I want to talk about art.

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“Art teaches us nothing, except the significance of life.” - Henry Miller

I want to talk about art.

Not just art in the sense of learning how to paint and make sculptures though they are important too–just creativity really in general. I am coming to the end of two years in charge of the Junior School and, as you might imagine, I have had many parents visit me in my office or send me emails during that time to make suggestions about the school. But here’s the thing - no-one has ever contacted me to mention our approach to art. Not one person.

Why not? I have no doubt that among our community of parents, we have several who value art highly, who even count themselves as artists or whose work involves design to some degree. I know this is true. But quite frankly, no-one ever contacts me to complain about the art programme or to praise it. Granted, I have had emails even quite recently thanking us for the art exhibitions but they were events and not really what I am talking about. Parents do not seem to devote the same energy to examining the art provision of the school as they do, say, the Maths programme or Mandarin Chinese. There is something profoundly wrong with this in my opinion. And profoundly worrying.

If we are not careful, we can fall into the trap of thinking that the same rules, the same priorities of a past generation’s education system still make sense for our children. They absolutely do not. Art and Music, performance on a stage, a passion for poetry - all of those wonderful outlets for creativity that our children enjoy must be encouraged and nurtured in them. If you are in any doubt about the importance of such things, have a read of “A Whole New Mind” by Daniel Pink. He makes a pretty compelling argument that the times they are a changin’. Still.


Have a restful weekend,


Brían