Friday, August 21, 2020

A Slice of Rhubarb Pie: Art and Creativity

 I believe that every student in grades K-12 should have the privilege of enjoying at least one hour of art a week.  This can even be done in small, multi-grade schools.  When we were teaching in this situation, we would have an art class once a week with grades 3-12 all together, often pairing a younger student with an older "buddy" to help them.  We did this on Friday afternoons, and encouraged the students to take home their projects and extra supplies to work on them over the weekend.  They would also work on them during study hall when all of their other work was done.  The projects were due a week later, which gave them a whole week to create, explore, and be artistic.  

Art class is a ways to a means.  It almost forces students to be creative, because it is a special time set aside to be creative, and students desperately need that.  I have found that the more opportunities students have to be creative and do artsy stuff, the better writers, mathematicians, and thinkers they become.  

This will automatically lead to even more creativity.  Encourage students to be creative in as many different ways and situations as you can.  Here are a few suggestions.
*in their journals
*writing the numbers in their journals
*drawing pictures to help with solutions in math problems
*in science experiments
*with posters or any type of project

Set parameters to force them to be creative.  I tell my history students that their history posters cannot be in the shape of a rectangle and cannot be white.  I also tell them that they have to include maps, pictures, and a three-dimensional item.  The results are usually amazing.  

Encourage creativity in your classes, and do everything possible so that your students can enjoy an art class at least once a week.  

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