Introduction
Kids’ creativity is very spontaneous and they have a lot of potential in their future. Ken Robinson (2007), a creativity expert said we grow out off our creativity because we are educated. A child could loose their spontaneous and creativity when arts did not get emphasised in the classroom.The benefit of teaching art lessons to younger learner such as primary school students are art activates emotions and motivates children; it teaches them communication ways through visual symbols; it teaches thinking through senses; art develops their asthethic; and it stimulates their higher order thinking and enabling their problem solving ang creative thinking.
Art activates emotions and motivates children
Goleman (1995) said that a view of human nature that ignores the power of emotions is sadly shortsighted intelligence and can come to nothing when the emotions hold sway (Cited from Cornett, 2003, p. 156). Emotion and motivation cause us to take action that can result in positive consequence. Art therapy session is proven to give client relaxation and a joyous high. These stimulations will teach the children to be creative because it can be taught and trained as long as the curricullum lays out the methods and outcomes of the art lessons for younger students. Robinson (cited in Gault, 2010) explained 'three myths of creativity', firstly only certain people can be a creative one and this is truly a myth. Everybody can be creative, especially kids. Pablo Picasso (n.y) said, "Every child is an artist, the problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." Secondly creativity is only about a certain thing, yet it is another myth in teaching art for children. A student can be multi talented or multi gifts in lot of areas at the same time. For instance, Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519) was one of the multi talented and gifted scientist and artist during Renaisance period and he was also a genius mathematician and physician. Third is there is nothing ones can do in regard to the creativity, because people think we're born with it, once again it is another myth. Creativity through art can be taught to our children and it aims to develop their enjoyment of art lesson in the class to let them explore their creativity.
Art is a way of communicating through visual and spatial symbols
When we teach children visual literacy, we integrated in thinking about and expressing in images that beyond linguistic capabilities. Imagery and metaphor are used from early childhood to think and learn. Children are attuned to metaphoric thinking, so this taps into a strength and stimulates the use of schemata. Art uses symbols, colours and styles in it own ways. To understand the symbols and other attributes we need to master it. For instance, light and shadow, colour and form, texture and intensity, representation and expression, are the ways the art speaks to us (Beck, 1987, p.8). Art enriches children’s understanding of art techniques and expressions, therefore, the children have a new media to communicate to other people other than verbal and written language. They can create a communication tool through a visual art.
Art is a means of thinking through the sense
Art is hands on and tangible. We touch, play and manipulate colours, line and shape, when we make an art. It evolves kinesthetic, tactile sense. Painting can evoke the sound and smell, as the sense stimulated, we experience mental, physical and emotional response. This sensory is rich of symbols from a special language considered as new perspective and use prior knowledge to interpret, apply, analyse, synthesise and evaluate what we are creating or viewing.
Music also can affect the listener to move and dance, it also affect our feeling of joy and sadness. Young kids often can not associate themselves with their emotion and anger, especially at primary school ages, because they weren’t taught in art that elaborated their senses of oneness with their environment or other people. Through art lesson teachers can introduce and explore their senses and increase their sensitivity of emotions and feeling to their surrounding.
Art develops aesthetic sensitivity
Esthetic consists aromas, sounds, colours, tastes and texture which fills our environment daily. These sharpen the sense and an awareness or appreciation of pleasant experience. While children may not have language to express esthetic awareness, they often are on higher level of esthetic development. This sensitivity can grow into an ability to create art work. Key principle of art is beauty and art is the beauty created by human. Art is also interpreted different value other than beauty, such as harmony, balance, meaningfulness, originality, intensity, unity, purpose and expression (Beck, 1987). Those interpretations belong to esthetic value of art. Teaching children these values will increase their harmony in life, self esteem and have a meaningful life in future.
Art develops higher order thinking and creative problem solving capabilities
Creating an art requires a higher thinking and creativity. We often choose what we think whether it is a good or bad, we select beauty over the ugliness, and so it does in art. Creativity in art also evolves
analysing and communicating the ideas into the artwork. And many problems are resulted from a failure to implement the ideas into the artwork, as well as the breakdown of communication and inability to solve the problems. Art project for young children is class is an early step to teach the children those skills, which it ultimately equips the children with a higher thinking order and problem solving in life.
Conclusion
Art subjects are important for young learners such as the primary school students. Nonetheless, these lessons often been neglected and overlooked as non-essential subject in the third world country like Indonesia. One of many reasons is art can not offer a steady career for artists and art is not a major subject in any grades from primary to high schools. It has been outlined that the benefits of teaching art to the children is paramount. Arts motivate them emotionally and improve their communication skills. Arts also develop the children’s esthetic sense through a higher thinking order and problem solving skills. However, art don’t have a special position in our national curriculum. Finally, the impact of neglecting art subject in our primary school students is our future generations has a very poor art appreciation, poor creativity, a lower thinking orders and lack of problem solving skill which makes our nation future looks grime.
This article was sent to The Jakarta Post on early October 2010, but it never been published.
¶ Yusdi Maksum currently studies at Charles Sturt University, Australia. He has a postgraduate degree in Primary Education from The University of Newcastle Australia and graduated from Yogyakarta State University, Indonesia.
11.07
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