West Oakview Elementary Art

The Visual Arts

* give students the tools to process an increasingly visual world.

* teach communication skills that are vitally needed in today's society.

*foster cross-cultural understand through knowledge of civilizations past and present.

*celebrate multiple perspective - there are many ways to see and interpret the world.

*teach children that problems can have more than one solution and that questions can have more than on answer.

*requires students to use both hemispheres of the brain and develop cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills.

*increase creative thinking, innovative, even visionary thinking, and promote the ability to solve visual and conceptual problems.

*teach students that small differences can have large effects.

*provide a safe place for students to explore their identities, take risks, and develop self-esteem -- the arts give students a voice.

(Michigan Art Education Association Talking Points)