How art cultivates empathy
Visual art forms like painting, sculpting, drawing, performing arts are known to evoke a better understanding of emotions and feelings. It frames our thoughts and changes the way we think or perceive the world. One central feature of aesthetic experiences is their ability to arouse emotions in perceivers. We are going to discuss today how exactly the forms of art generate connections in children and help them learn about being empathetic in life.
Empathy is the ability to understand the feelings of other people. In this busy world everyone tries to focus on their personal world without caring much for how others feel. But often just trying to feel and share thoughts with others can help them turn powerful in difficult times. Demonstrating empathy helps us to remain connected with our friends and family and share experiences with them. When children are looking at artworks, studying and analyzing them, they practice their ability to understand the subject, the story, the chronology, emotions, medium and a lot of other stuff. This very act is an exercise in empathy. Observing and learning the emotions of the artist or their thought processes help young minds to practice those philosophies to feel empathy for people in their lives. Apart from experiencing art, creating and sharing art with friends & family generates a storytelling experience. Students develop healthy connections with their near ones when they create and share their thoughts through any form of art. They interact in art classes with students of different age groups, share their experience and knowledge, which also helps them cultivate empathy. Several studies have shown that children who go to art classes are more empathetic than children who do not. It is very essential to teach kids how to be more caring to others who are having problems. It helps them to learn how to respect others, value their feelings and not make fun of anyone in life. Teaching them at a young age ensures a better learning which they cultivate as they grow up into adults.
Learning to be empathetic not only enables children to understand how others feel but it also generates their ability to think from others viewpoints, which broadens their perspective. They learn to look at things from a different viewpoint and imagine themselves in their situation to better understand their problems. A child who takes art classes develops all these abilities as they learn to share their thoughts and feelings through their artworks. They learn to improve in the way they interact and grow empathy for others in life.
Let your children learn about art and share their feelings, develop their ability to interact and be more empathetic.
