More Than Art in Art Education
Mary Carter
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe contributions of art education extend far beyond the school walls. Children learn skills they can use in their future careers, and older adults rediscover the joy they experienced as children.
At Ball State University, I prepare students to be licensed K-12 art teachers and focus on the contributions art education can offer to the wider community outside the public schools, particularly for the elderly and other adult populations. My volunteerism at two retirement homes inspired me. Creating art made the residents so happy. Their hands were doing something new. When we use our hands, it puts us back into our reality where we live.
My curriculum is not what older readers might remember from their childhood — making art that had to match the teacher’s example. I have created a culturally-centered art education curriculum — connecting art with everyday life and cultural meaning. Every image has a message or a story. The art I teach draws from popular culture as well as the visual arts.
In my qualitative research on older adults, I discovered that like exercise, making art is an essential happiness. And if there is some kind of repeated practice, you always get better at it.
At all ages, art education celebrates our human capacity for creativity. It provides a way of having a voice without words. It is socialization.
Human beings are meant to live in dialog with each other. Before we had a language, we had gestures, sounds, and mark-making. We recorded what we saw, and what we dreamed. The images are what we leave to say, “This is what I experienced.” And as soon as that mark or drawing or photo is made, others see it and react — and it becomes an interaction, a dialog. It can change how we think.
Because art education is based in reality, it contributes to students’ future careers and benefits their potential employers. Students learn about communication, relevance, and relationships. One of the most important lessons in a world that expects instantaneous results is that mastering any craft — from painting a portrait to writing software — requires an investment of real time.
Business professionals can foster art education by supporting public schools and the hiring of licensed K-12 art teachers. They should also patronize their local art museums and visit them with their families. They can attend an opening night at a gallery and ask the artist at least one question. As virtual platforms take on greater importance, business professionals should advocate for nationwide internet access.
Art education helps to grow a person’s soul and helps to make them a better human being. We can learn to see more and remind ourselves that we have the autonomy and agency to create better cultural meanings. Art education can teach to our hearts.
This article is sponsored content paid for by Ball State University.
Art education professor Mary Carter educates future art teachers and coordinates Ball State’s Saturday Children’s Art Classes for children in grades 1-6, offered online this fall.
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