Role of arts in education

By Duncan Malachy Maina. Duncan is from Mombasa, Kenya.

Definitely, the arts are of incalculable worth in what it means to become human beings. This means the molding and shaping nature of it has to start at an early stage for effective performance, therefore art is the creativity being executed. Art in education has been valued and recognized as an essential component of the curriculum. It consists of performance variation that comes in different forms such as dancing, drawing, painting, performance art and sculpturing.

The curriculum therefore has to embrace arts education since its appreciation can be instilled in young children. Understanding the arts help children to express themselves in various creative forms in which they are comfortable.

Most important, it’s about creativity, intricately bound with the sense of perception, interpretation and the communication of ideas.

Art nurtures the child’s inventiveness, as it engages in a process that helps in the development of self-discipline, self-esteem, co-operation and problem solving. In this way, they are capable of completing any task with an important virtue of patience.

Since the task assigned in an art lesson is usually engaging, children will unknowingly establish a positive attitude towards its completion, as others ultimately get opportunities to practice social skills in a co-operative learning environment. As the child discovers a passion in art, they also become self-motivated and freely express themselves in different forms of art.

In co-operative learning, it’s inevitable that everyone will have a different opinion, but respecting other’s views is an important part in problem solving.

A proficiency and knowledge in the arts develops individuals in diverse ways in society.

Self-esteem can be developed in the process of demonstrating required skills.

Drawing is another form of art that involves imagination, creativity and expression. It helps children to express thoughts with different lines and shapes and encourages young minds to be independent, as they have to decide on the kind of drawing they want to produce, where observation is the key technique being applied.

By understanding how art works, the child learns to be inquisitive and combines each component to create perfomance. This enhances their reasoning, imaginative power, intuition and confidence. In my thorough research as an educator, children at this early stage when involved in the arts generally perform well in other subjects like science and mathematics and also grow friendly, developing charismatic personalities in society.

Besides being a career path, art broadens the mind, introduces new ideas and perspectives, enhances critical thinking, dexterity and moreover makes people excel academically. To individuals of around fifteen years but less than twenty-five years of age, art develops a unique expression on personality, while to those beyond this age bracket, it’s beneficial by being a medium and a de-stress from a tiring endeavor, besides being an effective socializing tool.

The government through the Ministry of Education should majorly emphasise the promotion of holistic education basically in pre-school curriculum.

Teachers are the drivers for the successful execution of a well-developed school-based curriculum and should ensure that this is done for the betterment of the participants, not only in school but also to the entire community. In a nutshell, we must value the importance and role that art plays in education in our society.

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