Dr. Shimshon Hamerman is Head of School at Solomon Schechter Academy (Montreal). See the related article, “Sample Projects at Solomon Schechter Academy”, here.

Shimshon Hamerman articulates a theory of arts education which he implements practically in his school.

The arts and learning

Art has been looked upon as a peripheral element of education for many years. It is something teachers do with their students when time permits or when one wants to give students busy work after an assignment has been concluded. In Jewish schools it might be something students would do prior to a Jewish holiday or when they have to decorate their classroom or the school corridor. “The belief that the arts are intellectually undemanding occupations, suitable for amusement and diversion, is deeply ingrained in the Western psyche” (Efland, 2002, p. 1). In fact, when we think of the intellectual giants over the years, major artists will usually be found further down on most lists. The classic learning theorists Piaget and Vygotsky focused primarily on the mind; it was only later, as Gardner began to formulate his thoughts towards his theory of Multiple Intelligence that he wrote The Arts and Human Development and Artful Scribbles. “Recognizing that schools favor the cultivation of logical-mathematical and linguistic intelligence at the expense of the other intelligences, Gardner has steadfastly advocated that schools dedicate more time to the intelligences typically neglected in public schools, including learning in the arts” (Efland, 2002, p. 61).

Eisner appears to have suggested that the essence of mind is the process of forming representations of one’s experience. According to Eisner, concept formation begins with experiences picked up by the various senses, and that our representations are created to further our understanding of concepts and to be able to communicate them to others.

… meaning is not limited to what words can express. Among the most important ideas that The Arts and the Creation of Mind addresses is the idea that humans are meaning-making creatures. All of us wish to create meaningful experiences. Some meanings are “readable” and expressible through literal language; other meanings require literal forms of language; still others demand other forms through which meanings can be represented and shared. The arts provide a spectrum of such forms—we call them visual arts, music, dance, theatre—through which meanings are made, revised, shared and discovered. (Eisner, 2002, p. 230)

The possibilities for growth in and through the arts cease only when we do… The art form is the recreation of the individual. Recreation is a form of re-creation. Those of us who have worked in the arts, who have taught the arts who have tried to understand what the arts contribute to the development of human consciousness can feel a sense of pride that our legacy is one that attempts to engender life at its most vital level. (Eisner, 2002, p. 240-241)

In the concluding chapter of Art and Cognition, Elfand states, “… I suggest that the places where the integration of knowledge is maximized lay in works of art as keys to understanding. This also suggests that the arts would be centrally located within the curriculum as an overlapping domain” (Elfand, 2002, p.164).

Kerry Freedman notes that “The results of the NAEP 1997 Arts Report Card… in the visual arts indicates that education has not been instrumental enough in promoting learning that will help students make meaning”(Freedman, 2003, p. 23). He bemoans the fact that, “The historical separation of knowledge from feeling as a foundation of Western philosophy has devalued the importance of emotion to cognition and resulted in a lack of serious consideration in education of the realm call arts.” He further notes that “… The scientific rhetoric that has shaped educational discourse has guided attention away from the importance of art to learning…” (Freedman, 2003, p. 63).

Freedman argues that teaching the visual curriculum is more than selecting images and visuals for the curriculum. To Freedman, what is required is a new way of teaching using the arts as a central element of curriculum. Freedman underscores his thesis in his conclusion to his book: “…Making art is the surest way for student to come to understand the most fundamental reasons that visual culture is valuable enough to be taught in school: it is a way of knowing” (Freedman, 2003, p.167).

The scholarly literature is steadfastly clear in establishing the link between the arts and knowing.

Arts integration at Solomon Schechter Academy

Solomon Schechter Academy is situated in Montreal, Canada where the provincial Ministry of Education (MELS) prescribes a detailed curriculum in the arts for the general studies program.

Students are encouraged to invent, interpret and appreciate artistic works. Contact with works by men and women of the past and present, from here and elsewhere, enable them to develop their critical and aesthetic faculties and broaden their cultural horizons. This education must be extended by visits to cultural sites, contact with artists and active participation in the artistic life of the school. In this way, students become familiar with all forms of artistic expression and become more sensitive to and critical of what they are offered. This prepares them to make intelligent choices, now and in their adult life. (Quebec Education Program, p. 208)

In fact, the elementary school curriculum requires students to gain a degree of competence in four areas: drama, visual arts, dance and music. “The arts demand different forms of intelligence and enable us to confront, understand and interpret reality and transpose it into symbolic language” (Quebec Education Program, p. 331). This aspect of pedagogy has been integrated into our Solomon Schechter Academy school-wide philosophy.

In view of the above, it is a natural step for a Jewish school to incorporate the arts into the Judaic Studies curriculum. This is to be done on the one hand to complement the general studies curriculum and on the other, that the Judaic Studies program be seen as cultured and as creative as the general studies. Incorporating the arts in Judaic Studies establishes a degree of curricular alignment in this context.

Using intellectual thought and the critical thinking, students interpret their learning while they translate from the written word to the canvass and other media. We consider this to be an expression of hiddur mitzvah (beautifying the mitzvah). The time consumed in the creation of the arts is well worth it and permits students to use creativity, originality as well as critical thinking. One can therefore look upon the arts not as a time cost but rather as an opportunity for the attainment of greater depth and creativity of the materials studied.

In many ways, the arts can help us add meaning to ancient texts and make them more relevant to students; employing fun-filled media that can only enhance Jewish text and Jewish living to our “screenagers” who are constantly looking for something novel. We believe that the arts make ancient texts come alive and relevant to our “modern age” students. We firmly believe that by allowing students’ self expression to link with the ancient texts we are encouraging students to take ownership of the text as their own.

Not to be neglected in the Art curriculum is the responsibility of a Jewish school to expose and transmit the skills of those arts that have been traditionally associated with uniquely Jewish Arts. Indeed, some may consider the cost effectiveness of the time invested in Jewish Art versus time taken away from Torah, Tefillah or Jewish Traditions classes. This is a decision that every school, indeed, every educator, has to make for him/herself. At Solomon Schechter Academy, the Arts are a central element in the education of a whole child in both general and Judaic Studies. Students, parents and the community at large look forward to Solomon Schechter’s Art Exhibitions.

Solomon Schechter teachers and administration have struck a balance by creating a cycle of Art Exhibitions for the school so that each student experiences elements of the Arts in each department throughout their six grades in the elementary school. There is an exhibition every year highlighting a different area of the curriculum so that the time investment is not an annual time-cost for all the departments. The cycle of exhibitions is built so that one year highlights Judaic Studies, a second year focuses on English Studies, a third year is devoted French Studies, a fourth year features an Integrated Exhibition of all three departments, a fifth year is a Israeli Dance Festival and a sixth year is a Science Fair.

The buy-in, the input, the joint planning and the collaboration of teachers and administration is critical for the success of the program even when there are individuals who are particularly skilled and/or talented in certain areas and who bear a greater role and responsibility for a particular exhibition.

Solomon Schechter Academy is partnered with Afik School in Be’er Sheva, Israel as part of the Partnership 2000 program of the Jewish Agency. The two schools regularly exchange artistic materials for display in each other’s school. This too gives students a sense of importance knowing that their work may be selected for display overseas.

Many of our projects have been met with great success in the Judaic Studies Curriculum of the Solomon Schechter Academy in Montreal. A curriculum map that would incorporate the arts into the teaching in a more systematic manner would enable deeper penetration of the integration.

References

Efland, A. D. (2002). Art and cognition: Integrating the visual arts in the curriculum. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Eisner, E. W. (2002). The arts and the creation of mind. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press.

Freedman, K. (2003). Teaching visual culture. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Gardner, H. (2000). The disciplined mind. New York, NY: Penguin Books Ltd.

The Quebec Education Program (2000-01). Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport. Quebec, Canada.