Art Education 244

Kathy Unrath and Mick Luehrman, in Bringing Children to Art – Bringing Art to Children, proclaim, “We cannot overstate the importance of being in the presence of art in a museum setting.  The importance of this includes appreciating creativity and also understanding the relationship between materials and objects.  I agree with this sentiment.  Children often view art from afar, either on posters or pictures (maybe replicated in a book), but these art experiences are not equal to experiencing the art first hand, in its original form.  In my opinion, something about seeing the original work inspires students more than a copy could. 

Unrath and Luehrman also express their view about the importance of teachers introducing and discussing art with their students.  This is an important factor for teachers to consider.  Looking at art and appreciating it requires thinking skills.  Children need to infer based on context clues, just as if they were reading a story.  It is similar to reading a piece of literature and being asked to interpret what is happening. 

The trip to the museum today reinforced the importance of museums.  In the resource room where the woman talked about the Wild West tour, I saw firsthand how she was able to tie in content (the western frontier), artwork (from the America collection), music (square dancing), and creativity (children creating their own spurs and dressing as cowboys).  This was a perfect example of how art can be integrated into the core curriculum to enrich and aid students’ understanding. 

As the tour continued, the docent, Dora, took us through the galleries and prompted us to think using the “who, what, where, why, and when” questions.  I saw how children would use their imagination and critical thinking skills to delve deeper into studying art.  I also felt a sense of wonder as I walked through the large galleries.  I can only imagine how a child would feel who had never been to the museum before.  When I have my own class, I will definitely include a field trip to the museum because of all the positives it offers. 

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