Benefits of Using Art in Education

Art has a way of turning the ordinary into the sublime, the common into the fantastic. There are a number of innovative approaches to art which can have positive results in education. Students who have difficulty focusing for any number of reasons can benefit from art. Art can be used in an interdisciplinary setting to help make dull studies come alive.

Art can be used in harmony with teaching history, anthropology, foreign cultures, as well as the study of art itself. The interdisciplinary approach to teaching involves connecting curricula between areas of study. This helps teachers to create links between disciplines and to teach the whole student. It is in aid in defragmenting the education process. Art lends itself wonderful to the interdisciplinary approach in education.

For example, in studying History, why not create an assignment whereby students not only write a report on a prominent person in history, but also create a portrait of that recognizable individual.

Special education provides an area in education whereby many students can be assisted through art. Art is known to have a positive impact on many children with ADHD. It is an aid for many students in focusing and in developing self-control. One art teacher who works with special education students states that child with autism are helped through art.

An emphasis on art in early childhood is of benefit in a number of ways. Children can remember better what they themselves create. They start to develop a sense of self and find enjoyment in developing their creative talents. While most testing in school is logical and precise, some students are visual and holistically oriented. For these type of students especially, developing their artistic and holistic natural abilities is of value.

Students who learn to find pleasure in art from childhood, may find a positive outlet for a propensity towards visual stimuli, and this can be an aid for some children in staying away from violence in the media, TV, movies and video games. In this way, the educator can effectively direct a child's interests in a positive direction. Children can learn to find inner peace through art, which can be an effective life skill.

Art taught to older children, high school and college students as a life skill puts them at an advantage for life. Hobbies such as art can sometimes turn into part-time or full-time vocations in the form of future art teachers, muralists, artists and portrait artists. Art can become an effective coping skill for boredom, and studies indicate that positive art therapy is an effective tool for depression. Anxiety and stress can also be relieved from time spent in creating artworks.

If art teachers, as well as other teachers, direct students to reading materials and courses which will help a student develop his or her natural abilities in art, it can have significant long-term benefits in the life of the student, both as he progresses through school and as an adult.