Art is Learning: How Art Facilitates Brain Development
“I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination.”
~Albert Einstein
Our society is a force that is driven by measurable results. This is why our school systems have been forced to move away from immeasurable skills such as the arts and more towards measurable skills such as math and spelling. Educators in our area have been put in a position in which they must defend art classes in Reno. However, this is a losing battle simply because of the inability to measure progress in these fields. The arts are much more subjective and in truth are not based on measurements to see progress.
So how do we defend the arts? Many are trying to prove correlations between music and improved math learning abilities. Others are trying to find a connection between painting and learning to read. While there is some evidence to support such connections, it still begs the question: why must the arts facilitate measurable standards such as math and reading to be considered valuable when they bring their own separate benefits?
There is no doubt that math and reading are extremely valuable tools that children are going to need through the entirety of their lives. To see their value does not take anything more than a glance. But the arts cultivate skills in children that have the potential to take what they have learned from math and reading to the next level. What good is it to know how to do complex equations if you cannot conceive of an application? First and foremost, the arts build the creative centers of the brain, which allows for conceptual ideas to be born.
Einstein’s approach to developing his theories was to daydream. He would stare out the window of his patent clerk’s office and let his imagination run wild. Certainly he needed the math skills to backup his creative ideas, but it was his creativity that started the process. Our Reno art classes are designed to break children away from thinking inside the box. We work to set their minds free. This allows them to come up with ideas on their own, to conceptualize.
Art also facilitates the development of fine motor skills. This comes from producing new, precise movements. These movements create receptors in the brain. Recent studies have shown that in order for a person to develop these receptors properly, it is best to start at a young age. Our Reno youth art classes require students to perform complex tasks.
Art facilitates brain development and is simply a must for children. At Kids-N-Art, we specialize in creating activities strongly directed towards furthering proper brain development. Math and reading are crucial skills for children to learn, but in order to apply them to their full potential, we feel that an education in the arts is extremely important.
Resources
Sylwester, Robert. “Art For The Brain’s Sake.” Educational Leadership 56.3 (1998): 31. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 6 Mar. 2013.
