Creativity and imagination are two very powerful virtues of human character. The creativity and imagination of students can be developed through the art education. Lack of art education in schools, colleges, and universities diminishes a student’s chance to acquire creativity and imagination. Art is an important skill for students in their educational and practical life to learn and experience the world differently from the general public and it inculcates the power to create something good for humanity that may be remembered for centuries to come, in this way art has the potential to make an intelligent artist, immortal. It is a sad reality that millions of people die every year in the world, without truly and boldly expressing themselves, the art education saves a student from this sad saga. Art education seems imperative for every student no matter what his or her major. The experts propose that science students should take some art courses.
Aesthetics describes notions such as the beautiful and the ugly, which are the basic elements of art education; art students define the beautiful and the ugly. Aesthetics increase the social learning and integration of students. It increases the observation power of the art students. The impacts of art and aesthetics are not confined to the student’s social lives; this positively impacts their professional lives. Their families and friends also get benefits (Arslan, Asuman). The worthiness of theoretical and practical art courses cannot be overemphasized. However, it may be noted that the theoretical part should not be preferable over the practical one as has been the case in some art institutes. The best approach would be to give more preference to theory at the start and then gradually increase the practical courses as the students become conversant with theory. This approach will produce a student with sound theoretical knowledge and fine practical skills. Overall, this combination will connect art students more with their social environment. It can go a long way in making them better citizens and help them in their family and work relationships (Arslan, Asuman).
Art education is also very conducive to children’s early development and learning. Experts have had the established opinion that little children may be encouraged to create artwork independently, regardless of its quality or magnitude. They also propose that little children be encouraged to enjoy and admire the artwork of others. The optimum combination of these methodologies will be the most conducive way to make the students excel in their early and advanced education. The little children were provided ample opportunities to create and admire the artwork, and they often experienced creativity and imaginativeness, which became their second nature. The benefits of these early childhood investments are huge compared to the cost and time involved (Korn, Carol).
Proper art education in early childhood positively impacts their social, cognitive, and motor abilities. The artwork involves the social depiction of local and other cultures, religions, languages, and countries; it makes them aware of the diversity and versatility of the world around them. In this way, their social adaptability increases, and in the modern conflict-ridden world this social adaptability is a huge advantage of early childhood education.
The young children learn to express themselves and to communicate in a positive and effective manner. The power to express themselves goes a long way to making them better communicator in their social and professional lives. The Youngsters become more social as they visit art exhibitions and workshops. They learn the power of networking, an essential tool to make them excel in their professional lives.
Young children enjoy crayons, colored pencils, watercolors, and oil paints; they have to use the maximum of selected media and at the same time they have to make a selection wisely, in this way they learn the vital skills of decision making. Art education has huge positive impacts on art students’ analysis, critical thinking, and decision-making skills. If young children are lucky enough to have a good teacher and conducive learning environment, art education in the early years will help them greatly reap its benefits over their whole lives. The happy story does not end here, the positive impacts and benefits are transferred to the next generation in one way or the other. If these little students become art teachers themselves, later in their lives, the impact of art education will be huge on the next generation. History has many examples of young students creating brilliant masterpieces of art.
Technology, especially information technology, has dramatically altered art education in early childhood and colleges and universities. The students now use tablets and other electronic devices for theoretical and practical artwork. The experts are divided on the utility and effectiveness of these modern devices. In one way, these devices increase the speed of cognitive learning and provide art students with huge resources, including online libraries and repositories.
The humanities sciences experts have believed for long that art has therapeutic properties, there are modern researches that prove this old viewpoint. Works of art have been recorded in ancient healing centers in Roman and Greek civilizations. Modern studies have proved that when a person visualizes a work of art he or she uses the right side of his or her brain. Studies have also proved that the right side of the brain is also used to store memories, it makes a positive connection between works of art and pleasant memories. The art can help the person with stress and emotional strain. Education and works of art can go a long way in increasing the innovative powers of the brain; the right side, stimulated by viewing the work of art, is also used before spoken language develops. In this way, art and art education helps people become more expressive. The power to self-express is vital to human beings; it helps them to release tension, reduce depression levels, and ease the burden on their nerves. As the students learn art skills early on, they learn to control their emotions. It helps them to make their personality more balanced and composed (Karkou, Judy).
The work of art and art education helps children and young students to control fear; its exact science is still unknown, but it is an intelligent guess that it may be due to the power of self-expression and social coherence attained due to art and its education (Karkou, Judy). As art classes start in institutions, students share art stationery, such as colored pencils, markers, papers, watercolors, and oil paints, which promotes a sense of sharing among students. In art class children and young students learn from each other, and they teach each other, promoting social learning and knowledge sharing.
The work of art and art education helps the students to treat anxiety and promote a sense of autonomy. Some students experience that their tension is released as they draw the artwork. The self-expression may be the reason, and it may be due to the admiration the artist gets when he or she draws well. The artist who works independently enjoys the feeling of autonomy. They feel they are in control, and its positive impacts are also felt in their lives beyond the artwork. Sometimes, artists are under pressure to complete their academic or professional art assignments quickly; in this way, art and education instill resilience in students and artists. The benefits of this art education can be applied in other areas of education and work.
The role of artwork and art education in developing leadership skills cannot be overemphasized. The students and children learn to select colors and other tools; they decide when to use watercolors and when oil paints will work better. They decide about the techniques and which message will be expressed well through the abstract art and when it will not work well. The artist tries to inspire the world through his or her artwork; inspiration is the essence of leadership. An artist with good theoretical and practical knowledge of arts can motivate society through his work. There have been examples where artists have spread the message of action and conservation through their artwork. Some artists have spread environmental awareness and stressed the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. There have been art campaigns on global warming and solid waste reduction. It is a huge contribution of art to education and society; it is expected that as time passes the artist will raise their voice for the cause of the environment.
The importance of art in education and life has been discussed in detail, the views of experts have been analyzed at length, and there is no second opinion that art plays a very important role in education and life. Its benefits are not limited to individuals, the whole society, and the world reap its benefits. Art students can apply the skills they have gained in art classes to other subjects and areas of life. Art and it education help a person to release stress, express his or her emotions, and take charge of his or her life and actions. Art and its education go a long way in making students better citizens with a sense of social inclusion and better coherence with society and the environment. It helps them to face the challenges of life in a better way.
