big kids
BY JOANNE BALL-BURGESS M.ED
Author of “The Lizard and the Rock”
Art-Infused
Learning
Preparing the Next Generation
The global world as we know it no longer desires employees
who are simply able to recite information and follow orders.
Gone are the days where the majority of jobs available were
repetitive, single-tasks that individuals had to perform to keep
the assembly lines going. Nowadays employers are searching
for individuals who can synthesize information, apply it to the
specific challenge and devise creative solutions to revolution-
ize the world as we know it. Students who are graduating
from school this year will not be able to succeed in today’s
world by merely displaying their knack for route knowledge.
The leaders of the twenty-first century must be the ones
who are skilled at using strategy, application, critical analysis
and creative thought patterns. These skill levels go beyond
having the ability to take a test or recite a piece of literature.
BSMART FOUNDATION
Solid Foundations for a Lifetime
Infant & Toddler
Bollywood
Dance Academy
Children and Adults
Development Programs
SMART
Fun Camps
S.M.A.R.T.
Next Camp: Oct. 2014
After School
Scientific data-based
and documented success
School
Professional
Development
Workshops
PTA Meetings
Hosted at BSMART
www.bsmartfoundation.org
The more that a student is exposed to and surrounded by the
arts in a given week the more skilled they will be at executing
creative thought patterns towards academic and overall suc-
cess. Children who become aware of the way that they learn
and are supported through school in this means develop a
higher rate of self-perception than their student counter-
parts. By fusing the arts with learning, the classroom becomes
a place where the whole child is developed. Art-infused class-
rooms change our perception of the traditional, sterile desks,
blackboards and worksheets and propel us towards a learning
centre of unending learning possibilities.
If society’s needs have changed in this regard, why is it
that the majority of our local schools still regard learning as
recitation and the ability to follow orders exclusively?Even the
most expensive schools in Kenya provide only a smattering
of critical thinking and creative exercises in the classroom. It
seems that from the local village schools to the most presti-
gious schools a learning revolution is needed. While society is
looking for creative thinkers, the majority of our school cur-
riculums are geared towards producing ketchup bottlers.
The Case for Creative Learning
John Dewey, an American philosopher and educator called
for the reform of the school system as we know it. He spoke
of classrooms where children would be allowed to move
freely and learn creatively as “democratic education” (1938).
When one reads his description of primary and secondary ed-
ucation one gets the feeling that he is speaking of reforming
the education system today. The reason why is because not
much has changed in the classroom since that time period.
The solution to this problem lies in allowing for more
creative and critical thinking experiences in the classroom.
Colours and rhythm can be combined with memory activi-
ties. Logic and skill should be applied to innovative lesson
plans that prepare our students for the twenty-first century.
Mathematics can be game-orientated and dynamic, students
“The traditional classroom does not cater to
this development of creativity in students”
— John Dewey, American philosopher and educator 1938
28