Blog

A situation recently occurred in my art class that has led more to write about the importance of communication between parent and teacher. It is vital for parents to inform their children’s teacher of any special needs their child may have. Without prior knowledge a teacher may actually exacerbate a difficulty the child may experience. A good teacher wants very much to know if your child has an existing problem arriving at class along with Megan or Josh.

Working with a new student, I discerned that she was bright, had some good art skills and interest, but was overly active and sometimes provoked other students. As I continued to work with her I noted that she had little patience with the completion of new tasks, and wanted much attention from me on each accomplishment. If I briefly left the room, she was immediately out of her seat, and teased other children to get them “stirred up” as well.

Today I talked to her about her excellent skills as an artist, and explained that an art student sometimes needed to develop patience. I also mentioned that a talented person could become good at their craft, but patience was necessary to become great. She was asked to work on this skill, and appeared to be listening and agreeing to try. When the child’s mother picked her up, I repeated my words about patience and in the child’s hearing said that she was quite talented, but needed to work on her focus and settling down to the task. Her mother asked her if she’d taken her medication today, and confirmed that she had a problem with these things.

If this parent had taken a moment to discuss her daughter’s special needs BEFORE I began to work with her in my class, we both would have been a big step ahead - myself by knowing what to expect and then dealing appropriately with this need, and the student, who could have been drawn appropriately to her art instruction by use of teaching techniques I have developed through experience.

Your child’s teacher should not have to guess at why your child is acting up. Over the years I have worked in instructing children with many special needs, including various learning and developmental difficulties, social and emotional special needs and certainly children with ADHD learning problems. I have worked with the color blind art student, the deaf and the painfully shy. Each time the parent has discussed special needs in advance I am so much better equipped to teach that child.

You, as the parent are bringing the joy of specialized learning activities into your child’s life; be it in soccer, computer class, music lessons or art class. You are wonderful for doing this, for listening to your child’s interests and helping them grow in this way! Please remember to take a moment to speak with your child’s teacher or coach, privately if your child is under 10 or 11, or is uncomfortable. Specify what your child’s special needs or problems are, and suggest the techniques you have developed yourself or with previous teachers that improve your child’s learning or behavior. Ask the instructor to come to you with difficulties they experience in teaching your child, as well as to ask you for suggestions on what might work to “get through”. No one knows little Megan or Josh like you do. To sum this up, a good instructor cares, both for your child and for his success at his job.

Children scribble because they like to move and manipulate different materials around. When they first make a connection between their random movements with a crayon and the marks that appear simultaneously on a paper, (or wall), they’ve made a leap. They are controlling a piece of the world, and they love it! Next comes the naming of the scribbles, then the long, fascinating journey toward drawing recognizable objects. If Children are encouraged in these efforts, no matter how clumsy, they will retain the confidence to love creating art.

Art education, at best offers a window that allows children to peer at the world in a different way. Through exploration of different subject matter and access to many media, children gain in many ways. Exposure to art and creating it allow for emotional, intellectual, and perceptual growth.

A child who is provided with the opportunity and materials to create has been gifted with an invaluable emotional outlet. Through art children can express feeling. The act of drawing, painting, or sculpting channels children’s energy into creating, slows down the surrounding world, and allows reflective thought and self expression. Feelings of sadness or joy, pride, irritation, even exploration pour into the artwork, and so expressed state:

This is who I am.
This is what I like.
This is what I think.

Creating art, as well as looking at it, stimulates thought and curiosity.

How did the artist paint that?
Why?
What is the artist trying to say?
How can I use that material?
Why does it work that way?
Can I try that?

The wonderful world of art and the problem solving skills intrinsic to creating it can stimulate intellectual development. Given the challenge of understanding an artist’s painting leads to interesting speculation, conversation, and attempts to grasp new and varied concepts. Given a design problem to solve, students utilize great creative exercises to deploy a solution. Exploration of new concepts, and with new art materials leads to greater understanding of the world, as well as the child’s ability to show how he feels about it. By learning more about what looks right and mastering materials, the child can be more expressive in the artwork.

Children are bursting with all the new things they are experiencing. Every day, so much to learn, to see-wonderful things, scary things, how good this day was or how boring. The ability and confidence to create allow them to explore all these multitudinous perceptions. Looking closely at the objects they wish to draw causes them to see in new ways. Using their hands to shape clay allows them to enjoy tactile sensations as they mold their thoughts. The bright colors of paint and the experience of mixing colors are a perceptual delight. As we all learn by doing, art is an invaluable tool to growth.

Art allows children to express how they feel about the world. Creating images allows them to order their thoughts, to interpret and record their own unique views on society, how they relate to others, and how they feel about themselves.
An Art Teacher’s Role

A good art teacher can open the window to the world and allow students to take in a new view. Exposure to famous masterpieces, historically different depictions of people and society, and unique explorations of artists through time can raise visual awareness and creative curiosity.

Instruction in material usage and technique gives students the tools to improve their skills. Demonstration provides visual information, and hands-on creating improves eye-hand coordination.

The art teacher’s role is to stimulate the imagination, to instruct and demonstrate material usage, and then step back and allow for the diversity. Children all have something to express, and each has a unique voice of expression. The instructor’s job is to help the student to develop the confidence to freely self-express through art, then step back and let the student’s creativity soar.

What does art mean to you?
Art is a record of the human spirit, the display and expression of what is seen, felt, revealed or even imagined by the artist.
It is heard in the thrilling notes of a song, felt through the exquisite movements of a dancer, the emotional connection to an actor, or seen in a painting that grips the viewer on a level deeper than vision.
I think that artists are compelled to create their art. They feel a need to record what they have observed about living in the world and amongst the people in it.Artists need to show what they have imagined, and to play with their medium of expression for the sheer joy of living with their ability to create.
Further, they yearn to put meaning to the immense emotions that the act of living generates, the joy and sadness, the confusion and wonder, the search for meaning and the spirit which we humans all experience.
When the writer, the dancer, the singer or the painter has created, and the viewer can find truth in that expression, you are close to the meaning of art.