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Why is visual literacy discouraged in most cultures & WHAT CAN WE DO to change that?
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Visual literacy, if described as the ability to communicate via doodling, drawing, and sketching or described as the ability to display complex information in visual language formats, is often a literacy missing in adults despite it being a universal and natural inclination in children. Why does it disappear? And more importantly, what can we do to alter this course?
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Loretta Lopez
Also, there are styles of learning, of which doodling is a part. Many children 'learn' through this activity and when it isn't exercised, the child can find learning difficult. When my one of my children had to go to an Alternative School (a polite term for a campus where the school district puts 'last ditch effort' students), I witnessed an incredible out pour of visual arts talent from these students, from tribal art to digital to 'tagging' art!! Breathtaking and beautiful works of art was done by these students who didn't fit into the mainstream.
I also remember a beautiful little 3rd grade girl, long blonde hair and impish smile, who had to hum to herself and often get behind her chair to spin or do a little dance and sitting down again, during workbook time. This was her way of 'working through' a new concept or a problem being presented in the workbook. She was an excellent student all-round, but the teacher recognized this learning style and rarely interrupted the student's process.
I know my last comment was off subject, but it was such a blatant example to me of how learning styles, like visual learners, get so ignored so that our education system can remain unchanged and 'mainstream'.
Sunni Brown 100+
Matt Chea
La Sculpteure
eleanor moloney
giulia Earle-Richardson
Mixing up visual thinking with making art objects (regardless of whether it's a high priced museum piece or macaroni glued to a paper plate) is like thinking that the only reason anyone should learn to read is so they can write a romance novel.
Kristofer Schmolze
Multiple intelligences embrace eight different ways people have strengths in learning. It's been explored and researched at the university level and found to be real. An ocean of intelligence is wholly ignored to try and shape minds to float in only the main stream. I can envision a variety of sea ferrying ships strewn along the sides of a river bank like and ocean had dried up. Only a small stream remains with a few people in kayaks and canoes paddling about. So few win in this scenario even though everyone could have participated and succeeded in their own way.
Even if every congress person strives to be president there can only be one at a time. There is no way each of them could ever be president in their lifetime. Fifty seats are in the senate and there have been forty-four presidents so far in over two hundred years. If the mainstream focus is so narrow, what do the rest of us do with our lives?
Building on peoples strengths is essential for personal fulfillment. The variety is our power as people. With several billion of us here, pursuing our individual strengths is valuable. The depth and breadth can reach even further than ever before. The pursuit of big ideas, which has been at the forefront of art education for over a decade, will hopefully develop into a cohesive way to teach, learn, and explore all subjects in school.