The Struggle with Traditional Learning
Growing up in a rather conservative educational environment, I never understood the point of having to memorize what mostly felt like kilometric data none of the kids could relate to whatsoever. It was not only the subjects that were compartmentalized but we, as the little learning machines that we were, were ourselves carved out of day-to-day life and plunged into the separate austere world of uneventful information. On top of that not-so-dramatic dramatically phrased reality, the whole shebang didn’t really feel so much like learning but more like a demanding chore whose final product always resulted in a ‘definitive’ label. You were either a good or a bad student depending on how well you could memorize a bunch of facts no one was explaining the relevance of. You simply had to because you had to, and there was that.
Discovering Visual Learning…Fun Times
This is where visual learning techniques really came into the rescue for me. As a curious kid with a very active mind, I needed to consistently feel stimulated in order to stay engaged in something—something that the 12-page-long treatise my history teacher asked me to memorize failed to achieve. As a result, I turned to alternative learning methods: a little bit of colour here, some shape or sound associations there and the most fun of all, personifying words or phrases that otherwise refused to stick to my stubborn brain! Slippery little suckers… Pretty Woman references aside, visual learning methods genuinely improved not only my academic record but, most importantly, my relationship to both studying and my own creativity. They helped me connect what I was studying to the reality I was experiencing at the time, giving life to otherwise bleak chunks of information.
The Overlooked Role of Art in Education
Getting back to that earlier note on creativity, I cannot help but recount yet another aspect where I wish school in general would have paid more attention to—that is, any visual art education or endeavour. I don’t mean to tell you that my need as a kid to fill up a conservative educational system’s gaps formed the basis of some tormented artist origin story. But I will say that it would have been nice to develop an interest in artistic practice thanks to, not in spite of the available academic environment I was part of. Yet most school officials operate at a one-dimensional level of academic pursuit, where math is math and art is art, and they have no business complementing each other. One is practical, the other is mere ‘fun’. As if I remember what a logarithm is, or care…But let us allegedly strike their fancy and get to [insert British accent] proper facts!
The Science Behind Creativity and Learning
Research shows [intellectually twisting my imaginary moustache] that engaging in visual art enhances problem-solving and critical thinking skills by encouraging experimentation, risk-taking, and the ability to view situations from multiple perspectives. Exposure to different artistic styles and cultural traditions broadens children’s worldview and fosters an appreciation for diversity. Art education is said to strengthen focus, patience, and perseverance—qualities that benefit children academically and socially. Additionally, studies show that children involved in the arts tend to perform better in subjects like math and reading, as creative thinking supports overall intellectual growth. Now, setting aside the advertisement tone of this last paragraph, I really do believe that ultimately, artistic and visual education is not just about studying art. It is about shaping well-rounded, imaginative, and emotionally intelligent individuals who can think critically and engage with the world in meaningful ways—something I wish I also had help with growing up.
And that’s a fact.
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