Rosy Greenlees comments on the new teaching White Paper, and cautions against a one-size-fits-all approach to cultural education
ArtsProfessional reported last issue (AP229) on Education Secretary Michael Gove’s new schools White Paper, ‘The Importance of Teaching’, including mention that the Henley Review of music education would form the basis for a broader reform of cultural education. The remit of the Review is clear: to explore how music education can be improved and to enable more children to learn and play an instrument. However, as Darren Henley is also tasked with making recommendations as to how cultural education could be delivered, based on the proposed models for music, we, along with many cultural organisations, will await eagerly the suggestions of the review, and hope for the acknowledgement of the benefits offered by all cultural forms.
Craft, like music, can play a vital role in education, extending far beyond the most obvious benefits. It has been proven that developing haptic skills, be it with a guitar or a potter's wheel, aids cognitive development. But, as with music, craft has other unique benefits, and to prioritise one cultural form over others would be divisive and unhelpful. Not all children will take to music, just as not all will take to craft, painting or drama. Modelling arts education on one cultural form may prove detrimental; one size does not fit all.
Intelligent making and craft activity are inclusive and democratic. They embrace creative thinking, innovative learning and develop personal understanding of the made-world and human need. Craft skills also provide children with a firmer grasp of the 3-D world, allowing young people to experience how the world works in practice, to gain an understanding of materials and processes and to make informed judgments about abstract concepts. This in turn develops problem-solving skills that feed into all manner of professions including engineers, surgeons and software designers. And craft, like music and numerous other artforms, can help to create links between school, home and work and between generations and communities.
Let’s hope that music, craft, art, drama and many other important cultural forms emerge from the Henley Review as important elements of the curriculum. There for their own sake and on their own merit – all offering something different but equally valid to our young people.