A wonderful reflective poem from Wendell Berry entitled "How to be a poet" is a fantastic foundation for an art curriculum. The last of three stanzas reads as follows:
Accept what comes from silence.
Make the best you can of it.
Of the little words that come
out of the silence, like prayers
prayed back to the one who prays,
make a poem that does not disturb
the silence from which it came.
He was passionate about the idea that art in schools is for the growth and development of children, not about the end product. "Drawing makes the mind", he would say. Froebel, the inventor of kindergarten, is the father of art education in schools. Give kids gifts (art supplies), and occupations (assignments), and watch them grow! Fare well Dr. Baker.
