I really enjoyed reading Maxine Greene's piece about how art should be used in education. Greene makes some very compelling points about how literature, music, and art can not only enhance a student's education but it can also foster moments of great self reflection. When we read novels from great authors or listen to music from infamous composers we learn something about those people, but more importantly we learn something about ourselves and who we are. Greene rightly points out that when a person is able to make a connection with a piece of art then it becomes meaningful to them. Further, we may all find different meanings in the same piece, which incidentally is one of the principles of constructivist learning.
I am a big believer in the value of self reflection. So many times I have read or listened to something that has stirred me to think deeply about myself and even the world. I also find it interesting when Greene talks about the value of examining works from different cultures and also that it is important to understand how different cultures perceive our works. I have echoed this very sentiment when I have traveled to different countries. It is clear to me that people perceive us differently than how we perceive ourselves.
I like how Greene embraces the idea of multiculturalism because I too feel that it is very important to teach our children about different cultures. Using various art forms would be a wonderful way to incorporate multiculturalism into our schools. The bottom line is that art enriches life and that is the business we are in.
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So I know that I am the art nerd, but..... Today in my art education class we had two guest speakers who work in expressive art therapy--- (therapy performed through creative healing that focuses on the expressive process of creating art, not the product.) We had a yoga-ish free spirited dancing session (complete with human sculptures) followed by a create-an-expression art session. (I know, I'm a poet too). My point is that today we created random, spontaneous images, yet many of us saw things in our work that we were surprised by. So yes you are right, the arts are an amazing outlet for students to self reflect, and further develop who they are.
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