If you are a U.S. based art lover and want to continue your studies in that direction, read on. This article will highlight art colleges in America you can apply to in 2022.

HARVARD UNIVERSITY

Harvard University is considered the number one school for learning art in all of America. This school has more than 20 departments under Arts and Humanities. As a result, students that enroll get to learn:

• Artwork;
• Religion;
• Philosophy;
• Literature, etc.

Many people choose to study art at Harvard because the students of this school acquire excellent critical thinking abilities. Hence, if they eventually select to study other majors, they possess invaluable knowledge, which is useful in life.

RHODE ISLAND SCHOOL OF DESIGN

Established in the 1800s, the Rhode Island School of Design is one of the best colleges in America. Located in Providence, this school operates as a nonprofit. It has a global student population of over 2,000. Just like Harvard University, the college offers students over 20 art majors. In addition, students may participate in continuous courses of different types while studying at this school.

YALE UNIVERSITY

You cannot speak about art studies and not talk about Yale University. This college is among the top three colleges offering an art degree. In their School of Art, students can learn graphic design, painting, filmmaking, and much more. If admitted, a learner will gain a comprehension of art through theory and history. Likewise, a learner can partake in visual courses, which include printmaking, sculpture, and photography. However, you can only gain admission into the art program by passing an evaluation by the university’s artwork school. A student must excel in basic drawing and visual thinking to be considered qualified.

RICE UNIVERSITY

To enroll in an art major, you will have to study at Rice University’s Department of Visual and Dramatic Arts. The popularity of the courses offered by this faculty attracts students from departments of engineering, history, science, and much more. These learners take such courses to broaden their thinking and gain perspective.

STANFORD UNIVERSITY

Stanford University offers interdisciplinary degree programs from the Department of Art and Art History. As such, students can enroll in numerous programs, which include:

• Artwork practice
• Art history
• Film and media studies
• Video and documentary film

Most of these courses are created to teach students about media, images, and the historical development relating to these fields. Additionally, students’ visual analysis capacity, perception, and admiration for art are developed through the effective use of screening rooms and studios.

BROWN UNIVERSITY

Brown University has a functional Department of Visual Art. It has an excellent reputation for having quality instructors and professors. Similarly, this department works closely with its alumni to further improve their skills. Likewise, students are exposed to historical and contemporary aspects of the course.

Learners who pass through Brown learn about self-discovery, skill-building, and more. These attributes are acquired through courses like video making, sculpture, printmaking, painting, and drawing. In addition, students enrolled at Brown University have the chance to attend classes at the Rhode Island School of Design.

CONCLUSION

Students who wish to learn art can apply and enroll in any of the top American universities and colleges. Each school has a different approach and unique flavor, so you will definitely find something that speaks to you. Likewise, learners have access to a variety of majors and minors to choose from, so they can choose something they are passionate about. The universities discussed in this article fall under the top 10 art schools throughout the country, so any art lover can make the right choice.

About the Author: As a writer, Barbara Fielder’s primary focus is student relations and higher education. She often contributes to Grab My Essay and other student aid platforms. Likewise, Barbara helps educators who are looking to improve their relationships with their learners.

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Art appreciation can also impact the lives of people at a macro level and societies can benefit from funding arts and culture. There is a link between participation in drawing, painting, composing music, or just observing the work of others and the impact on well-being. It can make us happier, healthier, and more productive people. So, why is it essential to take art classes?

WHAT MAKES ART EDUCATION SO IMPORTANT?

Anyone passionate about the arts will remember the memorable moments of watching an artist work and observing their creativity emerge in the piece. When we are exposed to artwork or given a chance to create something, we begin to understand how important art can be for personal growth and development. It can also impact our health.

There is a connection between sensory experiences and improvement in mental health. Giving people the space, time, and resources to creatively express their ideas can reduce stress and improve memory. It allows them to be happier and more involved in the global community. People can also get similar benefits from visiting  museums and galleries.

The appreciation of art can bring significant changes to people’s lives all over the world. Societies can profit from investing in the arts and culture. Learning to draw, paint, sing, or simply be amazed by the work of other artists can help us become healthier and happier, more satisfied, and better individuals.

HOW DO ART CLASSES HELP?

1. Art Allows You To Make Mistakes

Mistakes are part of the process. You aren’t afraid of mistakes anymore. The studio is light and airy, easily handling the splatters of paint and glue dust, and pieces of fabric that have been scattered on the floor as the creative process unfolds.

2. Art Eases Your Tension

It’s not easy living an active, fulfilling, and healthy life. It is essential to take the time to do things for yourself. Recent research has demonstrated that 45 minutes of creative pursuits dramatically reduces the stress on your body, regardless of age or experience.

3. Art Classes Help Your Brain

Is the creative part of your brain getting enough nutrition? If your work requires a lot of analysis, then taking an art class will allow the left side of your brain to expand.

4. Art Classes Are Useful For Kids

Expression is a skill that helps improve fine motor abilities, hand-eye coordination, ability to solve problems, lateral thinking, and advanced analytical and critical thinking abilities. An effective art curriculum can also increase the ability to think critically and be innovative. Famous corporate executives frequently cite creativity as the most crucial management ability needed by the future generation.

5. Art Allows You To See The World Differently

The art of seeing requires you to contemplate things from a different angle and the mundane items we encounter in our daily lives. Making connections of color, shape, and form can cause the viewer to think differently.

6. Art Classes Unblocks Your Imagination

Voices in our heads can be harsh and may stop us from starting. It is about taking risks and making mistakes while remaining open to new options. Your social circle and the support from your friends and encouraging instructors can provide the push to take those first steps!

7. Art Classes Are Challenging

Discovering something new, taking an innovative approach, or discovering a unique situation is a great way to challenge yourself. With art you can learn new techniques that can benefit you and boost your confidence.

8. You Can Decorate Your Space By Yourself

It’s lots of fun to design something and create a unique artwork for your home. If you get compliments on your painting, inform them that you developed the artwork yourself!

9. Meet New People At Art Class

A class you attend with your friends can help you learn more about the people you’ve known for years and give you something to talk about next whenever you’re together. It also lets you meet fascinating new people. Art can aid in breaking down stereotypes about race and religion and break down barriers of class and prejudices. The opportunity to encounter different kinds of art draws people closer and bridges what they have in common.

10. Find Your Passion At Art Class

Are you attracted by the artwork made by kids at summer camp? Do you want to create something like that? Spend a few minutes of indulgence in an old pursuit and you may find the best way to rejuvenate your mind.

BOTTOM LINE

An art experience can be highly spiritual and yet also as basic as reading or writing. An increasing amount of evidence-based research indicates how important the inclusion of arts in the curriculum is in informing competent, well-rounded, and well-prepared people. Enjoying an art class may open your mind to other new experiences. Give it a try!

Author’s Bio: Rachel R. Hill is a professional academic writer at studycrumb. She specializes in creative writing and literature. Rachel always knows how to voice her own opinion in an easy and out-of-the-box way while keeping her sources up to date.

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HELPS IN BOOSTING CREATIVITY

The most important role played by art in education is the boost in creativity it provides to students. Who said you only need creative thinking if you’re an artist? Almost every job requires innovative, outside-the-box thinking and creativity. To get better at academics, learning, or even training, one needs to practice creative thinking. Art can motivate a student to be more comfortable in expressing creativity and exploring different ideas. It also helps students express themselves more clearly. Thinking creatively is the key to growth.

IMPROVES OVERALL ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

As we’ve mentioned before, art not only contributes to creativity in the artistic field, but also in other spheres of life. For a student, this mainly entails other subjects like science and math, languages, and more. The skills taught by practicing art regularly, like decision-making, communication, innovation, and creativity, can contribute to the way a person solves everyday problems in their lives. Artistic and creative students are known to have more well-rounded achievements in school that go on to benefit them later in life, compared to those that don’t practice art.

CONTRIBUTES TO PERSONAL GROWTH

Art can contribute to the personal growth of an individual. It provides students with a holistic way of seeing how the world works and understanding their place in it. Oftentimes, students who feel lonely and are not as extroverted as their peers find comfort in the world of art. It is a practice that gives students all-around growth and development, both personally and academically.

INCREASES CONFIDENCE AND MOTIVATION

Jackson Pollock, an American abstract expressionist painter, is known for his moving drip paintings. To paint some of his bigger canvases, he would suspend himself in the air and move his body freely to create abstract drips that created a bigger picture. His work is a great example of confidence in the art world. This example shows that one should not fear the creative process, and that many great things require confidence. Through art, students can learn that nothing is impossible, and they can achieve anything if they put their mind to it and believe in themselves.

ENHANCES VISUAL LEARNING

Visual spatial skills are necessary for children to develop from a young age. Children need to observe the world around them and grasp its vastness. A great way to do the same is to practice visual arts and learn different mediums like videography, photography, and graphic design. An education in art also guides young students in the right direction and helps them understand how they should see the world with their own eyes. Interpretation and perspective can be moulded through art. Those that practice art often develop visual spacial intelligence more successful than their peers.

ASSISTS WITH MOTOR SKILLS

Young children need to work on their motor skills to grow up to be healthy and well-functioning adults in society. Playing a musical instrument or regularly using colour pencils to draw or scribble can influence and assist with motor skill development from an early age. A child’s fine motor skills can be greatly improved on by practicing different art forms like visual arts and music.

IMPROVES FOCUS AND CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS

Focus is something that a lot of students struggle with. This is especially true for Gen-Z children who are exposed to smartphones and tablets from an early age and sometimes have short attention spans since they were toddlers. Persevering through creating art of any medium can greatly motivate a student to continue pursuing it, increasing the time they spend on it. This leads to a vast improvement in their attention span and helps them focus on non-art activities as well. Their brains get used to spending a certain amount of time without getting distracted, which helps them achieve more in a shorter time.

TEACHES LIFE SKILLS

Another very significant aspect of practicing art is the life skills that it provides students with. Many art forms require kids to work in a team, which makes them well-adjusted and collaborative. Working in teams also makes young children helpful and kind. Understanding responsibility by playing a role in a group can teach students the values of unity and harmony. Art also helps children understand accountability from a very young age, which keeps them to be more disciplined.

GRAB A BRUSH!

It is evident that art is a great way to discipline, inspire, and guide young minds to be more self-aware, creative, forward-thinking, and individual. Education should incorporate art in its various forms from an early age, as young students benefit from practicing art in many ways. Hopefully our article helped you understand the importance of art in education and showed you how students benefit from being enveloped in creative processes.

Author’s Bio: Barbara is an art teacher, columnist, and a contributor to LetsGradeIt and other student aid platforms who has worked with students for two decades. She writes pieces about the positive contribution of art in education and hopes to help the youth see how they can start a career for art students. Barbara is also a prolific painter and makes clay sculptures during her free time.

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WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ART HISTORY?

History tends to repeat itself. So, why study art history when you can pursue other options? If we look at the discipline from a career perspective, we see that it serves fundamental purposes.

UNDERSTANDING CULTURES

Visual art tells stories about our past and gives an account of past events. Art history allows us to see back and learn how civilization has changed over time. It helps us to understand ourselves better. What is it that makes certain values so important? What has shaped our thinking and how do we see the world?

CRITICAL THINKING IS ESSENTIAL

It is not about learning dates, artist names, movements, etc. when you study art history. It is about analyzing paintings, photographs, and sculptures. You must support your analysis with convincing and rational arguments. This will help you develop your critical thinking.

Art history books tend to focus on one particular area, set of artists and style of art. This is usually Western fine art made by men. This is a narrow and exclusionary approach that ignores other people groups. It also omits creative expressions. That is why it’s important to know how to select the right books.

HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT ART HISTORY BOOKS

A textbook is a good place to start if you are new to art history. This is an academic approach that will provide a basic overview of major art movements and styles. New textbooks can be expensive. You can opt for PDFs online that are free or used copies at Amazon if you choose to go this route.

It will be easier to find what interests you and learn more about art history once you have a good understanding of it. This could be a particular style, artist, period, or other aspect of art history.

JANSON’S HISTORY OF ART (9TH EDITION). BY PENELOPE J.E. DAVIES ET. AL.

Janson’s History of Art is the most popular book for students of art for the past 60 years. It was first published in 1962 and provides a comprehensive overview of art history, from the Gothic period through modern times. The ninth edition, which is the most recent, has expanded its coverage. Previous editions had a tendency to neglect female artists and minorities. It also includes other art forms, such as architecture or photography.

THE STORY OF ART BY E.H. GOMBRICH

Gombrich begins the book by saying, “There is no such thing art. There are only artists.” This is the opening line of the book, as Gombrich focuses on the individual artists and their works. The editorial staff at Art in America recommends it highly and it has been a national bestseller for over 40 years.

It is written in simple language that makes it accessible to readers of all backgrounds and ages. Although the content does touch on tribal art, it focuses more on Western male artists. 

AFRICAN-AMERICAN ART BY SHARON F. PATTON

The diversity of art and its creators is a hallmark of the human condition. Sharon F. Patton’s 1998 classic, African-American Art is a showcase of the many art styles found in America’s black community during the 18th through 20th centuries. It discusses the architectural styles of enslaved persons, the folk- and decorative arts of 19th century America, and how they were influenced by major events such as the Civil War.

Patton moves into the 20th Century and examines the intersection between politics and the aesthetics of African-American art.

WOMEN, ART, AND SOCIETY BY WHITNEY CHADWICK

Chadwick’s book challenges long-held beliefs that great women artists only are great because they are the “exception to the rule.” It was originally published in 1996 and has since been a source of light on previously unknown female artists and their work. The women studied span the Middle Ages through modern times and include notable names such as:

• Wangechi Mutu
• Pae White
• Yael Bartana
• Jenny Saville

Chadwick does more than just highlight these women. She also reexamines their work from a feminist perspective. Chadwick’s critique focuses on how women in art have been historically marginalized.

100 YEARS 100 ARTWORKS BY AGNES BERECZ

Although it may be the most recent book on our shelves, that doesn’t necessarily mean it is only contemporary. Berecz examines the greatest works of the last century in 100 Years. Her survey starts in 1919 with Marcel Duchamp’s playful L.H.O.O.Q.

100 Years includes works from all over the globe, in different styles. This makes it even more fascinating. 

CONCLUSION

Academia has historically excluded contributions made by women, minorities and non-Western actors throughout history. When it comes to their contributions in art, these groups have been overlooked. Authors are now displaying artists from different backgrounds in their books. You will gain a greater understanding of art over the years by reading widely.

Author’s bio: Irene Mitchell is a member of the Editorial Team at Educator’s Stream, a professional learning community. Mitchell is an educational freelance writer, who is experienced in writing for students, parents, and the ones asking to do my homework for me. Also passionate about writing and sharing her knowledge through blogging.

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By Samuel Frandino

Many years ago, I worked for a theatrical scene shop that was engaged in a variety of projects at a new Universal Studios theme park. One project involved having artists “age” the exteriors of buildings to fit whatever milieu a scene required. The painters at the shop achieved this effect by using the specialized art of scene painting. As I walked along one themed street, I watched a talented painter create rust stains that appeared to have been there for years, but had been placed there only an hour before. He would paint an area and then stand back several feet to look at what he had just done before going back to the wall to paint. After repeating this sequence a few times, a supervisor told him to speed things up because there was a lot of area to cover. There was a brief discussion about art and process that ended with the supervisor telling him that this wasn’t his home studio: This was art for money, we give the client what they want, when they want it, and we don’t go broke doing it.

Neither that scenic artist nor his supervisor started out with a vision of art as a money-maker. Young children make art just for fun, so from the start their first art teacher is coming into the game in the second quarter. That student has an expectation of what “art” is going to be like, and it is a positive expectation that doesn’t involve factual content or vocabulary. If you were an elementary school art teacher looking into those eager faces, would you want to be the person who makes a child hate art by asking them to prove their learning in some sort of assessment? Probably not. In the absence of some higher power forcing you to perform such an atrocity, you substitute factual content with something else. You open the doors to creativity with performance tasks in various media and techniques.

That scenic artist had made the transition from wide-eyed excited child praised for his creativity to artist in the service of capitalism. And I bet he was happy to be there, as I bet you’re happy to be working in the arts, too, probably looking to get in deeper. But there was a lot to learn in order to get from wide-eyed child to employed artist cashing a check from the client, company, or gallery: facts about materials, techniques, and tools, not to mention contracts, taxes, and bookkeeping.

Students who dream of becoming working artists, and the rest who live in a culture increasingly bombarded with imagery, must develop a visual literacy, the holy grail of art education. Visual literacy provides students with the ability to express their thoughts and emotions and to understand the expressions of others.

If you ask children what they think of a painting, you’ll probably get simple value judgments. “It’s good.” “I like it.” “I don’t like it.” They require a special vocabulary to express why they feel a certain way. With knowledge of the elements and principles of art, children are able to identify the artist’s technique and have the words to express what they see and why the art creates those feelings.

Visual literacy provides a connection between vocational art education and creative expression, as well as the tools necessary to understand the subtle messages and manipulations around us. It allows a 16-year-old art student who is desperate to communicate a sense of isolation and sadness to go beyond the stereotypical symbols that are so common in many artists’ early work. In a more commercial application, visual literacy enables fast-food restaurants to stimulate their customers’ appetites and increase turnover rate by adopting a yellow and red color scheme. Conversely, the decor of an upscale restaurant in Manhattan with a prix fixe menu is likely to be considerably more muted; the last thing they want is for you to feel rushed or still be hungry after dropping $1,000 in a single evening.

To effectively express yourself, or to collaborate with others, you have to learn the content of art. In most school districts, the delivery of that content is very similar. Young art students are encouraged to be creative in an age-appropriate range of media, and even if they are all following the same instructions leading to similar outcomes, at some point they are encouraged to make personal choices. They will do performance tasks like mixing colors, but unless testing of concepts is mandatory, the art teacher clings to the hope that the students are learning, or at least able to remember how they ended up with the color green they used in a particular project.

As the students grow, so does the range of projects they work on and the media they use. In high school they can start to take art classes in specialized subjects, like drawing, painting, crafts, ceramics, digital art, graphic design, and photography. In a fully functioning art program, a few students will take coursework in preparation for art education beyond high school. Although this K-12 curriculum has long served educators well in the past, it is incomplete and increasingly inadequate for producing students who understand imagery and the way it’s used to manipulate personal and public decisions.

Educators must introduce students to the ubiquitous use of imagery beyond the students’ personal conceptions of what art is. Generations of humans have believed in their science textbooks’ simplistic representations of atoms, waves of energy, and the solar system. These images do not reflect reality, however; they are visual analogies and metaphors that fit on the page. Musical notes and even the letters of the alphabet are images to which we assign sounds and combine to make melodies and words that in turn communicate thoughts and emotions. The use of imagery as a representation of some concept too large for us to imagine—deconstructed and abstracted to fit what we can understand—is an important part of visual literacy, though it does not fall into the accepted paradigm of art.

Although it may not lead directly to personal expression or occupational skills, a visual-literacy curriculum reveals to students how the presentation of ideas through images affects their perception of the world. These images often define their understanding of concepts or social issues for the rest of their lives.

This idea might seem like a lot to add to what many art teachers think of as too little time to begin with, and it is a diversion from spending time in the traditional pursuits of art education. Some students already don’t like art, or art class, even without this added component.

A very smart seventh grader once told me that art was his most difficult class. In every other class, the teachers told him what to do and how to do it. Math was learned processes, and social studies was facts and dates. The answers in those classes were either right or wrong. In art class, however, he felt lost without explicit instructions and black-and-white answers.

How do students approach the question: What makes a bowl “art” instead of just a bowl? Considering this type of question tends to give students pause. Ask them whether an ugly bowl is artwork, and the students have to ponder what “ugly” means and what “art” means. It may be the first time they’ve confronted an interpretive question. In their increasingly diverse culture, they will confront issues for which the answers are unclear. A comprehensive education in art can help them begin to tackle these situations.

The problem with much of the discussion about art education is that it is highly subjective. The simple fact that every person is required to attend school means that everyone has their own personal experience from which they construct an opinion. As a middle school and high school art teacher, I’ve met hundreds of parents at open houses, and I am often struck by how many of them fondly remember their own art classes, even decades after graduating from high school. Many remember their art
teachers as trusted confidants, and some talk about the hours they spent in the art room after school or when they should have been in other classes. I want to ask these parents whether they learned anything about art in their classes, but I don’t want to ruin the magic of the moment. I bet that one in 100 knows the basic elements and principles of art, and that estimation is generous.

We can’t continue to model curricula after our nostalgic personal experiences or to offer art education only to those who intend to find employment in the field. Everyone, especially a child growing up today, needs to understand the nature and the power of imagery. In today’s world, images are unavoidable, and they manipulate our selection in everything from products to presidents. The business of art is everyone’s business, not just the business of those who are cashing checks.

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By Meredith Quinn

Art is often one of the first programs on the chopping block for many public school districts. But four-year high school art teacher Melanie Blood reveals that the skills students acquire while talking about their own art and critiquing the work of their peers are among the most helpful and fundamental elements students learn in any classroom.

While a student at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt), Blood found her niche in ceramics and mixed media, incorporating materials that others may view as less than beautiful, such as assorted fibers, pieces of cast-off wood, and broken fences. Though she loved showcasing her work, Blood felt unfulfilled and, on a whim, applied to Tufts University, which offers an intensive social justice and art education graduate program in partnership with the School of The Museum of Fine Arts. After the program opened her eyes to different cultures that she had no exposure to at her all-white high school in a small town, Blood decided to pay it forward and devote her career to art education while continuing her own artistic endeavors.

As an art educator at Brockton High School, 30 minutes south of Boston, Blood has found that, as much as her students look up to her for inspiration and mentorship, their stories and spirit inspire her art as well.

Blood recently talked to Art Business News about the role of art in childhood development, the balance she strikes between personal and professional creativity, and how learning art can turn out to be just as practical as learning math.

ART BUSINESS NEWS: Tell me a little about your personal art and inspiration.

MELANIE BLOOD: I started out in college doing primarily ceramics, and, as it developed, I started messing around with firing other materials in a kiln and seeing what would happen. Once I left school, I didn’t have access to kilns, so now I’m doing more unfired clay and working with materials that you wouldn’t necessarily put together.
ABN: Why did you decide to pursue teaching?

MB: In high school, I was going through tough times, and I had an art teacher who inspired me and worked with me nonstop. I wanted to be that person for someone else. In college, opportunities came up to [exhibit my art] here and there, and I loved it, and I loved making work, but I felt like something was missing. I felt like it was almost selfish. I don’t mean that artists are selfish. I mean that, for me, it wasn’t fulfilling enough to just put my work out there. I wanted to be able to inspire kids to do the same thing. When I started learning about education—who it targets and who is being repressed and not considered when talking about curriculum, I knew I wanted to teach in a city. I wanted the challenge of working with kids that don’t have everything super easy and that need someone to motivate them.

ABN: What’s the best thing about being an art teacher?

MB: Knowing that you’re making a huge difference in kids’ lives. It’s not always easy, but then you realize: Even if it’s one kid who wants to come to school just to do art, that’s the most rewarding thing.

ABN: Do your students inspire your art?

MB: Yeah, for sure. I feel like I’m a guidance counselor, a teacher, a parent, a friend. I have a lot of different roles, because the kids don’t have a lot of resources. Some of them have strong family bonds, and some are going through the worst things you could possibly think of. You build relationships and work with them one-on-one, and you realize [these things are] coming out in their art. Those relationships I build with them, the struggles that I face in talking to them, the challenges of trying to be that mentor and trying to help them put that into their art is what my work is about now. It has shifted from being about family connections to connections between me and my students and connections that I see between them and in their community. You can have very, very strong kids, but you don’t really understand what’s going on in their lives and see that they’re really these fragile kids that have to maintain this structure but are also on the verge of falling apart. It’s interesting [to see] how resilient they are in trying to overcome different boundaries and hardships.

So my work has become strong, geometric shapes but also things that are very fragile, showing that dichotomy of strength and weakness and allowing the viewer to make that decision and that connection. My last piece was in the MassArt show, and, on the way home, it completely fell apart. That’s part of the process. It just exists for a little while. Now I have these fragments. How can I put them back together to make the next piece? That’s where I want to go with my work—taking fragments and creating something beautiful with them. I’ve [also] saved some fragments of some kids’ work, and I’ll try to use some of those within my work.

ABN: What do you say to those people who think that art is not essential in school?

MB: In this day and age, when people are being taught in a way that teaches to take a test, you [only] need to be able to regurgitate information, whereas in art and in music and especially in visual arts, you’re being critical of other students’ work. You’re talking about your work. You need to defend why you’re making things. My kids ask, “Why are we in ceramics? Why does this even matter?” I tell them, “What do we do every day? We look at things; we solve problems. How is this any different from math?” I give my kids prompts [and ask], “How are you going to tackle it?” Don’t you have to think about it in a critical and creative way? That’s what I have my kids do. They explain why they are making this [piece], why it is important, what inspired it. They have to look at other kids’ art and say what they think. Art helps kids think. Kids who don’t connect to math and science have art, and that’s what keeps them going. Maybe that inspires them to do better in other classes or come to school in general.

ABN: Can art change a child’s life?

MB: We have a lot of kids that would be lost if they didn’t have art in their lives. Kids that are struggling with family issues, are gay or transgender, or are dealing with culture shock are able to express that in their art. It’s so important because, in math or science, you don’t have that outlet. There’s a lot of violence in the city, and if they have something they connect to—whether it’s sports or drama or art—then it actually is saving their lives. Sometimes I feel like they would stay in my room until 7 at night if they could.

ABN: Tell me more about your students’ involvement in the Attleboro Arts Museum’s High Art show.

MB: Last year was the first year that we did it, [and] the theme was tape art. The kids had trouble coming up with something in common, and [then] they started talking about the Brockton Fair, which is something important in their city that they all remember. So they did this interactive installation—tickets flowing, popcorn, an elephant trunk, balloons hanging from the ceiling—all out of colored duct tape. They wanted people to have this feeling of childhood. We went into it thinking we’d just do it for fun, but we ended up placing third.

This year’s theme was text as imagery. We were talking about all of these big topics, but they said, “We don’t want to do something that’s so serious. We’re a community and we get along.” They started talking about fairy tales, and how the imagery tells a story on its own. They [created] a dragon crawling up a mountain and made a book out of wood and other papers. They wanted people to look at it and make up their own stories.

ABN: Is being an art teacher what you thought it would be?

MB: I can’t think of a better job than being in a school, inspiring kids, making work that is so meaningful to them and powerful in so many ways. I remember being in high school, going through tough times and wanting to do nothing but art all day long. A lot of these kids have so much on their plates, and that’s what they want to do. They want to come in, and they want to make art. We have kids who don’t necessarily do well in other classes and have told me, “If it weren’t for your class, I wouldn’t come to school.” So, I’m doing the right thing.

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