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Schools that provide creative arts teaching often do so with reluctance, and staff are made to feel second best, or to be teaching a very under-valued subject. Contrary to this is the surge in discussions that require creative thinking for the workforce of tomorrow, the creative thinker is very much valued but we do not teach creativity for its own sake. Teachers of other subjects teach ‘creatively’ but they still have a clear end in sight for each task – creativity does not have such a rigid end goal – the process, exploration, journey and method is often the focus of the work in class. End results are more value if they are different and challenging.
Creative arts are viewed sceptically in school – other teachers worry about the noise it creates or the mess. This adds to the notion that it is an undervalued activity and is often sidelined in favour of ‘core curriculum’ but there is not a one size fits all method to teaching and learning that is successful for every teacher and learner. This aims to address the specific style of classroom management, delivery, expectation and attitude whilst highlighting some excellent practices that might be incorporated in other subjects to good effect.
The frequency for a child failing in most areas of the curriculum and excelling in the arts is startling in every school or F.E. college that I have worked in. These children come to the arts with the idea that they are bad learners, struggling or difficult, fidgits, unable etc. They excel in the arts but rather than this being celebrated, they assume that the arts must be easy as they are succeeding and they are, after all ‘bad learners’. The table needs to turn and to see the arts as valid a subject as any other, and a child who succeeds in arts should be celebrated in the same way they would for core subjects.
Everyone understands that teaching the Creative Arts can benefit learners by improving memory, imagination, exploring and experimenting, expression of ideas – and the list goes on. We all know this; to some extent educators value this. But what does the classroom look like when the sole purpose is creativity? What is the class atmosphere like when creativity is taking place? What is happening in a classroom or a studio when learners are ‘using their imagination’ or ‘exploring possibilities’, ‘challenging convention’ or simply ‘pondering’ the next step in their process? What is the teacher doing when their class is developing an idea, practising a theory, working through a process that will take at least six lessons; what is the teacher doing when each student is at a different point in their work, on a different task with a different idea? To an outsider (i.e. someone not a pupil in the class, or the teacher) it looks a lot like this:
A muddle
A mess
Chaos
Without a focus
Out of control
A lot of chatter
Kids sitting round
Kids daydreaming
Lack of teacher control
No teacher intervention
Confusing
Some of my own lessons have been described in this way – and many of my creative arts colleagues feel uncomfortable when being observed for these same reasons – teaching creative arts requires a different teaching approach sometimes. We teachers are very comfortable and secure in that, others may not fully understand our process and therefore our method, this makes us vulnerable to misinterpretations and skewed professional observations.
Creative Arts teaching ‘allows’ things to happen. The theoretical basis of a lesson or project is often a small percentage of the programme with the majority being exploration, demonstration, observation. Furthermore, a small amount of theory is often enough to get the process going; there is no need to deliver the whole theoretical part before pupils get to test it out.
Creativity has no fixed timescale and there begins the problem. There must be time in schemes of work and lesson plans to allow for this – ‘blank time’. Time when kids can sit and think, ponder and start again. Time is needed for ideas to be worked through. This is not to say there is an infinite time to complete the task – that is not the case at all. For creativity to really blossom the learner needs to understand the required deadlines; the difference is that the timing of each milestone along the way – the process journey – is different and unique for each learner. In other words learner “A” will speed through the sketching process in an art project, but become stuck or held up in planning what materials to use for the final piece, whilst learner “B” may take longer in their sketching but once the ideas are fixed they can proceed freely and quickly in the last stages. They all reach their destination at the same time – everyone arrives at the opening night of a play – everyone sings the chorus song together – but they have taken a differently timed path to get there.
So what is the teacher doing? The teacher is using specific skills and classroom management to pick up on when a pupil is ‘blocked’ and is able to distinguish between those that are pondering and those that are disengaging. A daydream may be part of the process – it may be a child disengaging but often when you question them they are in some stage of their work and the teacher’s skill is in identifying how to push or pull them to the next stage rather than prevent them from using their daydreams to reinforce their task. All kids do this in all lessons from time to time, the difference for the creative arts teachers is that they are relaxed about this – they expect it, in part, from all their pupils from time to time and value this way of learning. It seems like inactivity but all successful outcomes need a period of subconscious learning or rather ‘staring out of the window, doodling or humming!’ Bartel calls this the “surreal powers of the subconscious mind, of imagination and creative thinking habits”
So what is actually happening when a child learner is exploring some possibilities? Well that’s the time that they are rummaging through a pile of fabric to find the best piece to suit the textiles project that they have been set. They are chatting and laughing at one another as they develop a script for a drama assessment they have to complete. They are sitting in the corner staring at a series of images to find the one that will stimulate or satisfy the next part of the art project. They are jumping up and down looking for attention – for reassurance – to reinforce their way-out-there idea is not taking them off in the wrong direction and will mean that they fail the performance task. The child that is objecting, resisting and balking at every idea you give them is the child not working, they may look engaged and serious but often nothing is being done; the creative arts teacher worries about these kids much more than the couple giggling in the corner or the daydreamer doodling on the assessment sheet. A real creativity comes from the surrender to the unknown – and that goes for the teachers too!
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