Art for the “Whole Child”

Abstract

Abstract This chapter describes the progressive education movement as a reaction against the mind-numbing rote learning of traditional education. John Dewey was the founder of progressive education in the United States, but progressive education had European roots in the writings of Rousseau, Pestalozzi, and Froebel. Progressive education was based on three fundamental principles: Education must not corrupt the natural development of the child; education should be child-centered; and children learn best through play and hand-on-learning. An understanding of progressive education philosophy sets the stage for understanding the turn toward progressive art education, which also had its roots in Europe in the writings of Franz Cižek and Herbert Read. The progressive art education movement in the United States, led by Viktor Lowenfeld, Victor D’Amico, Henry Schaeffer-Simmern, and Rudolf Arnheim, overthrew the 19th-century approach. The new art education of the 20th century focused on expression (as a means to the child’s emotional growth), meaning, exploration, experimentation, and visual thinking, with the child seen as a budding artist. Copying and formulaic approaches were rejected in favor of nurturing and encouraging creative thinking. For progressive art educators, art was seen not as a body of knowledge but, rather, as a developmental activity.