Creativity is a part of the human mind that most people will at least pay lip service to want to cultivate, but that’s so highly disparaged in society that it usually gets relegated to a small group of crackpots. The actual use of creativity by adults is often so looked down upon in most circumstances that it makes perfect sense to keep creativity and its development far away from children. Unfortunately, this is precisely the wrong thing to do for kids if you want them to succeed later in life.
Creativity is all about finding solutions to problems, whether these are the normally prescribed solutions to a given problem or not. While it’s often fine to follow whatever the tried and true formula might be, often, in life, this can become dogmatic and even a bit irrational. Sometimes, the best solution is the one that no one has ever thought of before, which is precisely where a pinch of creativity can save a ton of additional burden.
One of the big things you’ll notice in any kind of art education is that it deals with a lot of different materials and types of materials. Sometimes, the kids will be using crayons, while other times, they will use markers. Then, sometimes, there are balls of clay and tempera paints. In some cases, the hot glue gun might even make an appearance, with proper adult supervision, of course. With the use of different materials, children can learn that there are a lot of different ways to solve a fairly small set of problems that can expand, as their understanding of the world as a whole expands with time.
The use of creative supplies in art education mainly introduces the students to the elements of design and how to solve problems in a visual space. This is akin to play, which is one of the most effective ways to learn any skill set. The ability to create something out of nothing and to solve problems as they appear can lead to a more mature way of dealing with emotions later in life. The opportunities that design presents, even at the most basic level, are just some of the reasons why art education is so crucial for kids.
In a lot of cases, school likes to try and turn children into tiny adults, even though this isn’t possible. While many adults can learn effectively by simply sitting down to read what has happened in the past, this isn’t nearly as effective for children. The way many people learn throughout life, and how most children learn by default, is through actually experiencing something.
Art education is all about the experience. When your children can experience what it’s like to build and design something, they learn a lot about the world and about themselves. This is the type of learning that can’t be done simply by reading and listening.