Thanks for this, Roger. I have a significantly different take on the needs of our public school system in California, where many artists work in the schools, but few scientists and where funding for anything enriching is either raised by parents or the result of arts grants. The city has so much art that it's quality science curriculum paired with art that needs development!
Nice paper!
Molly
On Aug 7, 2012, at 5:30 PM, roger malina <rmalina@alum.mit.edu> wrote:
> yasminers
>
> an interesting white paper is being developed for SEAD
>
> http://seadnetwork.wordpress.com/about/
>
> on
>
> THE IMPORTANCE OF EARLY AND PERSISTENT ARTS AND CRAFTS
> EDUCATION FOR FUTURE SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS
>
> which i hope will also explain why the vitality of the hacker and make
> communities offers interesting pluses for science and engineering,
> and why for instance the explosion of fablabs offers new mechanisms
> for cross linking science and engineering to arts and design.
>
> their abstracts concludes with:
> The fact is that Innovators in science and engineering are artists and
> craftsmen as well,
> and there are practical reasons that this is so. Only when we
> understand the many ways
> in which arts and crafts make possible innovation in sciences and
> engineering will we be
> able to develop the full potential of our students.
>
> any comments ?
>
> the position paper is being developed by
>
>
> Robert Root-Bernstein*, Ph.D., Professor of Physiology
> Rex LaMore, Ph.D., Director Center for Community and Economic Development
> James Lawton, MFA, Professor and Studio Artist, College of Arts & Letters
> John Schweitzer, Ph.D., Professor, Center for Community and Economic Development
> Michele Root-Bernstein, Ph.D., Adjunct Faculty, College of Arts and Letters
> Eileen Roraback, Ph.D., College of Arts and Letters
> Amber Peruski, MSU Honors College
> Megan VanDyke , MSU Honors College
>
> Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA 48824
>
> *email: rootbern@msu.edu;
>
> K-12 curricula at in most school systems focus on mathematical and
> verbal skills, but the ability to succeed in science and engineering
> requires a broader range of skills that include observation,
> visualization, dimensional thinking, modeling, manual dexterity,
> familiarity with tools, transforming data into visual or graphical
> forms, converting theories into mechanical procedures, and even
> understanding data and experiments kinesthetically (Wilson, 1972;
> Ferguson, 1977; Ferguson, 1992; Root-Bernstein and Root-Bernstein,
> 1999; Root-Bernstein and Root-Bernstein, 2005; Root-Bernstein, et al.
> 2008;). All of these skills can be learned through arts and crafts
> experiences (e.g., Hindle, 1981; Ferguson, 1992; Deno, 1995; Sorby and
> Bartmanns, 1996; Alias, et al., 2002; Root-Bernstein and
> Root-Bernstein, 2005; Root-Bernstein, et al., 2008; Sorby, 2009;). As
> a result, we have found through a series of studies of scientists and
> engineers that significant arts and crafts experience is highly
> correlated with success in science and engineering as measured by
> outcomes such as major prizes and honors, patents, or the founding of
> new high tech companies (Root-Bernstein, et al., 1995; Root-Bernstein
> and Root-Bernstein, 2004; Root-Bernstein, et al., 2008; Lamore, et
> al., 2010; Root-Bernstein, et al., in press). One of the most notable
> results of our ongoing studies is that no particular art or craft
> confers any particular advantage over any other: dance, music, drama,
> painting, sculpting, printmaking, photography, making and composing
> music, metal- and woodwork are all correlated with increased
> probability of success. The operant factor is not the type of art or
> craft, but early introduction to arts and crafts in elementary and
> middle school years followed by persistent practice of that art or
> craft into adulthood. We also found that while exposure to arts and
> crafts can occur in a school setting, formal education is not a
> requirement for the observed correlation to success: arts and crafts
> classes in school were often supplemented or replaced by private
> lessons, informal mentoring at home or in community centers, or even
> by self-teaching. Again, the key element was not how an art or craft
> was learned, but the persistence with which it was pursued.
>
> Given that most states within the United States, and most countries
> around the world, marginalize arts and crafts education to the extent
> that many students get no more than an hour of such education per
> week, and most are not introduced to more than one or two arts or
> crafts during their entire schooling, our findings have clear policy
> implications for a wide range of parties (Lamore, et al., 2010).
> Students interested in pursuing a science or engineering career must
> recognized that their formal K-12 schooling is unlikely to prepare
> them adequately in the range of skills they will need to reach the top
> of their field: they and their parents will need to supplement the
> standard K-12 curriculum. Educators and those setting educational
> policy must recognize that there is a robust literature linking
> success in science and engineering to skills such as observing,
> visualization, and modeling that are developed by arts and crafts
> training: arts and crafts are not, therefore dispensable frills that
> can be eliminated from curricula whenever budgets need to be cut, but
> essential elements of science and engineering education. Finally,
> legislators need to understand the practical value that lies in the
> skills taught through arts and crafts so that they are willing to
> provide robust funding not only for formal K-12 arts and crafts
> curricula, but also for community centers, after-school programs
> associated with arts and crafts centers, museum- and concert
> hall-based educational programs, and other forms of informal arts and
> crafts education. The fact is that Innovators in science and
> engineering are artists and craftsmen as well, and there are practical
> reasons that this is so. Only when we understand the many ways in
> which arts and crafts make possible innovation in sciences and
> engineering will we be able to develop the full potential of our
> students.
>
> http://seadnetwork.wordpress.com/about/
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