How can various art forms (like paintings, sculpture, stained glass windows, songs) teach in ways that written literature can’t?
Do you see any areas in 21st century life where art forms that aren’t written are serving educational purposes?
HELPFUL HINTS: these questions are geared towards the audience for these art forms. We are not thinking about how the making of these arts teach the makers, but instead, we are thinking about how the art itself teaches the audience for these art forms. Put another way, we can learn much by making art, but that is not the direction of the questions. The direction is, what does the viewer learn by viewing, or listening to the art?
During the Middle Ages, the majority of people were illiterate, meaning they did not know how to read or write. Therefore, learning had to occur using visual and auditory means. I’m sure you have heard, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Perhaps thinking about why that might be true will help you this week. You could also think about the largest illiterate population we have today, pre-school children. How do we use visual and auditory means to educate them? Another way to approach this question, is to think about not knowing the language within the country you live. Have you ever had to communicate or teach someone that does not know how to read or write English?
