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Arts Education: Training Your Brain Right!

By KRISTEN STERNBERG
NIE EDUCATIONAL CONSULTANT

Young artists in Central Florida certainly have lots of opportunities to perform or display their work! Newspapers such as The News-Journal routinely offer stories and information about the arts for kids. Take a few moments to read this example of what young artists did this summer. Then, read on to find out why art may be more than simply fun.

The arts include music, dance, theater and the visual arts (drawing, painting, photography and so on). Research indicates that students benefit from opportunities to create and perform in the arts. Unfortunately, too often these subjects are viewed as "frills" and are cut from school curricula. Many experts believe that arts opportunities help students with knowledge and skills in other areas. The Association for the Advancement of Arts Education (AAAE) is one organization dedicated to educating people about the importance of art in kids' lives. The AAAE maintains that arts are essential for the following reasons:

– the arts are fun for kids; they help keep kids in school and working to learn.

– the arts require self-discipline, creativity, and confidence to succeed, and these and other important habits stay with students and help them succeed in other areas of school, life and work.

– the arts represent many ways of experiencing and understanding the world, and they help develop the many types of intelligences that all people possess and use all the time.

– the arts remove boundaries and allow students to explore aspects of life around them in new ways, and connecting the arts with other disciplines like math, reading and writing or science often helps students learn about, comprehend and value those subjects as well.

Activities such as learning to play a musical instrument require the right and the left sides of the brain to work together. Music can also help kids learn to coordinate hands, eyes, ears and creativity. Recent research shows there is value in these kinds of learning exercises because they trigger certain important connections in kids' growing brains.

While many area schools offer excellent art programs, schools aren't the only places to have fun while gaining these valuable skills. Public libraries and area schools, colleges and universities often have special arts classes or activities like summer camps for young artists. Community organizations including YMCAs and neighborhood centers may also have programs like this for kids. Check your newspaper for news and information about other opportunities — you're sure to find plenty.

If you have an interest in the arts you are probably eager to learn more about them-from any source. The activities provided below are sure to offer any young artist some fun and informative resources.

Try these interesting activities using The News-Journal

1. Illustrations are important additions to many news articles. Photographs, drawings, charts and other illustrations may add details, clarify what is being described, summarize information, express opinions or simply draw readers more deeply into a story. These illustrations have been created to communicate ideas. Study several articles and the illustrations that accompany them. Then, find and read a story of interest to you. From the story, choose an idea you would like to communicate to readers. Draw your own illustration to accompany the article and display both for others to compare and learn from. (Sunshine State Standards: LA.A.2.2.1, LA.A.2.2.5, VA.B.1.2.2, VA.B.1.2.3, VA.B.1.2.4)




Mural Painter Kyle, 9, paints one of four panels of a mural drawn by artist Alberto Gomez during the Youth Celebration of the Arts. (Photo: News-Journal/Gregg Pachkowski)

2. Get to know what's in your local museums. Newspapers routinely provide a calendar of current exhibits in your community. Check your newspaper for descriptions of what you can see at these museums, and try to visit some of them. From photography to Cuban paintings to historical art objects, you're sure to find something of interest. (Sunshine State Standards: VA.C.1.2.1, VA.C.1.2.2, VA.E.1.2.3)



3. What careers are available for artists? Check your newspaper's Classified section to find job opportunities for illustrators, graphic designers and for artists in the performing arts such as theater, dance or music. Choose a job listing that sounds interesting and try to determine the educational background you would need to be successful in that position. (Sunshine State Standards: VA.E.1.2.2)



4. Photography-the art of capturing a single moment in time-can be a rewarding hobby or profession. Take a look at the photos published in a recent newspaper, and choose two or three you think are outstanding. Write a paragraph describing what qualities or techniques, in your opinion, make the photos effective. (Sunshine State Standards: VA.B.1.2.2, VA.B.1.2.3, VA.D.1.2.1, VA.D.1.2.2, VA.E.1.2.1)



5. 5. Some artists express themselves through cartoons. Turn to your newspaper's Editorial page and Comics section to read and enjoy your favorite comics while you think about the artists' talent, training and hard work! (Sunshine State Standards: VA.B.1.2.1, VA.B.1.2.2, VA.C.1.2.1, VA.D.1.2.2, VA.D.1.2.3)

A copy of Florida's Sunshine State Standards can be found at intech2000.miamisci.org.

Check out these links to learn more

This @rt library Web site is a must-see! Online kids' art, pages of "art"ifacts, games to teach you about artists, art history and art trivia could keep you busy for a long while-but be sure to save time for activities like how to think like an artist and develop your visual creativity.

This ThinkQuest site called All About Art was created especially for elementary school students. Look at the lives and works of famous artists, and then check out artworks by kids. Later, test your knowledge with some art games. You'll also find links to important art museums. Cartoonists, you can sharpen your cartooning skills by following this link.

The Seattle Art Museum, in the state of Washington, is just one of many outstanding sites for young artists.

Find out what music, dance and theatrical events for kids are happening in this areas by visiting the "Oh! Zone".

The Newspaper Association of America's web site contains links to many newspapers in the U.S. and around the world. Visit the site and check some of them out, to see if they have recently published any articles on this topic. To access the newspapers at the site, select a state. Click on the "Internationals" button to view choices from other countries.

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