Express yourself

How can we make our students comfortable enough to want to share their art work?

The article Art and Self Expression for Children with Special Needs by Pamela Wilson talks about the importance of incorporating art into each students' lives as a form of self expression. I agree with Wilson that there are always some safety issues with art supplies and working with different processes that one should be aware of as a teacher so that one can adequately plan and provide close supervision of all students. But I think it is also important to give students their personal space since creating art can become a refuge from expectations and evaluations from adults as well as peers, since art does not cater to only one specific taste and audience.

Wilson talks about how working on art in groups can build a sense of community in the classroom when students respect and accept every peer as an artist. I think this is crucial because it is really important to create a community and a safe space within the classroom where students feel comfortable to be themselves. Art helps to do this because each student can express themselves as well as learning to work together in a group. Art can also be used as an alternate mean of communication for children with language and speech disorders as well as students who cannot find the right words to describe their feelings. I think this is important because it gives every student a chance to communicate how they feel, no matter how good their speech, writing, or language is. This allows each student to have a fair chance to express themselves in the best way the know how.