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The Arts Can Make a Difference
December 2, 2013
When you parent, it’s crucial you realize you aren’t raising a ‘mini me’ but a spirit throbbing with its own signature.
-Dr. Shefali Tsabary

A "new Michigan State University study, reported in Science Daily, linked  the participation in arts and crafts activities during ages 0 - 14 to patents generated and businesses launched as adults.  The team of multidisciplinary researchers studied a group of MSU Honors College graduates from 1990 to 1995 who majored in science, technology, engineering or mathematics, or STEM.  They found of that group, those who own businesses or patents received up to eight times more exposure to the arts as children than the general public.

Musical training seems to be important.  The researchers found 93 percent of the STEM graduates reported musical training at some point in their lives, as compared to only 34 percent of average adults, as reported by the National Endowment for the Arts.  The STEM graduates also reported higher-than-average involvement in the visual arts, acting, dance, and creative writing.

In explaining these results, the researchers posited that such activity fosters out-of-the-box thinking.  In fact, the group reported using artistic skills — such as analogies, playing, intuition, and imagination — to solve complex problems.





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Comments (2)

Displaying All 2 Comments
Francis Wardle · December 02, 2013
CSBC
Denver, United States


To quote my friend Homer Simpson, "No duh"! Einstein was a vigorous supporter of creativity (he dropped out of school that didn't provide it); the new brain research has shown that if we want adults to be creative, out-of-the-box thinkers, we must provide open-ended play and creative activities when children are young. However, all the state-based early childhood guidelines and standards are ignoring this important information.

Peter Gebhardt · December 02, 2013
Self-employed consultant
Dallas, Tax, United States


In our kindergarten class, the children made the classroom rules, danced, sang, made art, cleaned the room, made their own snacks, served themselves, read their choice of books, along with mine, wrote their own stories, individually and collectively, and...we spent much time outdoors, picking up trash off school property, planted our garden. We used conflict Resolution, so there was no time-outs, just problem-solving. And there always was at least 45 minutes of work time/playtime per day! And their art covered the classroom walls. They put their own work up. It's all about giving children ownership of their own learning. I considered myself the learning facilitator!



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