Gina Santora

Art is considered a universal language that is expressed in some form or other in all cultures. It is all-inclusive of ages, stages of development, and varied abilities, providing opportunities for all to meaningfully create and learn. In PreK-12 education, children are constantly maturing and establishing a sense of self, and artmaking and other facets of art education fosters communication of their ideas, passions, and expressions into something tangible outside of the mind. Art has the ability to facilitate healing, promote self-expression, foster community, and enable us to tell our stories visually. In my art classroom, students will engage in relevant and life-based thematic lessons that have the potential to be socially transformative and in many instances, therapeutic.  I believe the therapeutic nature of engaging in artmaking is one undeniable outcome of art education. For example, lessons can address problems, issues, and other situational events students face in and outside the classroom walls, helping them make sense of their identity as well as their connections and relationships to others and their world. The rich process of making art often calls for students to self-analyze, reflect and problem-solve. Through this process, my students will function as a community of learners that can grow and develop through a safe, respectful, and engaging environment in which they feel comfortable to share and participate in collaboration and discussion. Through the disciplines of art education, including artmaking, art history, art criticism, and aesthetics, students will analyze the world around them, develop problem-solving and higher-order thinking skills, and learn to be self-governing. Multiple perspectives of art history, art inquiry, and analyzing works of art will further students’ understanding of his/herself, others, and the world they live in. These practical skills resonate in students’ everyday lives in and outside the classroom and are essential in becoming confident, empathetic, contributing members of society.