Reactions like this don't surprise me at all. Teachers at kindergartens and grammar schools, without any knowledge of abstract art, mostly can't take it serious as it doesn't have their attention. Or they just don't have time left to pay attention to the history of art. A great chance for art educators like me, to jump into this huge gap. And to educate these teachers at the same time.

 

Mostly teachers think figuratively. Which means that they think that children alsof have to learn to draw figuratively: Figures everyone can understand as it looks like figures we all have seen before. Figures we see in daily life. In the reality surrounding us, on television or in computergames for example. That's why most children start with drawing a sun, a house, their family and animals, followed later by Pokemon, robots, Princesses etcetera. 

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But for lots of children, who get frustrated when they can't draw the way theachers of parents want to see it, there should be another option. Like, just drawing it the way they see it and the way they can and want to draw it.

 

Teachers and parents should ask themselves: why is it so important that children draw figuratively or even reality the way adults see it? As we can make a picture with a photocamera these days? We can even make screenshots or use artificial intelligence nowadays to programm the picture we want to see?

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When photocamera's, robots and computers can show us a copy of the reality surrounding us, the way everyone sees it, it is even more important to pay more attention to skills these devices still can't or don't control. Like: expressing yourself and creative thinking. Skills they call '21th Century skills' nowadays. 

 

To help children to use and develope these skills, you only have to let them make different compositions with abstract forms, lines and colours. For Childrens this feels like fun, like playing with Duplo or Lego. But in the meantime they show their own and personal expression in a very abstract way. Something harder to find back, once they are adults.

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Ofcourse, learning children to observe reality and trying to draw it, is still important as well. To see the difference of the reality they see around them in daily life and to compare it to the reality the television and other devices show it to us. To develope mediawisdom form one side but also to enjoy the little things in life more at the other side. As we don't need Social Media to be happy. Watching your own cat or dog and playing with them can be more interesting, satisfying, social, challenging and fun. Next to all these importance of these skills, finding your own expression, creativity and other way of visual communication is not less important.

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Not confinced yet? 

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Then take a look at the pictures below! Each child of this classroom (second grade) made a totally other -and therewith unique- drawing. To enlarge a picture, you have to click on it. Wassily Kandinsky and Piet Mondriaan would be the most happy artists, when they could see those peaces of art, made by little kids.

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Otherwise, try to make one of this unique pictures, using artificial intelligence. You can't. Bet? Or, mayby you finally can. But not within twenty minutes, like these children did! And not without the imput of a picture made by a creative. Because a device still can't think creatively by itself. It needs humans to programm the right codes or to upload unique pictures.

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If you now still think creative thinking and experimenting is not important, mail or call me and let's discuss!

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Proud!

Whatever you  might think now, I am the most proud art educator you can imagine, looking at the results on this page. As this also means that I finally have found the right tools to let these Children express themselves making unique peaces of art at the same time. All these peaces of art deserve a spot in a museum for contemporary art.