Arts and the young minds

Someone asked me before where did I learn to write. Did I learn it from school? Or was it something that was in my genes?

The question of me inheriting the skill to write was easily ruled out when I traced in my immediate genealogy that no one among the fruits of my family tree was a writer. They were mostly farmers. Some were teachers, singers. But there were no writers.

Did I learn to write from school? Yes. Though I must admit with reluctance that not everything I know about writing now I learned in college. My writing subjects in the university helped me polished my style. But the seeds were already there — and I must thank my public elementary education. Looking back, I did not learn to write from my English class, though it helped in providing the easy way to master the simple subject-verb agreement. I learned to “write” my thoughts in my Arts classes in Gulod Elementary School. Because in my art lessons, I was forced to create my own world. My thoughts were first illustrated not with words but with images. My drawings were not great. But my young mind absorbed the importance of understanding the arts — the creativity it taught me is the same creativity I use now in my writing.

In Grade 1, I drew stick figures, a house made of squares and triangles and rectangles, a spiky sun, a leafy tree beside the house. Soon I learned to add rolling clouds in my drawing, even birds that resembled the letter “M.” In that simple drawing, I realized now, I was actually drawing a map of my own world. That began my first lesson in Geography and History. Since I managed to somehow observe the concept of spatial relevance in that simple drawing — that the human sticks, the house and the tree should be on land; and the smiling sun, the clouds and the birds should be in mid-air — I would like to believe that my earlier crude drawings taught me Mathematics, Science and Architecture. In that drawing that depicted simplicity in life, I learned Language, albeit non-verbally.

I grew fond of my art classes in grade school — although the Art subject in my school was taught only in 30 minutes, twice a week as compared to the core academic subjects that were taught 45 minutes each, every day. Once, when I was in Grade 4, I tried to write my first short story because the images in my mind were aching to be translated into written words. That gave birth to my first published work entitled “Ang Pasko ng mga Bata sa Negros” which came out in 1981 in Batingaw, the community paper in my hometown Cabuyao. Since then, I have fallen in love with the written words. And there’s no turning back.

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The children’s involvement in the arts and art appreciation classes are indeed a form of a brain exercise. Ask John Vincent Reyes and Princess Rose Mahipos, both 12 years old, and they will tell you that the arts are an important factor in their development. Vincent and Princess are both Grade 6 students at the Pembo Elementary School in Makati City. Recently, they were chosen to participate in HSBC’s “Kultura Kids” program, which was launched recently in partnership with the Hands On Manila (HOM), a non-government organization.

At the program’s activity recently at the National Museum in Manila, Vincent and Princess acted as museum tour guides to some members of the press. The two young minds said they were taught how to be tour guides for a day by John Silva, HOM trustee and National Museum consultant, after undergoing art appreciation classes.

Vincent explained the importance of protecting Mother Nature when he presented an artwork that depicted different landscapes. Through this artwork, he learned how the earth looked like before the onslaught of destruction.

Aside from that, Vincent, because of the Kultura Kids program, learned how to be nationalistic. “I have further learned how to be nationalistic and how to be proud of being a Filipino. Since I am a proud Filipino, I respect my culture and heritage,” Vincent said.  

Princess, on the other hand, brought the members of the press to the artwork of Ramil Pidazo, an artist who turns garbage into pieces of sculpture. “I fell in love with his sculpture because he recycled garbage to turn it into a piece of art. I think the artist is a hero because he saves the environment by lessening the amount of garbage,” she noted.

Vincent added that if he was given a chance, he would have wanted to ogle at The Spolarium, a painting by Juan Luna, the centrepiece of the artworks at the National Museum.

“The Spolarium depicts the hardship that the Filipinos went through in the hands of Spaniards,” he told me on the phone. “It is a masterpiece.”

The Kultura Kids program aims to instill in a group of 90 high-achieving public school Grade 6 students an awareness and deeper appreciation of Filipino art, culture and heritage by exposing them to local art and heritage sites. The children, along with HSBC volunteers, will visit heritage sites, museums, attend performing arts events, cultural tours and engage in other fun and creative activities.

“HSBC believes that art appreciation and cultural pride are integral components of education, which is one of our priority areas of support,” said Mark Watkinson, president and CEO of HSBC. “In addition to significantly enriching the educational experience of the children, the Kultura Kids program also enhances the cultural awareness and appreciation of our volunteers. The volunteers and the children will visit places like the National Museum, Taal Town, attend performing arts events like the ballet and participate in various workshops. The program even includes a creativity module, consisting of various sessions that connect art to environmental awareness, our other priority area of support.”

The project is an enhancement to HOM’s flagship program, Hands On Schools-Galing Mo, Kid (HOM-GMK), which aims to transform select public elementary school students into leaders through mentoring sessions, exposure trips, and other creative activities. Aside from Pembo Elementary School, other students in the program are from Nueve de Febrero Elementary School and Plainview Elementary School, both in Mandaluyong City.

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Human beings, since prehistoric time, have always expressed themselves through imagery. From the cave drawings of our ancestors to today’s urban graffiti, it is clear that the arts play an important role in human development. Studies have shown that the earlier that children experience art and art appreciation in their education, the better off they will be.

I am inclined to think that students who are exposed to the arts become smarter not because they learn how to draw a building, a house or flowers or sculpt pots. They become smarter because art teaches human beings how to think. It is indeed a brain exercise.

(For your new beginnings, please e-mail me at bumbaki@yahoo.com or my.new.beginnings@gmail.com. Have a blessed Sunday!)