The philosophy of holistic education has characterized the lips of pedagogues and educators for decades now. What’s more, we all agree with these professionals that education should prepare youngsters to their full potential in all dimensions of life. The disappointing part, however, is that educational institutions often focus on some aspects of growth and leave out others. But who is to blame for this reality?
A society that has for long appreciated training in areas of logic, language and science. What this means is that, for centuries, we have focused on developing the left side of the brain which is used for analytical and logic tasks. The right hemisphere associated with creativity, emotional intelligence and sensitivity is instead left to fate.
Art’s impact on learning
Studies with gifted children have revealed that they use both sides of the brain to solve problems in areas that they are gifted in. In explication, the effectiveness of the mind is at its best when we simultaneously use the right and left hemispheres of the brain on a task. If you do the math, training your child in areas of logic, language and science at the formal school that neglects art adds up to a one-sided mental activity for your child. Not holistic education, I’m afraid! Do you still need a better reason for enrolling your child at the best art school in your region? Well, here it is in bold.
Society wants people whose right hemisphere of the brain works perfectly
The sole reason we invest in our children is to offer them a great and brighter future. All other reasons fit within this. The same society that trains people majorly in logic and analytic skills wants them to be creative, think out of the box, be emotionally intelligent in human relations and productive teamwork, and be extremely intuitive even to the point of correctly predicting the future. In analogy, education in today’s society offers silver but expects you to turn it into gold. Your parenting role naturally commits you to close this gap, if you want a great future for your child.
5 Skills learned by studying art
According to Austin, TX painter and art instructor, Amanda Lee Jones, art classes for children will make them the sought out geniuses in society for giving them these 5 ‘right hemisphere skills’:
- Creativity: art will help your child discover multiple ways of presenting the same reality. And there you have your future creative director.
- Self-confidence: reproducing the image of a sophisticated airplane or the mysterious TV set that produces all those exciting images and characters makes a kid think, “I am a genius!” And that has power a million times more than if it comes from their parents’ lips. Why would the future for a self-proclaimed genius fail to be bright?
- Attention: we all know how short the span of attention is in children. Psychology advises consistent training in attention. Focusing on a task that entices for its colors or designs is one of the best ways children can increase their attention span. Besides, children are majorly visual learners. The future? An adult that commits to a task and is attentive to detail.
- Teamwork: the majority of the tasks in a children’s art class will require them to work in collaboration. Painting a class wall, playing in a band or singing in a choir, and acting at the end of term play all require children to work together collaboratively. Remember that, today, the ability for teamwork features in the qualifications section of every job advert. You wouldn’t want to anticipate your child’s exclusion over that small detail, or would you?
- Body mastery: this is the last of the 5 key ‘right hemisphere skills’ addressed here but certainly not the least important. Art is vital for muscle coordination and the refinement of fine motor skills. If you do not want your future teacher to have a doctor’s handwriting, enroll your 3-year-old to an art class today. You might as well be preparing your world champion for musical instruments or barley dancing.
Letting Your Child be a Child
If this statement may sound redundant, the intended meaning should get you searching for the best art center for your child. Allowing the child to perceive and represent their world in a way meaningful to them is your number one reason for enrolling them to an art class for children. The outcome is that you are complementing the school’s focus on the left hemisphere of the brain by giving attention to the right region of the brain, which is what we need to succeed in contemporary society. Enroll your kid to an art class for children and gift them with that bright future.
