From my days in elementary and middle school, I remember the number of book projects and art presentations. I remember Crayola marker stains all over my hands from a history project and using scissors with designs to spruce up my tri-fold presentation. I remember art classes where we learned color theory and made abstract paintings. As we got older, learning looked less like trying to find room on the floor to work on the list of themes you found in this week’s reading and more like sitting and taking notes. By the time I was in college, art class was gone. Or more precisely, art class was nearly impossible to fit into my schedule or was not available for my major. I had not realized, however, how much I felt this loss until we were given 20 minutes at the end of one of my classes to create a collage. I quickly realized I missed it not only for the simple pleasures of using glue and markers but also for its many mental and social benefits.
Art has been a constant for humanity from the time humans lived in caves to now. It is a source of expression and a way to connect. It is a time to create and sometimes, without rules. Art also has a considerable positive effect on mood, well-being and various skills. In a dissertation done in 2007, a researcher found that there are numerous self-reported benefits to non-art majors taking art classes. They found that art classes improve cognitive development along with skills surrounding the understanding of visual culture. And when combined with art criticism, students learned how to find deeper meaning in pieces and utilize analytical skills. This was but a facet of the perceived benefits that the research found; and though the paper is older, the benefits of art classes—specifically, introductory art classes with a syllabus focused on hands-on creation—have not lessened.
The curriculum still contains humanities requirements that, depending on the class, still give us insight into the world of art and stimulate critical thinking. There are also periods in various classes where we get to make Google presentations. But these activities are still not the same as the art classrooms of our youth. Moreover, many of these classes are discussion or paper-based which comes with challenges for many students, causing them disengage, especially if they are not humanities majors. Although we do have some creation-based classes—ceramics, glass blowing, etc.—they are mostly meant for art majors or are not so
numerous that all students can take them. There are two options to remedy this. First, more introductory art classes could be offered; enough that most underclassmen can take it as part of their general education. Second, we could add major related art courses that mesh STEM learning and creation; we could also expand into various genres of art, such as music or theater, while continuing to focus on creation and skills rather than the memorization of facts. For example, a class on art in biology where students draw various organ systems, ecosystems and more. The options are nearly as endless as the benefits of adding art classes in higher education.
Yes, adding more classes to the curriculum is not an easy task, but the benefits of adding such an art curriculum to our schedules outweigh the effort needed to do so.