Three Cheers for Art!

When I taught in Wichita, our very wonderful visual arts coach/mentor gave each of us elementary art teachers a sheet of  **Ten Lessons the Arts Teach by Elliot Eisner.   Below is the adapted list of what Eisner states are what the arts teach and how it shows. In parentheses, my comments.  Eisner has also written a book, The Arts and The Creation of Mind, Yale University Press, 2002. It is available from NAEA Publications.  This book may be next on my reading list.

The arts teach:

1)  how to make good art judgments. In the arts, its opinions rather than the correct answers that matters. (Your opinion counts.)
2) there is more than one solution to the problem. (Think creatively and abstractly.)
3) when solving problems, it requires a willingness to allow unanticipated possibilities as you create.(Be vulnerable in order to find joy).
4) There is no limit to what we can know.  There are no limits to art.  (The sky is the limit.)
5) Art can have a large impact-,. Small differences can have large effects. (Be prepared to be surprised.)
6) Thinking through and within art images. (It's more than just color, there is much more to discuss.)
7) to say what cannot be said.  (Non-linguistic representations speak volumes.)
8) to experience and discover a range and variety of feelings--what we cannot experience from any other source. (Self-Expression, emotions from creating or viewing art.)
9) to celebrate art through multiple perspectives--there are many ways to see the world. (Seek and find the joy of art through many facets.)
10) art in the public and private school sector is very important! (Keep it in the schools! It's teaches art, writing, and reading too, and math!!!)

 Even though it has been 11 years since this list was made, the ten things arts teach is more important now than ever!  Three cheers for art teachers that inspire, educate and give their best to teaching students of any age.  

With my master's degree in Teaching, and my Bachelors in Art Education, I can't wait to start teaching again!!! So there is no doubt, I do teach the 10 on the list above.   It's the only way to effectively teach art.  Now to just get that teaching job.

**Information provided by National Art Education Association