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ART

Philosophy

            “The Bible makes four things very clear:  1) God made the whole man, 2) in Christ the whole man is redeemed, 3) Christ is the Lord of the whole man and the Lord of the whole Christian life, 4) in the future as Christ comes back, the body will be raised from the dead and the whole man will have a whole redemption.  It is within this framework that we are able to understand the place of art in the Christian life.
            The arts and sciences do have a place in the Christian life – they are not peripheral.  For a Christian, redeemed by the work of Christ and living within the norms of Scripture and under that leadership of the Holy Spirit, the Lordship of Christ should include an interest in the arts.  A Christian should use these arts to the glory of God, not just as tracts, but as things of beauty to the praise of God.  An art work can be a doxology in itself.” (Quote taken from Art in the Bible by Dr. Francis A. Schaeffer).

            Christian education for the elementary school child is based on the principle that the child is enabled to develop to the maximum of his potential through exposure to the various curricula components; therefore, art instruction in the Christian school serves as an essential component in the child’s development of his full potential.  The Christian realizes that every means available that communicates truth is an opportunity to be seized and art is a visual communication.  From this standpoint, children’s art is considered to be the gateway to creativity and to the dynamic thinking needed for the technological world of today and tomorrow.  The child is taught to believe that he, as an image-bearer of God, as a thinking individual, is a significant being, and that what he/she has to say about his/her world cannot be expressed by any other person.  He/she must develop self-reliance and courage to make his/her own art forms independently.  Christian education believes that a child’s creative expression is a meaningful experience to be felt, formed, and finally shared. 

            Art instruction in the Christian school is based upon the following convictions:

  1. All children, as image-bearers of God, possess God-given creative ability.  Although that ability may vary to some extent, no child is without basic ability.
  2. Creative ability is rooted in the child’s actual and vicarious experiences and in the thoughts and feelings they possess.
  3. The child should be free to express himself insofar as his/her expressions are in harmony with Christian ideals.
  4. The child’s art skills should be developed as an integral part of the art experience.
  5. Art instruction should assist the child in developing a feeling for the aesthetic.  Aesthetic means the quality of honest, personal expression, skillfully communicated through visual art forms.
  6. Art instruction strives to develop within the child a feeling of self-confidence by teaching him/her the proper use of his/her God-given talents.

Properly executed, art instruction helps the child toward more positive Christian
citizenship.  Such citizenship can be achieved only when the Spirit moves the individual to adjust his/her life toward God as He has revealed Himself through Jesus Christ.  Because the subject matter of art is life itself, the art curriculum becomes an especially useful vehicle for the Spirit’s action.  Art instruction, therefore, assumes an integral position in the Christian school curriculum because it enables children to speak in visual tongues to the praise and glory of God.

            The teachers (classroom and art teacher) are the prime catalysts and bridge builders.  Art is taught throughout the grades and classroom teachers are encouraged to incorporate different forms and experiences in art into their lesson planning and classroom activities.  Stimulated by a teacher’s challenging motivations, the child learns to see more, to sense more, to be more vitally aware of his/her environment, and consequently to organize his/her ideas in a more expressive, personal form.  The teacher’s purpose in art instruction is to:

  1. Give a child positive and encouraging experiences.
  2. Assist the child in broadening his/her skills.
  3. Allow the child experimentation with various subjects, media, and materials.
  4. Enable the child to confidently express and evaluate his/her personal abilities and tastes.

School Goals

  1. To teach the child that God created him/her as an individual and that art is an expression of himself/herself.
  2. To develop eye-hand coordination.
  3. To recognize, explore, and develop each child’s God-given talents.
  4. To help students see the beauty of form, color, line, and composition in nature, God’s personal text in art.
  5. To develop an appreciation for art, art history, all worthy human art forms, and the work of others.
  6. To recognize and be able to identify masterpieces of art work, and to learn about master artists.
  7. To develop an appreciation of art principles (design, balance, etc.) and artwork creation and common objects.
  8. To practice Christian love in sharing materials, giving and accepting constructive criticism, and working together congenially.
  9. To promote art as a life-long activity.