Last night during a graduation speech at my son’s high school, one of the Deans shared his thoughts on the value of fine arts education as it related to engineers and mathematicians. His college studies were concentrated in math and science and he became an engineer by trade. As an engineer, he was expected to bring creativity to his work, yet science and math classes had not prepared him as a creative thinker. Looking back he knew that his creative abilities had been developed through his additional studies in the fine arts.
Mr. Thomas reminded his young audience of the ideas found in literature and the value of process in the arts. The arts, whether it is music, writing, or visual arts, can be a place for the musings of our inner selves to find a voice. The world is not just facts and formulas. Nothing is that simple or clear cut. We need to think things through, process, look for alternate solutions and see things from multiple perspectives. Participating in the arts exposes us to ideas, a variety of viewpoints and a much deeper consideration of life itself.
To train in the arts is to develop the ability to think. As Elliot Eisner so eloquently put it:
“The arts teach children that in complex forms of problem-solving, purposes are seldom fixed, but change with circumstance and opportunity. Learning in the arts requires the ability and willingness to surrender to the unanticipated possibilities of the work as it unfolds.”
Two plus two always equals four but there are exciting ways to be creative in math application and higher level thinking. We need training in the arts to develop young minds and allow them the experience of surrender to unanticipated possibilities.
