How
can the visual arts be used to help the students in our classes?
Can art be therapeutic? Could it help to heal the emotional
scars some of our children have received from abuse and
neglect?
During the 2006-07 school year, HFM BOCES itinerant art
teacher Autumn Eve Slawienski-Tracki had the opportunity to
take a look at the field of art therapy, through studying
the work of Cathy Malchiodi, to see if she could discover
answers to those questions.
Here’s what she found: I
uncovered a treasure chest of ideas that can be used in
traditional classrooms, self-contained classrooms and even in
counseling sessions. I believe that we could use some of these
ideas in a regular classroom setting and effectively teach the
students how to direct themselves through difficult times,
without them knowing that they are being advised.
I figure that if they are taught that art can make them feel
better at any time, they may choose to use it as a means of
release before using physical violence or coarse language. Here
are some tips that may inspire and support you in our common
goal to educate our students not only about the common subject
areas, but also about life.
1. The simplest idea that I found was
redirecting students to draw a picture of something to calm
them down when we notice that they are having a tough time.
This may be more helpful sometimes than inviting them to go
to time out or sending them to the office. (This would also
be more appropriate behavior for coping when they all
finally leave us and head out into the workforce.)
2. Another helpful pointer for this
day and age is to have ADHD students draw within a circular
format, as it helps to “channel…physical energies” and
“benefit from some structure.”
3. Other suggestions that Malchiodi
has for classrooms is having art materials out and inviting,
surfaces that are always available for creating, plenty of
natural light (if possible, I know some rooms are in very
difficult areas of the school), fresh air, aesthetic objects
(like plants, posters, etc.) music for relaxation (60-70
beats per minute) and most importantly “privacy, respect,
safety, non-judgmental, unconditionally acceptable”
atmospheres.
4. We should be able to guide
students to the types of materials that will be most
effective for their personalities. For students who have
“emotional or hyperactive” issues it is more beneficial for
them to use pencils, markers, collage and other “controlled,
less fluid materials” as they give “more structured
experience and reduce their anxiety or energy level to a
calmer state.” Collage is also very helpful to those who
feel intimidated by painting and drawing, as it is
simplified and it often looks very pleasing upon completion.
On the other hand, children of abuse and neglect benefit
from materials that are “more fluid, watery and powdery”
like clay, paint and pastels, as they help the children to
“loosen up, play and freely express themselves.”
To finish, I found a few activities that
Cathy Malchiodi uses in her art therapy practice. Some of
them sound very fun to try in our programs:
Playing With Shapes
Ink and String
Scribbles
Self-Soothing
Image Book
Visual
Journals
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