It seems like the whole world is discussing the motives of Adam Lanza and other problem children who are at risk for hurting our society. It's time that I add my five cents towards the ongoing discussion from an educational perspective. A mother who comes from a creative world, and a wife to someone who is purely analytical, I find it very difficult sometimes to defend my point of view in allowing and promoting children's creative urges.
It seems with the focus on math and sciences and incessant testing on those subjects in our school systems that our society is so preoccupied with training robots that poor children don't get a chance to feel and react to the world around them. I know of parents who prefer to not read fairy tales to their children, (to not cloud their minds with surreal imagery). But what about fostering their imagination or learning valuable lessons about morals, human psychology, etc? Most extracurricular activities are aimed at bettering the chances of ultimate college applications, aka sport sections galore and extra math labs from the age of 4. There's lessening interest in the arts: music, writing, sculpting, painting, theater...and many schools are completely taking creative arts out of their curricula. If those exist, it's only to develop fine motor skills, expose to various options and materials, but not to treat the left side of the brain seriously, not to discuss art production as a way of learning about the inner and outside world.
Yet, as famous child development psychologist, Viktor Lowenfeld notes: "It is interesting to note that youngsters who have run into problems with the law and been put into institutions under the label of "delinquents" have apparently not been able to express themselves creatively".
Judging from my own experience, I paint best when I'm angry at the world. All these negative emotions are being put to creative use. The act of artmaking is allowing me to calm down, process my feelings and regain a trail of logical thought. No wonder art therapy has become such a hit over the last few decades. It opens doors to our subconscious and kids who aren't yet able to express themselves with words, are given a chance to let it all out, explain themselves by other means so that others could listen in. If only Adam Lanza's mother knew what her son was suffering from, if he had a way to calm down, he could have been a genius, a hidden gem in our midst. Jackson Pollock is considered the most influential Amerian artist of the 20th century...
It seems with the focus on math and sciences and incessant testing on those subjects in our school systems that our society is so preoccupied with training robots that poor children don't get a chance to feel and react to the world around them. I know of parents who prefer to not read fairy tales to their children, (to not cloud their minds with surreal imagery). But what about fostering their imagination or learning valuable lessons about morals, human psychology, etc? Most extracurricular activities are aimed at bettering the chances of ultimate college applications, aka sport sections galore and extra math labs from the age of 4. There's lessening interest in the arts: music, writing, sculpting, painting, theater...and many schools are completely taking creative arts out of their curricula. If those exist, it's only to develop fine motor skills, expose to various options and materials, but not to treat the left side of the brain seriously, not to discuss art production as a way of learning about the inner and outside world.
Yet, as famous child development psychologist, Viktor Lowenfeld notes: "It is interesting to note that youngsters who have run into problems with the law and been put into institutions under the label of "delinquents" have apparently not been able to express themselves creatively".
Judging from my own experience, I paint best when I'm angry at the world. All these negative emotions are being put to creative use. The act of artmaking is allowing me to calm down, process my feelings and regain a trail of logical thought. No wonder art therapy has become such a hit over the last few decades. It opens doors to our subconscious and kids who aren't yet able to express themselves with words, are given a chance to let it all out, explain themselves by other means so that others could listen in. If only Adam Lanza's mother knew what her son was suffering from, if he had a way to calm down, he could have been a genius, a hidden gem in our midst. Jackson Pollock is considered the most influential Amerian artist of the 20th century...
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