I have been reading a bit about Howard Gardner and his theories of multiple intelligences. According to Gardner “an intelligence is the ability to solve problems, or to create products, that are valued within one or more cultural settings.” Gardner claims that we all have multiple intelligences which can be nurtured and strengthened or ignored and left to atrophy.  He believes we each have 9 intelligences:

1. Verbal-Linguistic – well developed verbal skills and sensitivity to the sounds, meanings and rhythms of words.
2. Mathematical-Logical – ability to think conceptually and abstractly and capacity to discern logical or numeric patters.
3. Musical – ability to produce and appreciate rhythm, pitch and timber.
4. Visual-Spatial – capacity tot think in images and pictures and visualize accurately and abstractly.
5. Bodily-Kinesthetic –ability to control one’s body movements and handle objects skillfully.
6. Interpersonal – capacity to detect and respond appropriately to the moods, motivations and desires of others.
7. Intrapersonal – capacity for self-awareness.
8. Naturalist – able to recognize and categorize plants, animals and other objects in nature.
9. Existential – sensitivity and capacity to tackle deep questions about human existence.

You can take a MI self-inventory  to see how you learn best.

If we accept that we all learn differently, the need for art education in our schools becomes self-evident.  We think the benefits of art education are obvious and that is why Art to Remember will continue to provide healthy, wholesome art-based school fundraisers that build children’s creativity and self-esteem while raising money for cash-strapped schools. 

You ‘Gotta Have Art!

We all know our schools are under constant pressure to cut budgets, do more with less and focus on core curriculum.  I could provide dozens of links of such stories, but you can find a good one here.  There is a line in this article that “most people seem to agree that in tight fiscal times, the arts are the first to go.”

How sad.

The arts enrich our children’s educational experience – but they do much more than simply make the day more enjoyable.  In the following article , the author argues that allotting 10% of an average school day to the Arts would help students with:

1. Development of Right/Left Brain Connections.
2. Creative Problem Solving.
3. Development of other Intelligences / Ways of Learning.
4. Improved Academic Performance.
5. Improved Career Success.
6. Experiential Learning.

Art to Remember exists to promote art education and do our part to keep art programs in our schools. Our art-based school fundraisers raise money for school art programs – often doubling annual art budgets.  We love what we do – if we can help you and your school art program, please let us know!