Making connections through visual arts: in the race to improve academic offerings and raise test scores, some schools have neglected to educated the whole child.

I ran into the house after sifting through the mail. "It's in!" I shouted. Yes, it was that time of year--the time when my teenage daughter's high school schedule arrives in the mail. She grinned widely as she ripped open the envelope, but I could see the smile slowly fade from her face. Confused, I grabbed it from her, and it took only seconds to see the problem.

In an effort to prepare her for acceptance into a four-year university, my daughter's counselor had programmed her into academic elective courses, even though she had requested advanced art in preparation for majoring in design in college. Her school also neglected to use art across the curriculum to integrate content areas and build on strengths.

A few calls to the counseling office and assistant principal yielded remarks about how the courses chosen for her were her best bet for getting into a top school. I stifled my instinct to share with them that I am a school administrator, and as a principal I fought hard to keep and expand art programs at my schools.

I finally spoke with a kind office assistant who squeezed me into the principal's schedule. He listened to my plea for help, and called in the counselor. She quickly appraised the schedule, recalling that my daughter had inquired about art programs in the past. In a matter of minutes, she reworked my daughter's schedule.

My daughter was enrolled in advanced acrylics with the teacher she would have for AP art the following year. The counselor also recommended probability and statistics as well as anatomy as appropriate courses that would complement her leanings toward art and design, yet still fulfill rigorous college entrance requirements.

Neglecting the whole child

Is this an isolated instance? No, it is not. In fact, it is just an obvious case of how many of our schools are failing our children by not valuing the visual arts. The most numerous examples by far, though, are the more subtle effects of a weak visual arts program.

The push for academic electives has grown over the years for many reasons. The pressure for high test scores has forced schools to focus on literacy and core content areas. The competition for entrance to four-year universities has grown, too. But, in the race to improve academic offerings and raise test scores, some schools have neglected to educate the whole child and, as a by-product, a way of effectively reaching many students.

Walling (2006) suggests that, throughout history, there has been a strong connection between art and ideas. A painting, for example, could be a starting point for an intense discussion on a historical issue or a literary theme.

I remembered reading an article by high school Spanish teacher Sharon Stover (2005) in which she recounted how she worked on a cross-curricular project with her school's art teacher by helping students make connections between the foreign language and the art of the country. Students even took the project to the next level by interpreting works and writing analyses.

In Stover's words, "The use of art in a core-curriculum class demonstrates the importance of the arts as more than an add-on or frill, but a gateway to complete learning."

One of the problems is that low-performing schools are the first to cut away at electives such as art. For instance, when the New York State Regents decided to lighten up on some of its rules, some people became concerned. High-performing schools could be encouraged to add more high-interest electives. However, low-performing schools might end up eliminating them in order to provide greater support for academics (Abramson, 2005). Why not use a high-interest class such as art to reach the students?

Abramson's concern was that "the very students who could be turned on by exploratory subjects may no longer get that stimulation. Instead, their schools will be free, actually encouraged, to substitute another dose of the very reading and arithmetic they see no reason to learn."

Art as expression

Art is a means of expression. Many therapists use art to help children express themselves. Before children can write about their feelings, they are often able to express them through their artwork. However, by adolescence, most children have picked up that most adults find artwork irrelevant to their studies (Graham, 2003). Librarians have never lost sight of the value of art. Not only have they kept libraries well stocked with picture books, many libraries are trying to build graphic novel collections (Neace, 2005).

Some educators may argue that they are under the gun to demonstrate that students have mastered the standards. I argue that art is the perfect venue for allowing students to demonstrate their proficiency. I have worked as a consultant with teachers to develop ways of integrating art into the curriculum. My current endeavor includes how to use art to break down the barriers with autistic children.

As simple as these ideas may seem, they only scratch the surface. It is our job as educators to help students access that portion of the brain that will stimulate creativity. Some education professors have seen the need and have designed courses for teachers based on the idea that integration of art into the curriculum helps prevent the departmentalization and segmentation of academic areas, develops connections between academic areas, and helps students make connections to the world around them (Zwirn and Graham, 2005).

A future without art?

Students need to be able to express concepts that they might otherwise be unable to in written or verbal expression (Lynne, 1992). In addition, direct instruction in art is also necessary. Without art, our society would be lacking both culturally and conceptually in any number of areas. Without art instruction, we will not have a future with art, or skilled artists to teach others. We must continue to value and make available for our children both the abstract and very concrete benefits of art.

References

Abramson, P. (March 2005). "Is this educationally sound?" School Planning and Management, 44, (3).

Carger, C. (March 2004). "Art and literacy with bilingual children." Language Arts, 81, (4).

Graham, M. (Winter 2003). "Responding to the demise of adolescent artmaking: Charting the course of adolescent development in an exceptional art classroom." Studies in art Education, 44, (2).

Lynne, H. (April 1992). "Connections: arts, academics, and productive citizens." Phi Delta Kappan, 73, (8).

Neace, M. (April/May 2005). "Building a graphic novel collection." Library Media Connection, 23, (7).

Stover, S. (December 2005). "Stitching together Spanish and the visual arts." Arts and Activities, 138, (4).

Walling, D. (January 2006). "Brainstorming themes that connect art and ideas across the curriculum." Art Education, 59, (1).

Zwirn, S. and Graham, M. (2005). "Crossing borders: The arts engage academics and inspire children." Childhood Education, 81, (5).

RELATED ARTICLE: How schools can use the visual arts.

How schools can use the visual arts:

Over the years, I have learned from talented teachers that there are some simple types of assignments that capitalize on the visual arts that anyone can incorporate into their classes:

* Offer alternative assessments in lieu of typical tests, such as creating an illustrated photo-journal of a historical period.

* Have students create an interactive bulletin board display where others can learn from their creativity.

* Use famous artwork as a springboard for discussion on historical events, cultures or literature.

* Incorporate drawing techniques into science lab work, including sketching what students actually see through the microscope (not what they think they see).

* Have students recreate "authentic" primary documents from historical eras.

* Use picture books for literacy learning for students learning English as a second language or for students learning a foreign language (Carger, 2004).

* Have students create graphic novels (or each student create a chapter of a graphic novel, with the class putting together a complete book) on just about any subject.--Aviva Ebner

Aviva Ebner is principal of the Academy for the Advancement of Children with Autism, and a former principal in the Beverly Hills Unified School District.