, which are highlighted in this article.
How Does This Integration Work?
The integration majorly involves learning using various artworks. It is different compared to the regular textbook learning, where the teacher only teaches from the text. This form of teaching applies the approach of using artworks like drawings and letting the students come up with their creative works to explain a particular concept.
For example, in a history lesson, the teacher can ask students to paint different eras or the socioeconomic activities that took place. This will make the learning more interactive and at the same time, boost the students’ creativity. Also, in geography classes, students can be asked to draw a map. This way, they will not only be learning but will also contribute to building their talents. So, what are the benefits?
Development of Language Skills
Art plays a huge role when it comes to mastery of language skills, especially among small kids. It has been established that students learn languages properly when they encounter it in context. One way to attain this is to use pictures to aid a learner to guess the meaning of particular words. Students can be asked to act a specific passage they read in class as well. This is still a form of art and improves a student’s language skills, which, in turn, aids the tutee to be a good essay writer. Such skills are:
- Listening
- Speaking
- Reading
- Writing
Improves Mastery Levels
Many teachers will attest that learning through visuals not only improves students’ engagement in class but also boosts their memorizing capability or mastery levels. If a certain topic is taught using a drawing, curving, or modeling, then the students are more likely to remember what is being taught.
Thus mixing art with different subjects, including mathematics, results in achieving the learning outcomes. Additionally, with such types of art, tutees will be more interested in learning, and there would be fewer instances of students’ minds deviating from class.
Builds Students’ Talents
Practice makes perfect, and therefore, by including art in schools, students who are talented to draw or have various artistic gifts would have the opportunity to do what they love frequently. This makes them better artists in their areas of specialization.
What’s more, in the contemporary world, creativity and talent are highly valued and are among the major ways by which people earn a living. Therefore, encouraging the young ones to keep drawing, modeling, or painting is important as it helps to enhance their talents.
Heightened Creativity
Creativity is a skill that people should have in today’s world. Coming up with an original piece of work is what sets people apart, not only in schools but also in workplaces. It is a fact that not everybody has a love for art, but when these skills are incorporated into the subjects learned in school, then all students could get a chance to build their creativity.
Expression of Emotions
Drawing, painting, and modeling are some of the best ways to express our emotions. Even if you cannot come up with a proper drawing, you can still express yourself. Through drawing, students get a platform to put out their feelings and even ease anxiety and stress.
Additionally, coming up with a drawing, even if it is not perfect, gives an individual a huge sense of achievement, which boosts their self-confidence. Hence when students, who aren’t good in other subjects, come up with nice pieces of art, they get their self-esteem boosted.
Closing Remarks
It may sound quite hard to integrate normal learning with art, but it is quite workable. This integration has more benefits that students cannot afford to miss. Therefore, building a connection between art and all subjects is something that all schools should consider doing. However, this integration should be seamless, and adequate resources should be available to attain the benefits.
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