MOS MAIORUM—ART

Professional art instructors at Liberty Common School teach that art and beauty are essential to know and love for their own sake.

Art education, according to the Core Knowledge Foundation, means that “through attaining a basic knowledge of the arts, children are not only better prepared to understand and appreciate works of art, but also to communicate their ideas, feelings, and judgments to others. A good understanding of the arts grows out of at least three modes of knowledge--creative (i.e., directly making artworks), historical, and analytical. Early study of the arts should embrace all three modes with special emphasis on creativity and active participation.”

Art at Liberty Common School is not peripheral to the curriculum, but rather is an essential discipline all K-8th-grade students study. Much of what is taught is LCS art rooms reinforces and enriches what students are learning elsewhere by utilizing art history, art theory, and the practice of various styles and mediums.

Early instruction in the arts is noncompetitive and provides ample opportunities to draw, paint, and create objects. Equally important, students are exposed to fine paintings, great music, and other inspiring examples of art. As students progress in their knowledge and competencies, they begin to learn more about the methods and terminology of the different arts and become familiar with an ever-wider range of great artists and acknowledged masterworks.

Art and the Core Knowledge Curriculum

The three modes of knowledge [creative, historical, and analytical] are focal points of every art course, whether it is a Core Knowledge course (K-8 art), or an elective course. All art courses directly align with the Core Knowledge Curriculum and the Thinking Framework, which in essence translates into the Trivium. When a student graduates from Liberty Common School, he or she should have a comprehensive appreciation of the arts via exploration of Application of Studio Skills, Art History, and Communicating About Art.

Classical Approach to Art Education 

Pursuit of Beauty: The act of teaching students to appreciate beauty in art leads to the appreciation of beauty in other areas of life.

Pursuit of Truth & Goodness: In crafting artworks, students craft virtue. The self-control and perseverance required to create an artwork develops a character of temperance and fortitude. Class discussion and critique foster prudence, justice, and gratitude.

The Great Wave off Kanagawa. Hokusai; ca. 1831