A recent article in the Guardian talks about the need for more creativity in the classroom, As an art educator and director, I wholeheartedly agree. However, when we discuss teaching art and creativity, we must consider what we truly mean by the term.
Art education is not just about imparting technical skills, it’s about championing real creativity. The current system often falls short in this regard. For instance, I deliver an introduction to teaching art in primary schools on School-Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) programmes, and I find it challenging to convey the essence of teaching art in a meaningful way in just one four hour session, especially to students who haven’t engaged with art since pre-GCSE.
The conflict lies in the tension between measurable outcomes and genuine creativity. While I can teach techniques such as drawing portraits and landscapes, the real value of art and creativity lies in the individual journey.
Yet, in a classroom setting with 30 students and only an hour to spare, encouraging true individual creativity is daunting, if not impossible. The culture of tidiness, where the focus is on clean uniforms rather than creative experiences, constrains the space for artistic expression and experimentation.
To truly integrate art into schools, we need to rethink the educational culture entirely. Art isn’t just an extracurricular activity – it’s essential for developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills, which are, we know, valuable in all subjects including science and maths. However, our current system often prioritises conformity over creativity, teaching children to be passive rather than encouraging them to think independently. We need to create these spaces for adventure and exploration even if it means an honest critique of our current education system.