Students in traditional, brick-and-mortar schools spend much of their time taking high-stakes tests. From kindergarten on, kids are pushed to be college-ready. Rigorous academic classes. Never-ending arrays of tests. Push, push, push.
But what if, instead of pressuring young people in the single-minded pursuit of academics, we encouraged them to balance their lives by taking arts classes like music, art, theater, and dance? Aside from learning some basic motor skills, what else can the arts teach?
Working Together for Art’s Sake
It turns out, arts classes are a great place for learning collaboration and communication skills. Retired art teacher Michelle Michaelson-Gard said, “Students have to share tools and materials and learn how to work together and support each other. Art classes are often noisy, but it’s surprising how much talk involves sharing ideas, making suggestions, revealing struggles, celebrating successes. … So much noise is actually productive.”…