Art teachers and art students find it shocking every time they are informed that the art room is needed to host another subject. There were a few instances where art room furniture, student portfolios and art materials were moved to the school corridor and the art teachers were told to use their creativity and refurbish a smaller empty classroom without basins. Little did the school administration know that an art room is not a regular classroom.

An art room requires basins, ample light, adequate space both for student safety and for storage of students’ portfolios and materials. Yet, art teachers are the first to call to decorate the school entrance and corridors with students’ artworks, especially when a VIP, like a president or a minister, visits the school. No wonder these visitors think all is plain sailing at schools and are often quick to label the critics calling out for improvement as ‘negative’, ‘exaggerating’ or even having a ‘hidden political agenda’.

Schools that focus their teaching and learning outcomes on tests and examinations stress two forms of intelligence: accepting information merely to obtain a pass mark as well as being competent at language and mathematics to eventually become efficient workers. Their value of intelligence is restricted to rational thinking required to obtain knowledge of the outside world. From this limited point of view, children who fail exams are perceived to be not intelligent.

How about valuing intelligence that nurtures emotional and social aspects, creativity, promoting the recognition of one’s potential and ways of collaborating rather than competing with others? Arts education covers different areas of intelligence required to nurture mental abilities, to recognise feelings, fears and motivations, to empathise and develop compassion.

Meanwhile, when it comes to arts education, the narrative is that it serves for relaxation and entertainment. The root of such a deeply ingrained narrative lies in the assumption that everyone knows what ‘art’ means. Often, people associate art with objects, things they can see like paintings, sculptures and ceramics. To some, art is a quality, a skill, beauty, craftsmanship… 

Since ancient times, artistic processes have served the needs for individuals’ exploration of their own identities and for groups to record, respond to, shape, personalise and evaluate the world of experience. Therefore, arts education absorbs the immediate world of the child – the school, home, playground, games, feelings, dreams, cultural background – as starting points for their learning. The children’s own perception of their environment is full of ‘symbols’ and meaning. An image, a movement, a sound can be interpreted and its meaning can be communicated.

Do we still want to continue producing graduates with suitable skills but little ability to think in a socially engaged way?- Charmaine Zammit

While engaging in arts, children learn to value different ways of seeing and communicating their inner world without the fear of being judged as right or wrong. Although there has been an increase in awareness of the holistic benefits of arts education worldwide, over 20 years of my art teaching career, I noticed the devaluing reputation of arts education in schools. This did not only happen in Malta.

The case for advocating arts education does not undermine the rest of the school subjects. It highlights the long-standing issue that the arts in schools are still allocated less time and resources than subjects considered ‘core’.

Briefly, the word ‘core’ means ‘essential’. Why do certain subject areas keep being considered as ‘essential’ while we keep saying students are lacking essential skills, such as personal and social skills and critical thinking? Why do we keep reading articles in the media that the education system has failed us?

A few weeks ago, several education experts voiced their concerns about the need to restructure the education system to make it more motivating and relevant so that young people do not feel disengaged but willingly opt to further their education beyond 16 years.

It is no news that most students perceive school as boring, demotivating and disconnected to their life. Perhaps an alternative perception of schooling and a start to the much-needed restructuring of the education system would be introduced when arts education is allocated as much time in schools as ‘core’ subjects.

Although not all children will become artists, they are still entitled to develop cultural awareness, emotional literacy and aesthetics, just like they are driven to learn literacy and numeracy from a very young age.

The different arts disciplines such as drama, music, dance and visual arts touch emotions, thinking, memories, imagination, all functions that connect us as human beings.

Through the different art forms, a different approach to teaching and learning takes place where hidden potentials of children become visible and knowledge is constantly exchanged between children and adults. Yet, since the learning progress in the arts is not measured by a right and wrong answer, the arts are habitually categorised as ‘unimportant’.

As the saying goes: if we keep doing what we have always done we’ll get what we’ve always gotten. This brings up questions like: are education experts and qualified teachers being consulted and is their expertise truly being considered?

Charmaine Zammit - Phd in Art Education

Are education leaders and teachers becoming comfortably numb when they see their efforts to connect students’ learning to life being looked down on or misinterpreted as a ‘waste of time’ in a society where education priorities align with exam results?

Most world leaders achieved great exam results, yet, we keep witnessing wars, manipulations, greed, slavery, poverty, countless injustices. Is this what we consider as successful education achievement? Do we still want to continue producing graduates with suitable skills but little ability to think in a socially engaged way?