Let's look again at Art in the school curriculum - Executive Director National Theatre
Accra, Oct. 19, GNA - Dr Osei Agyeman, the Acting Executive Director of the National Theatre, has called for the reintroduction of Art in its traditional form to the current school curriculum saying the purpose of education is to make minds and not careers.
He said repackaging the Art subject under new areas like Creative Arts and within the context of Vocational Training is not enough to develop and hone the talents of many gifted students.
Speaking at the recent 47th speech and prize giving day at the Morning Star Primary and Junior High School in Accra, on the theme: “Art our World of Creativity”, Dr Agyeman said he was happy to learn that there are still some schools in the society where the value of Art in the total development of the individual is appreciated to the point of giving equal attention to all the persuasions in art, adding that the new academic curriculum for the teaching of Art leaves much to be desired.
He said it was equally important for the society to change its negative attitudes towards the artist, for though many would love to possess a fine art piece, not many in our society would love to play host to the non-conforming attributes of a typical artist, as they hardly understand that the eccentricities of the artist is a precondition to his creative thinking.
Dr Agyeman said the recent call on the universities to run career oriented programs that would meet the manpower needs of the industry cannot be successful, if the enabling atmosphere to generate the creative thinking of the individual is absent, stressing that the conundrum that confronts the calibre of our educated has little to do with the over- flogged debate on the duration of three or four year senior high school education and more to do with the stimulation of creative thinking in early childhood development.
He said what the society needs is the congenial atmosphere where problem solving attitudes are honed; imagination and originality of thought is developed; and a place where the playful mentality and freedom to question the status quo and all canons, social or academic are rewarded and encouraged.
Dr Agyeman said it would be important for our curriculum developers and policy makers to rethink their recent policy initiatives and introduce new thoughts to ensure that education promotes sensitivity to the human condition as well as the development of well mature minds saying “no significant movement (in Art) has survived by merely reproducing old styles or stereotypes and this our modern curriculum developers know”.
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