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This is Dark Cloud on Wednesday, December 03, 1986. When I was in college, I took a course in creative writing. It was distinguished by being neither creative nor having much to do with writing. When you think about it, creativity cannot be taught, just encouraged or stifled. And writing cannot be taught, although grammar, rhetoric, and grammar (redux) can be. A course in creative writing generally is a gut course, impossible to fail by just turning in some product. I look in the paper today, because local art teachers are in risk of their jobs being lost. “What is quality education if you leave out the arts?” asked one. This is all taking place at the local level. Let us be truthful. Do any of you recall falling in love with ‘art’ at the elementary school level? I recall playing with clay, pasting things together, making clay pots for the teacher to fire. It was busy work provided by the school, one step up from babysitting. Actually, so is much of school. I am very much for children being exposed to art, but I question whether exercises in coordination qualify as art any more than a college lecture on symbolism made me creative. And I think it degrades the public debate on art to throw in the putterings of six year olds. It speaks to the remnants of Victorian and German influence that an adult is the net result of what the vessel can be filled with as a child. With the strict and sometimes enforcement of old time teaching, results may have occurred. But the lack of discipline and enforcement today make the whole nebulous theory even more questionable. If you want your child to appreciate art – as opposed to the social climbing goals of the ghastly small town society groups – make sure they can read, easily and well. Make sure they have time to brood on their own efforts, and encourage them. And let us remove the pretentious title of art from the spectacle of children covered with paste. Art occurs in the recesses of the mind, and all others can do is be available to teach technique. Teach art? You might as well claim to teach sight. |
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