Friday, September 23, 2011

Art as an key component of Education

"The Language of art has become the next literacy-or the fourth R. We need not linger any longer over whether art should have a permanent and central place in our school curriculum. It should, and we need to move quickly to prepare students to be literate in the world that they are inheriting and rapidly shaping. In the digital age, art skills are not just good for the soul, but they provide, in the words of Elliot Eisner (1988), 'access to cultural capital,' and ultimately, access to employment."

I chose this quote because while it does have a good message and probably has some truth to it; I just don't see how putting so much attention on art is a good thing. While using technology and digital stories is a good thing and art is used in the digital stories, I believe that is really the extent of what the average person will be using art for. I am studying to be a Social Studies Teacher and so I know that art is used a lot to try to help us understand a group of people or a time period in history, but I just don't think it is more significant than the other three R.



I chose this cartoon picture because it satirically speaks to my point about art not being as important as the other R. This cartoon shows the unimportannce of art to the point where the boss doesn't even know the difference between a fine arts degree and an art degree.

                                                                             Works Cited
Ohler, J. (2000, October). Art becomes the next r. Educational Leadership Magazine,58(2), 16-             19. Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vCKbHYY-gzXtLXnLak8i_hoV7TPAOfxNIamNrkWW3Pc/edit




http://www.toonpool.com/cartoons/Fear%20No%20Art_47330
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3 comments:

  1. SamanthaSeptember 24, 2011 at 9:34 AM

    I agree, I don't feel like the emphasis should be on art. Of course it is helpful, but do the students need to know how to make something pretty just to get information across.

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  2. ssuesliSeptember 25, 2011 at 8:40 AM

    I disagree, I feel that art should be one of the R's because art is used in the other R's in Reading we use art for pictures, We can tell a story through art. We use art in ever subject at one time or another. By using art we are helping the visual learners. This is why i think art should be emphasized

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  3. Lindstrom22015657September 25, 2011 at 11:28 AM

    Good discussion! I appreciate the variety of perspectives presented here. I think good art has little to do with something being pretty. Good art most often involves social commentary, providing insightful commentary on the values and beliefs of a culture. It involves critical thinking and the ability to articulate ideas though an number of mediums.

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