Every Spring just about the time when the students are ready to call it a year, I get out 25 masterpieces and teach art appreciation. Now to the groans and questions that arise from the students, I feel there are many qualities about learning from the Masters. They are called the masters for a reason. Inevitably there will be one student who will state the obvious question that I have head for eight years now, “Why do we have to know this?”

Well I could bore you with the scientific research that I used with formulating my theory on learning “stuff”, but I will not bore you with the minutiae of endless quizzes and test results. I will give you the top answers that I give my 5th through 8th grade classes, as they are the ones that have to do the art appreciation test.

1. History is important. No matter what you do in life, your past helps you along the way. If you burned your hand on the stove top when you were 3, you probably remember that very well. History or the past is the same way. It can help you solve life’s problems without the use of wars, deaths and even more worse things. The phrase “history repeats itself,” is so true. It is also true in art history. Trends tend to resurface and then fade away as the result of new advances. But without knowing the history of some of these trends, an artist, scholar, worker or even a layabout may stake their claim on a “new” idea and not realize that it really in effect is an old idea. Think about the paint by number craze in the 1950’s. People went nuts with that craze. But I bet you didn’t know that even in the middle ages, painters used numbers to classify colors so that the apprentices (young scholars that they are), could paint copies and/or the original masterpieces so that the “Master Painter” could do other things. Similar to the Thomas Kincade paintings that were so popular a few years ago.

2.Learning is good. Many times I have heard that art is someone’s favorite class. Why is that? Could it be that new ideas are formed or that talents somehow arise from deep within? Nope. It is because a few students think of it as “goof-off” time. Have you ever had 8th graders play with a pasta maker and Sculpty clay? Apparently they never had enough time with the Play-Doh Fun Factory. You can see how the materials an artist uses can be like toys, but there is a reasoning behind it. If you do something that you love, it can be fun. When you are doing things that are boring, well it is not so fun. We tend to put school and work as boring. Have you ever seen a teenager smile on Labor Day? It is like they were given a death sentence. Why did this come to be? By bringing back art appreciation I hope to bring back the fact that learning new ideas is fun. Learning about paintings and lives of artists and the styles they created or learned from is adventurous and entertaining and yes FUN!

We seem to forget that basic concept. We equate learning with work. That is the sad part of the education system as many teachers feel the same way. I like to think of learning new techniques and new artists like having a get-together or party and sharing a tub of popcorn and a few sodas too. They have stories to tell and experiences to share. Just because they are dead doesn’t mean that we forget about them and move on to 3rd period…We learn about these artists and paintings to help us grow and keep our minds sharp.

3. Every other class has a test or two, why not art? This is a weak example of why we have the art appreciation test. It goes the way that mother’s would say to their children, “If Johnny jumped off a bridge, would you?” But this is different then plunging to your death, hopefully.

To know if you are doing well in any class, a test is usually given. Math tests, English tests, Spelling tests, even the Presidential Physical fitness test are some of the tests that almost every American goes through. Now how do you know if you “get” art? You can do the projects and wade through the chatter and pretty soon, voila! You produced a diorama! Congratulations, you did your work and you seemed to understand the concept, but did you learn anything? Did you goof around most the class time and then take it home and have dear old Dad or helicopter Mom finish the project while you did more constructive things like Playstation or watch the Hills?

You see a test is not only what you study, but also entails how you study and perform in a certain time. Sounds familiar? Kind of like work performance, except you don’t get paid or fired, you get graded on what you know. Which leads me to the final answer to this test conundrum…..

4. We have forgotten how to memorize. I go through this lesson at least 3 weeks. I hand out booklets with copies of the paintings on the sheet. I go through each painting at least 3 times. We play a memory game to get the students up to speed. And do you want to know what the bit of advice I give to students before the test the next week is? Memorize it!

Parents are appalled at that. Why? Parents do not realize that we memorize pretty much everything in life and children try to avoid it as much as possible. Why? Because it’s not fun. Make it fun. Here is a clue to see if your kids can memorize. Have them read twenty things written on the board. Do it again. Do it again. Do it backwards. Do it again. Now erase the board. Do it good so that there are no ghost images. Now pick a student out at random and see if they can name all twenty things. Chances are they can not. I am not saying I can, but if I worked at it I could. That is why I suggest to students flash cards, study groups, talking to parents about the test and having the parents test the kids and vice versa. The more you get art information downloaded onto the brain the better chance that other things can be downloaded too.

By opening the mind to learning, we can do quite a lot. Just by learning a few artists and paintings and styles we get that brain into shape just like Rocky pummeling those frozen carcasses in Pauly’s meat locker. We prepare that brain for new challenges and answers that are set for the future.

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