We believe that wisdom can flow from creativity and so nurture cultural craftsmanship and cultural awareness in everyone who seeks to develop their creative abilities and acquire a wide, informed, well-rounded education.
We provide a forum for discussing and studying different facets of creativity and a platform for displaying all forms of artistic craftsmanship in:
- the visual arts—painting, sketching, drawing
- the performing arts—music (performance and composition), dance,
- literature—poetry, flash fiction, short stories, memoirs, longer fiction & non-fiction.
- ethnic traditions and crafts
- elegance and critical thinking in STEM subjects
- incisive thought and informed opinion about matters of import.
Some critics may find our characteristics of art too limited but after much thought, we believe that our statement below sets good benchmarks for the developing artist:
A work of Art in any field should:
demonstrate craftsmanship
have structure
aspire to be beautiful.
Great Art should:
transcend its age and be relevant for all time
be a source of introspection and inspiration
make us view the world better
Contributions to this site are welcome; we encourage contributors to send in their writing (poetry, flash fiction short story, memoir), a photograph of their artwork or recording of their performance. Contributors should show a level of craftsmanship commensurate with age and that level of maturity that enables them to accept constructive, balanced criticism.
The Need For Artistic Creativity in Student Learning and Development
As new technologies and social norms continue to develop at an almost exponential rate in our ever-changing world, young students are asked to make learning decisions—and hence life choices—-in their early teens. These choices often reflect parental wishes, the idealism of youth or a current fashionable trend. Frequently, they are made with the sole aim of pursuing a lucrative career path after third-level education.
The school curriculum is under pressure; the stark reality is that there is too much to cover in too little time and, since timetable hours are at a premium, difficult choices face the learner all too soon.
While accepting the importance of school as place of functional learning where examination percentages are chased to acquire a seat in a reputed university, we note that such learning can be a narrow tunnel rather than an exploration of a wide range of subjects that provide a better road towards personal fulfilment. For example, it is difficult to countenance the current situation where many schools teach the sciences to students who will never learn about commercial subjects, whereas some students may not study science beyond middle school.
Schools Consultancy supports the view that the pursuit of happiness has its roots in an education that values the twin goals of excellent career prospects and of allowing a student to develop and explore their talents in a wider, but disciplined manner.
In June 2022, an Education Commission sponsored by The Times of London has found that:
- Employers want people who can converse intelligently and write well in the work environment. They seek problem solvers who can work both independently and collaboratively, and who set work targets that are relevant to the company and useful for their own self-development. These skills cannot be assessed validly in traditional examination formats.
- A wider range of subjects than the traditional three-subject A Level is preferred.
This may involve a whole-school curriculum overhaul where weaker pupils will have to be enabled to rise to greater challenges if, for instance, students sit for a ten-subject IGCSE style examination at age 15, followed by five Advanced Subsidiary Examinations at age 17 and three-subject A Level at age 18. Alternatively, a Baccalaureate approach may be taken in senior school, where six subjects are studied alongside a commitment to community work and independent research evidenced through an extended essay.
In all discussions about curriculum development and proficiency validation through examination formats, the elephant in the room is the unpredictable future. No longer can schools offer an education with the complacent assurance that what is taught today will both relevant and valuable tomorrow. Students must develop transferable skills that are appropriate and valid in a changing, global business community.
To take but two examples: 1) The mobile phone has changed our lives, even to the extent of redefining ethics such as trust, privacy, and courteous behaviour. At a basic skill level, our dexterity in using a keypad has rendered calligraphy outdated and many rules of grammar and orthography irrelevant. Who knows what innovations our students will face in the next two decades?
2) Covid-19 has changed attitudes to work. The job-for-life approach to employment has gone; even governments find it difficult to sustain guaranteed pensionable employment at public expense as populations age and the demand for health care and social support increases. Our students need to be shrewd risk takers who can blend critical thinking and technical/technological skills with strong analytic ability and, hopefully, a desire to benefit society in general.
Amidst all this, the urge to strive for personal happiness may be relegated to a minor, even insignificant role—as a goal for the future, perhaps. Schools Consultancy believes that each of us can develop our latent creativity to attain high levels of achievement and fulfilment that will, in turn, increase our motivation, aspiration general well-being and happiness.
Schools Consultancy advocates a ‘middle way’ approach, where knowledge-centric traditional learning where the teacher is leader, lecturer and examiner, is integrated with modern discovery-based learning where the learner is involved in establishing the parameters of learning and its assessment.