Maxine Greene

The Artistic-Aesthetic Curriculum

I started reading this article was not impressed; perhaps it was the writing style that turned me off. Out of curiosity I searched Maxine Greene’s name on the internet and starting reading about her. It became apparent that someone who has been associated with Columbia for 40 years might have something to say. She does. I then went back to the article and reread with new interest.

Art should be in schools and does have an academic focus that I consider essential. It does assist the learner to learn through the skill of imagination. I’ll use a few lines taken directly from the article that I concur 100% with to drive my point:

- imagination is what enables us to enter into the created world
- we find ourselves creating new patterns, finding new connections in our experience
- the ability to pull aside the curtains of habit, automatism, banality, so that alternative possibilities can be perceived
- because he sees things I never saw
- they need to use their imaginations to light the slow fuse of possibility

For those who don’t believe in funding the arts in schools, what is a valid counterargument? As our nation becomes more and more diverse and multiculturalism rears its multiple demands, we need a population of thinkers that offer expansion as well as inclusion. An appreciation of beauty and an artistic curriculum (art, music, dance, poetry, etc.) opens up the possibility of a vast exchange of opinions, knowledge and experiences. Isn’t that an excellent learning tool?

An artistic-aesthetic curriculum can enhance the strict academic curriculum. What are the possibilities for our students to engage in new activities and tackle a subject that they dislike if they were able to view it differently? I have a cousin that recently retired from 30 years as a high school English teacher. People have told me that his classroom was always loud, and they didn’t know was happening in there half the time. His students appreciated him, and he was well liked. He allowed the imagination to overflow and practiced an artistic-aesthetic curriculum. Others viewed him as nonconventional. Is it better to be outside of the box to pull your students in?

I am going to the ballet with my daughter Friday night and attending the Fleetwood Mac Geriatrics Tour Saturday night as I continue to build my imagination. I think Maxine Greene would understand and approve.