Visual Art and its Relevance in Education System

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life”

                                                               – Pablo Picasso

While the world is running behind to develop a fully digitalized, technologically innovative world, there is an important fact which has been left out. It is art. Being an artist or studying art involves creativity, critical thinking, aesthetics, and several other factors. Unlike science and mathematics, art also requires regular practice and systematic follow-ups. Art education is indeed an exquisite part of education. And guiding the students with adequate art education is a relevant topic. Consulting the opinions of talented artists motivates and paves a way of guidance for enthusiastic students. Their opinions also focus on the importance of art education. 

“Dancing improves brain functions and coordination”

                                                                                                               -Renjini Kunju

Renjini Kunju, the founder of Kshetra Dance school, in conversation with Education Today, shares some advantages of practicing dance as an extracurricular activity. The very first advantage she tells is that on a normal schedule in school, where students are bounded by the four walls of a classroom, there happens to be only limited physical activity. Considering this fact, practicing dance could be helpful. Even parents also prefer dancing as a relaxation activity for children. As per the contemporary lifestyle, children develop the habit of eating junk foods but skipping workouts and exercises. They could not be controlled or curfewed at their tender age. Thus, this issue can be resolved by practicing simple dance routines.  

Parents, encouraging students to dance to their favorite songs can cheer them up. Practicing these types of dance activities for an hour can ease their stress from studies. Adults can also relieve themselves from their work by practicing dance. Dance for most people is their favorite kind of physical activity. Renjini, moreover mentions some benefits related to the brain which we could get by dancing. Somehow, dance is connected to mathematics. Dancing improves brain functions and coordination. Counting while practicing the steps, the coordination between arms and feet helps in improving the coordination of the brain. Learning any form of dance in depth increases brain activity. Learning mudras, or practicing them along with foot movement makes the brain active. Dancing can be considered as brain work. Dance helps in reducing stress and developing new neural connections. 

As the founder of Kshetra Dance school, which is distinctly active in providing online dance classes, Renjini concludes by saying about dance classes in this time of the pandemic. Taking the current situation into consideration, there got only one option to provide dance classes for students which is the online class. Interested students can now easily access any online class for learning dance. They could practice dance weekly or daily at home itself. Even though there are difficulties concerning online classes, it is still an alternative. Dancing indeed is a relaxation activity for students who are busy with the hustle.

“Age is not a barrier for art”

                                                                                      – Kartika Vaidyanathan

Karthika Vaidyanathan, a very talented musician, tells about her views on practicing music as an extracurricular activity. She was born to parents who were musicians by profession, she had indigenous exposure to music. First of all, she says that music is an extracurricular activity for students. It is also her desire too, that music should be given established importance. There is both professional and personal exposure to music. Specifically, music must be part of everyone’s life. Music is therapeutic and relaxing. Students tend to drop their extracurricular but not academics. Extracurricular activities like practicing music should thus be given much more attention. Music and every other activity related to art are important. Mrs. Karthika Vaidyanathan secondly talks about some things to keep in mind for students who aspire to become musicians. She says that if one wants to be successful in this field, then they must give appropriate time, dedication, and effort to music. Music should be on the priority list of those who are passionate about it. Scheduling time for practice and regular follow-ups are required. If there exists a genuine effort in this, then there would be better results also. It is evident from the success journey of Mrs.Karthika Vaidyanathan that the training and practice she did since childhood made her achievable. She put all her efforts into music and it made all the difference. Considering the present situation, the pandemic has made many people learn music and other activities to keep them engaged. Moreover, the music itself is therapeutic.

Compiled By

Sapna Raj   Jr.Journalist