(Excerpt
from the Documentary film “Educate through and with Art”)
The
artistic experience is one of the most beautiful and enigmatic of human
activities. Over time many leading intellectuals have sought to understand the
artistic phenomenon and attempted to decipher its benefits, but this is one
area which science itself still has difficulty understanding.
There
is one point, however, which is consensual for people who deal daily with the
world of art. Art can make a huge difference in the lives of children and
youngsters. Apart from developing skills pertaining to art itself, such as
singing, acting, painting or dancing, dealing with the subject of art has a
wide range of indirect benefits: it may help develop imagination, language,
social skills, attention span, creativity, cognitive skills, problem solving
skills and many other areas important for their harmonious development as a
whole.
For
these reasons arts have been valued by leading pedagogues as a crucial part of
the educational process and have been integrated in the school curriculum of
every country.
In
schools arts can occupy an essential role in a child’s development right from
the very beginning. Experiencing art brings on a magical exciting world for
children and also a strong sense of happiness.
One
of the essential points of artistic activity is the moment when one gets onto
the stage. The preparation of an artistic piece for a community always involves
a long process, in which essential values such as creativity, discipline,
persistence, tolerance and respect are mandatory for everyone’s success. On
stage one has the opportunity to express emotions to others through the
artistic expression which the child or youngster is developing.
The
more time children or youngsters dedicate to a certain artistic activity, the
more aware they become of its importance, not only for their artistic
development but also for their personal growth. With a regular and well guided
artistic participation, one develops values such as self-esteem, confidence and
social maturity, which come from constant team work and the accumulated
experience of previous projects in which the artistic presentation was
accomplished successfully.
In
the end, maybe the biggest and most utopist goal of education through art would
be the creation of a whole human being, more sensitive, more confident, more
aware of the community around him and more open to others.
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