Philosophy of Art Education

Education exists to raise up citizens who are ready to live well in our world. This would be easier to do if we could agree on what kind of people this world needs more of; leaders, workers, consumers, individuals? Teachers of any subject will explore this question in their own way, but I believe that as an Art teacher I have the freedom to answer it directly. We need more students who deeply value good.

That is my definition of Art: unnecessary human good. There is necessary good: food, shelter, communication, companionship (our basic needs). And then there is Art: decorating a cake, designing a dream house, writing an allegory, singing in a band. To teach Art is to teach students that this kind of good matters.

We need a world that values unnecessary good because only a world that values unnecessary good can value good at all. Empathy begins when we acknowledge that there is something worthwhile beyond our own survival.

With this in mind, art means the most when it is not isolated from the “real world.” I want to create an art classroom that encourages students to value all of Art, not just traditional fine art. I want them to value the good they can bring to the table (even if they can’t draw or paint or sculpt). With this in mind, I can think of three skills I hope to foster: creative idea having, improvisational doing, and cross-disciplinary being.

Creativity is the ability to think in terms other than those given to you. Everyone is creative because nobody is a robot (sorry Siri). Still, schools tend to isolate creativity to specific areas while I want to draw it out. Improvisation is the ability to do something without planning beforehand. I do my best work when improvising but society likes to have rigid plans. Art should find a middle ground, approaching intentional tasks with spontaneity and a willingness to fail. Being cross-disciplinary allows us to live in a multiverse of intersecting worlds. Art connects science, history, language, religion, and mathematics. Art class is an opportunity to explore the unnecessary good of necessary subjects. Better yet, it is a chance to explore topics that do not fit into typical studies (cryptids, game design, dog breeding, trucking - who knows what might come up?).

These three skills have changed my life for the better (both in my artmaking and in general). When interacting with kids who are not creative, who can’t improvise, or who don’t believe their interests matter, I see a need. I design my lessons with these goals in mind.

Calling Art the “unnecessary good” is an oxymoron, a contradiction. We need all the good we can get. Art may not be the good we need to survive, to make a living, to perpetuate our society. Still, Art is the good that we need to make these things worthwhile. What a shame that we have to teach it; what a blessing for me.