I remember when I was growing up in Dublin, my school never put a real emphasis on the creative arts - they didn't view them as being essential. On the contrary - I believe the performing arts are essential in a child's growth and education. Many kids may never go on to study performing arts at a further level - so people may argue it is irrelevant to teach them these skills. My argument, however, is that many kids will not go on to study maths / science / literature at a further academic level - but are these subjects any less important? The answer is quite simply - no. Each subject has its place in a child's development. There are many types of intelligence. In 1983 an American development psychologist, Howard Gardener, described 9 types of intelligence:
- Naturalist (nature smart)
- Musical (sound smart)
- Logical-mathematical (number / reasoning smart)
- Existential (life smart)
- Interpersonal (people smart)
- Bodily-kinesthetic (body smart)
- Linguistic (word smart)
- Intra-personal (self-smart)
- Spatial (picture smart)
The theatre arts give students a solid basis of confidence and an open-mindedness to develop and discover new skills. I witnessed a great sense of discipline within the class today. This surprised me as it was clear the students were taking their acting / dance classes seriously. Of course, there was a large element of fun - but this went hand in hand with the discipline.
I was inspired by the work this company are doing in schools and I think we need more of this. I would have loved to have had these opportunities in my school when I was growing up!
This sounds like a great company Eleanor and something I feel all kids such have the chance to experience at schools.
ReplyDeleteI have not seen or heard of the 9 types of intelligence before and interestingly I think dance/drama covers at least 4 of them. So would state schools not see creative arts a fundamental part of education? Thankyou for sharing this.
Hey Lauren, I agree that this is exactly the point - State schools should definitely see creative arts as a fundamental part of education. The more we advocate and encourage this - the more this can continue to change. It's great that there are these systems and opportunities set up in schools nowadays. Please let me know if you come across any similar set ups in your teaching jobs :)
ReplyDeleteI completely agree!! Dance and Drama are about discovery learning, learning to listen to your body and the effect it has.
ReplyDeleteI actually worked for a company called educationgroup, with them I used to go into schools and do dance workshops with them. The teachers were really interested to see how they behaved and reacted to a different discipline, as some of the children who weren't engaged in class were fully engaged in the workshop.
Hey Jennifer, the educationgroup company sounds really beneficial and enriching to the world of creative arts in education. I completely agree - the performing arts is such a wholesome form of learning - body and mind
DeleteThis has been incredibly interesting to read, Eleanor. I have always believed in the importance of drama and the performing arts within education and it's great to see Howard Gardener's diagram showing the different skills that children need to aquire as a result of creative arts. I am definitely going to look more into Howard Gardener and share some findings.
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