The Teaching of Art to Children of Limited Intelligence
A FEW HINTS TO TEACHERS. :Author: Agnes Goodwin.
Of course they can draw and paint. Better, very frequently, than some of their more wide-awake brothers and sisters. Begin to train them at an early age, with love and real understanding and, if possible, with enthusiasm, and you will give them a new language far more adapted to their mental outlook than mere words. So much of our teaching tends to drown the child in a continuous flow of talk. We explain and demonstrate far too much?the children, in sheer self- defence, only listen half the time. ” Heureusement, ou ils seraient morts,” a French Inspector remarked.
The value of individual research and personal experiment in every subject is nowadays understood by most teachers. Drawing is the most direct and best means of expressing such adventures into the unknown, showing most clearly the child’s reaction to its environment.
The old, systematic way of teaching drawing has proved unsuited, because too slow, for these newer methods. Children were expected to attain a high standard of technical skill, before being permitted to attempt any pictorial repres- entation at all. It was considered almost an impertinence to ask to be allowed to draw a face or paint a flower. Picture-making was considered out of the question, except for the art student after several years of preparatory study. But when the precious early years have been thus spent, the child had either taken a dislike to the drawing lessons, or had got beyond the age of swift unsophisticated state- ments in line and colour. He had become self-conscious and critical and too much like the centipede who stopped to think? and could no longer walk. The rest of the time was spent in making copies of other people’s work, no thought was needed for this, no spirit of adventure, all originality was severely discour- aged. No wonder that heads of schools grudged the time spent in such unpro- ductive study, and though secretly they still hoped for some elevating and refining effect from these drawing lessons, yet they could not see how hard outline rendering of chairs and tables, patterns and ornament, could possibly bring it about. The queer thing was that the most backward children so often were good at drawing, at any rate for a time. In fact a ” special ” drawing class was frequently full of such failures in other subjects. The child’s interest and result- ing self-expression can vary greatly, because ” expression cannot exist without character as its stamina.” The child who is able to record his impressions by means of pictures may have great difficulties with words, or he may be unable to grasp figures and numbers, concentrating all his observation and pleasure on the rhythmic expression that music, dancing and drawing afford.
It is, of course, not intended to condemn tidy and accurate drawing. We merely want to reverse the order of procedure and let technical skill develop naturally and slowly, while encouraging a very wide and untrammelled choice of subject and object, however crudely rendered. It is too much like waiting for perfect handwriting before allowing the pupil to write his first essay. Yet the teacher must be able to read the essay, however badly written. Can we always read a child’s drawings ? There is so often too grown-up and realistic a standard of judging these first steps, and sometimes, disconcertingly, one who knows comes along and goes into raptures over a drawing that had been set aside as a failure.
It is looked upon as a particularly meritorious achievement to give drawing- lessons without having studied the subject or possessing any executive skill in it. The average untrained adult would fail to pass an elementary drawing test, though his understanding and appreciation may go very far. The fault is not his. Had he been allowed to drop reading or writing at school, as he did drawing, the result would be just as disastrous in later life.
The first definite drawings of the young person show a sort of rough circle within which a few features, eyes, mouth, perhaps a nose, are scattered. Two long protuberances downward, like shoots of a potato, represent legs, and father is complete, or it may be mother or nurse, or all three in turn. Arms can be added sideways from the sphere. Soon a second circle appears below the first and the arms and legs are stuck into this and no longer into the head. Hair begins to show on the head and buttons decorate the front of the body, for who can go for a walk till those tiresome difficult things are fastened and the hair has been brushed and pulled. Vivid impressions these, clearly expressed. Presently a definite change sets in, usually at the age of 5 or 6, but varying according to the general development, both mental and physical. The head turns to the left or right, the nose is in profile, while the eye is still front view, the feet also turn sideways, coming from a body which faces the spectator. In fact the whole thing- is very much like an Egyptian hieroglyphic. This discovery of the profile, pro- vided it comes spontaneously and unaided, can always be taken as a sure sign of mental growth and marks a definite stage. The study of primitive art in pictures, mosaics, designs on carpets and tapestries is of the greatest help in under- standing the working of the child’s mind. His own artistic development is a whole history of Art in miniature, passing through the same stages from sym abstractions and simplicity to realism and close observation of nature, Ihe mediaeval miniaturist who lets his saint point an enormous ore nger o heaven, was well aware of the correct proportions, but discarded them for the sake of emphasis, giving the “historical fact in its poetical vigour. le esigner of carpets lays out his pattern to fill his space, no mattei if anima s, owers an trees stand upright or upside-down. The child drawing a farm yard easily puts the buildings round the four sides, flat and without perspective, the lowest house standing on its roof. What matter?the idea has been well expressed. Julius Caesar landing in England with a top-liat and not much else, needs no repriman or explanation from the teacher; to the poor child the top-hat is a sy^ ? 5? authority and prosperity, of pomp and ceremony as seen at funerals ana pu ic functions?most certainly Caesar must wear one.
We hardly notice the anachronisms of early Italian pictures where courtiers and peasants in the costume of the period illustrate events in Bible History. A child who drew a hero on horseback was asked to add other soldiers. He drew these much smaller, explaining that they were not so important. 1 he identical reasoning is found in early Byzantine art, symbolism, not realism, guiding the artist. Respect and try to understand it and do not train the child prematurely to photographic accuracy.
It will be noticed that children are chiefly interested in people and animals or in moving objects; they also prefer moveable toys to rigid ones, and a picture which can be manipulated and made to change is a source of unfailing delight. Iheir own drawings satisfy them completely, being an unhampered expression of a strong mental concept, unafraid and uncritical the child seems actually to be making the thing he is drawing and surveys the result with the happy feelings of the creator who knows his work is good. Take care not to destroy this happi- ness, it is far removed from conceit. There is no need to praise everything indiscriminately, and as little need to point out every mistake.
Ihe moment a child is put into a class among other children of varying temperament and intelligence, new problems arise and the teacher must not play a passive part, his task is to inspire and to lead. Daily practice will soon give the necessary skill in handling water-colour and pencil. The size of the drawings vary according to individual taste. Some children seem to find inspiration in large sheets of paper, others are merely frightened by them. In either case they should be encouraged to fill the whole surface, lest the drawings look lost and poor. The subject for the day is then discussed. Some vivid story, picturesquely told? picturesque, i.e., fit to be put into a picture?will arouse interest and let the child form a definite mental image of some part of the action. Get the children before they begin, to add their own comments, skilfully guiding them at the same time to some new discovery. Nothing daunts them, ask them to draw a battle scene, they calmly take out their pencils and begin. The worst way of getting any l esult is the teachei s own conviction that there can be none. It spreads round the class as if it had been uttered out loud, which alas it often is. Many children early show a love of ornament and decorate their figures and background with very rich patterns and trimmings. Design for its own sake does not yet interest them, a taste for it is best developed in connection with hand- work. Rhythmic repetition of cut-out shapes in card-board or coloured paper plaiting and weaving or easy stitchery in bright colours lead to some under- standing of pattern making.
A few Don’ts must now follow. Doyi’t teach that a bright blue sky, colour already mixed, must meet a bright green field a little more than half-way down the page. The field is a sea sometimes and is variously adorned with a ship or a tree, the latter resembling a cauliflower. This is supposed to be the basis of all picture-making and is generally demonstrated on the black-board. ” You must tell them something,” emphasising the ” must ” or ” something.” But why? How does the young child paint a sky if left alone ? High up?as high as it will go on the paper. Just a narrow strip of blue, and the people far below walking in a row on a narrow strip of land where grass and flowers and trees grow, the trees like a candelabra at first, logically branched from a central stem with a few leaves laid out symmetrically, much like the trees on a Persian carpet. Are the Liberty-frieze-trees really better ? Does the child’s sky not show clearly how high and lofty it is, and that we in England rarely see it blue down to the horizon, but falling into a creamy mist ? Who is the better observer, the teacher or the child ? Do you know those birds that look like two French accents meeting, a grave and an aigii ? Are they really better than the child’s own birds with head and wing and legs, probably as large as ostriches in proportion to the rest, but, nevertheless, true to life ?
By all means, once you notice a stand-still, take the class into the field or the play-ground, let them watch a cloudy sky or a sun-set and discover all they can about it, tell you about the lovely colours they can see, the shapes of the roofs meeting it. Take them back to the class-room, and you will get as many different skies as there are children, and not one stereotyped blue one. In this way, and in this way only, can we guide these first expression-drawings, slowly and carefully day by day, avoiding the danger of becoming stereotyped?a sure sign that fresh stimuli from nature are needed.
Black-board drawing, as visual aid, should be used as much as possible in every subject except the drawing lesson. If you draw too well the child is dis- couraged; if you draw badly, your mistakes will be copied. ” He who copies does not execute, he only imitates what is already executed.” (Blake.) Your aesthetic experience and power of observation is abstract and sophisticated and possibly second-hand, very far removed from the world of the child. The child compares your drawing with his own and his efforts suddenly seem all wrong, because he assumes that yours must be right. But are they ?
Don’t hold up a poor drawing and ask the children to criticize it The un- fortunate owner will be covered with confusion, and ever after afraid of putting- down his own ideas. Rather hold up the good drawings for general criticism, asking for reasons why they are good, which will make you yourself realise that ” I know nothing about art, but I know what I like,” ought to be amended by ” and I know why I like it.”
Lastly, don’t expect the class to get into an open, receptive, joyous frame of mind if you have them sitting rigidly at their desks, arms folded, the whole little person, brain and body, as tightly screwed up as possible. How much nicer to see them positively fidgeting to get to work. They will sit quite still enough while you make your story as thrilling as you can, and on the word ” go,” will draw as naturally as the bird sings. What if the bird sings in wrong intervals and heeds no laws. Who cares?
The next stage of growth is seen in dawning curiosity about the actual shape and make of things represented. The time has come to use the drawing lessons not only for self-expression but for training the observation and the memory. Link up with the story?perhaps some children were worried by the witch’s broom. Get a besom from the yard, show how it is made, discuss it thoroughly, use it to sweep with, explaining its upturned nose, then put 1 away and have it drawn, or painted, or both. Show it again once or twice ” this is needed. Or take a flower and let them learn it by heart before they draw it out of their heads.” Collect a store of memories which will be far more vivid ancl accurate than any amount of copying can make them. After a few initial failures you will be amply repaid for your trouble by the extraordinary improvement m memory and observation, which will, of course, make itself felt in other su ]ec s as well.
A healthy taste for pure, strong, even crude, colour is characteristic of the normal child. The boy who painted a blue lire for me had a very melancho ic disposition?though nineteen other little boys painted a red and oiange re? could not be induced to change his mind. Ihe choleric, hot-tempered chi positively revels in vermilion on all occasions, till gradually the blue and the red calm down and approach each other.
A few additional words about handwork. Let it be creative as far as possible. 1 he simplest little pattern of the child’s own invention, if it is only a square or dot repeated, is of greater value than an elaborate copy. ” fell me the what, i do not want you to tell me the why and how, I can find that out myself as well as you can.” Pattern should be the direct experience of handling material, whether clay, raffia, wood, stencils, or embroidery, only this experience must be continuous and begin early. It is a very difficult thing to re-awaken.
Many systems and methods are springing up and have their day, the same guiding principles go through the best of them; let the child develop slowly and reasonably, and do not speed up his growth out of season. Never be satisfied that your own knowledge as a teacher and art-critic is adequate, content to lead others when you should be led.
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