Over the last several months during my ‘Arts Within Society’ module have I truly learned to appreciate and recognise the variety and depth of the Arts in our lives. Up until I began this class I only really acknowledged ‘art’ as a painting hung in a gallery somewhere, whereas now, I have learned that in fact art is all around us and can so many times go un-noticed ranging from a sculpture you might walk past everyday to a street performer.The various workshops that the class took part in really enhanced my understanding of just how broad art is.For instance, how taking a simple story book you would read to children can be turned it into a performance and taking different body parts of animals and can be used to create and draw an amazing fictional dragon! Also, another realisation I have made is that you don’t need to travel to exotic destinations to experience great forms of art but that in fact there are a staggering amount of examples of the arts right here in Scotland.
In addition, I believe as well as enhancing my appreciation of the arts, I think that it is also a positive and significant part to play in my role to becoming a teacher. At one point, art was considered as being an ‘extra curricular’ activity for school children whereas now it is recognised as being an essential and valued part of the curriculum. In their ‘Curriculum for Excellence – Expressive Arts: Principles and Practises’ report, Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS) recognise that the expressive arts, especially art and design, dance, drama and music, not only are important for developing skills for creative arts but that these skills are also transferrable and have a positive impact on other parts of the curriculum. For instance, as a child learns to become more expressive through the arts this can help them with skills such as story writing and using their imagination in writing in the classroom. However, perhaps even more important is that expressive arts has been found to have a huge impact on children and young people’s mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing. It is also a great way of enjoying themselves, enriching their lives and getting in touch with their cultural identities whist still learning something new.
I hope in the future I can use what I have learned through this module in my own teaching career and instil the same appreciation and understanding in my own students. I know now that to appreciate, enjoy and interpret art, you don’t necessarily need to be outstanding at drawing or be able to play a musical instrument brilliantly – all you need is a bit of passion and willingness to try and understand the arts. In my opinion too, expressing your emotions and feelings through art is more important than how great a picture looks or how professional a performance is. I am very grateful for the new appreciation I have of art thanks to this module and through my blog as I went out to find and explore the different examples of art that I am lucky enough to be surrounded by.
