Indonesia
5 Reasons Why Kids Need to Learn Art
Perhaps this crosses your mind, it’s just coloring pictures, or cutting off papers. You put kids into music or dance class but only to fill in their leisure time. You comment on their work with praise and lifting words. You come when they perform and become their biggest fan. Simple as they sound, the result is astounding. There is a lot of benefit you can get by planting art based education in them. The first one that you may have heard every now and then is self esteem. More than that, there’s also self imaging, it’s how the kids see themselves. In the process kids will learn to appreciate their self through critics and praises for their accomplishments.
Here are five things art can help kids to discover who they are better:
“So I made this one, didn’t I?”
Art build pride for oneself. When kids are involved in a project, they could spend hours, throwing everything they have, effort, mind and soul to create something, trying to work and make it better. When it’s done, they will be satisfied, filled with sense they just accomplished something, proud and sometimes don’t even think that they can actually create it. Creating an artwork grow self confident and nurturing self reflection that they can do what they want.
Learning art = learning life skills
Regardless what kind of art kids are involving in, whether it’s music, drawing or painting, role acts or dance, learning art is a process to master the life skill they need in the future. It’s how they develop creative and critical thinking, coordination of eyes and hands, social and motor skills such as fit in the society and to socialize, how to take part and role, sharing, negotiation, including how to deal with problems in creative ways. These are not easy skills to learn but art can get the kids through.
Art Improve Achievement
This one may sound familiar too. Kids who learn art usually score better than kids who don’t academically. What’s art have to do with math, for example? It’s about their self confident. The higher their confident, the better they will perform at school. Beside, skills to learn in art also improve focus, dedication, help the kids to learn and improve their grade at school. This has been proven in recent researches.
Harris Poll’s survey in 2005 discovers that 93 percent American believe that art is among important knowledge for kids to learn to provide holistic education. Another research in 2009 by a national survey institution in US claims that they have gathered data for 12 years and recognize the effect of visual education and art performance on kids’ achievement. The result suggests that kids who are associated with art do tend to outmatch the others, even for low economic group. Music in particular, helps and provides kids critical mind, creative problem solving, team work and effective communication, leading to better achievements. Unfortunately, Superparents, Indonesia puts very minimum portion on art in educational system.
Art opens window to express
Art, especially indoor or class provides kids to step up and express who they are. When kids gather and do something with common target, they will have a feeling that their “voice” and opinion will be heard and understood by people. This puts them in a comfort zone which is very crucial in shaping self esteem.
Art enhances social awareness
Many programs have been carried out by art communities to help delivering and introducing kids into groups in society, or new community, and provide them with new and valuable experience. This activity gives kids desire to get involve in social activities and be creative in fitting themselves in society. Kids will also learn about having faith to others and growing their intrapersonal skills.
MAHARANI INDRI
PHOTO: THINKSTOCKPHOTOS
