Art and the Heart of Learning

by Jill Miller Zimon

Get ready to make room on the refrigerator – your kids will likely bring home a semester’s worth of art projects when the holiday break arrives in a few short weeks. Do you curse these art projects because no more places to display or store them exist? Before you do that, consider the results of a 1998 study of students involved in after-school arts programs. According to "Living the Arts through Language and Learning," students who are involved in the arts are, among other distinctions:

• Four times more likely to win school-wide attention for academic achievement
• Four times more likely to participate in a math or science fair
• Three times more likely to win an award for school attendance
• Nearly twice as likely to read for pleasure
• More than four times more likely to engage in community service

Additionally, although nearly two-thirds of students in the study’s control group (pulled from the National Educational Longitudinal Sample of 1990) said that they expected to go to college, in the group of arts-involved students, 83 percent viewed themselves as college-bound.

What exactly is going on in those arts programs that benefit the students? To begin with, Ellen Jackson of Solon, an artist, art teacher and mother of two school-aged daughters, doesn’t "think people give kids enough credit for being able to learn about and appreciate art. Once, when I taught about Grandma Moses, I had a little girl tell me the following week that she saw one of Grandma Moses' paintings – at a Subway restaurant. And I had many kids who would come to a following class tell me the name and/or something about the artist that we discussed in the previous class."

To make these kinds of lasting impressions, Jackson says that she always incorporates into the lesson "several facets of the painting and of the artist, such as the cultures, geography, literature, math, and so on that are involved. Talking and seeing art at a young age stirs up conversation on a wide variety of topics."

Artists and educators like Lisa Schonberg of Pepper Pike, who has an MFA in printmaking and a BA in art education, know that if nothing else, being able to describe with art leads to being able to describe with words. "There’s a big carry over in writing. Art helps kids describe. First, they draw something they see in front of them. For example, I’ll ask them to draw a dream they once had. And, through drawing it, they get an idea of how big something is, how small something is, how pretty, how ugly. By actually drawing it from imagination or real life, they are able to describe details better. They come up with adjectives and it enhances their creative writing," says Schonberg.

She also believes in the versatility of educating children through art. "With certain kids, you can give them a worksheet or a lecture and then give them a quiz or test. But others still won’t get it when taught that way. However, if you give those kids an art project, they might then be able to have an aha moment and say, ‘I get it.’ There’s an additional oomph of understanding, especially when kids get older and all they do is read text and take a quiz. Then, art can really help provide examples and keep kids excited about learning."

Dr. Sylvia Rimm, a nationally known child psychologist and professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, says, "What kids really need are opportunities for intense engagement—of pushing themselves in an area they love and find challenging. It teaches them more about life than almost anything else."

And, when it comes to the arts, Rimm says, "Arts are important for all children as appreciators, but the depth of engagement is so important. Whether they're practicing Irish dancing or designing the lights for the drama play, it's all about learning without grades, intrinsic reinforcement, finding talents that they never realized they had, and providing them with memories that are unforgettable."

Former educator Jennette Wilch of Hudson, a mother of four, has developed a way for parents to showcase their children’s artwork while supporting local nonprofit organizations. "Frame Kids’ Art!" is an Internet-based company that "offers custom framing services at family-friendly prices," according to company sources. The company’s mission is two-fold: to preserve and showcase budding artists’ talent while donating a percentage of sales to area schools and community art centers that offer visual art education programs.

Part of the Frame Kids’ Art! business model includes a community-giving program that helps to support art education. Up to 20 percent of every custom framing order is donated to a nonprofit organization of the customer’s choice, such as the PTA, local school or community art center. For more information, visit www.framekidsart.com or call 877-233-7773.

Jill Miller Zimon is a freelancer writer who lives in Pepper Pike, Ohio with her husband and three young children.