- All the interviewed
principals gave a negative answer to the question on whether during
their work history the inspectors and officials have ever visited the
painting classes.
- All the interviewed principals had an interest in using the
financial assistance of the parents to employ the professional
painting instructor.
- In response to the proposal that a workshop for teaching art,
including all the necessary facilities and equipment be built for the
students in all the schools (using of course the financial assistance
of the parents) all the interviewed principals had the opinion that
the ministry of education was not able to support this program due to
the lack of appropriate educational space and limited facilities.
Now, considering this thought provoking information stated by
Farahnaz Mokhtari, in the book of "Children's Psychology", how can we
deprive our children from their most basic natural need which is
drawing a line, figure and pouring color on a piece of paper? a child
whose instinct has attracted him or her to drawing a line from the
time he or she gets to know the environment around, a child who speaks
through painting and uses painting to express his or her thoughts,
opinions, and emotions and expresses the needs and inclinations,
problems, and limitations of his or her life, and speaks of her
feelings and transfers them all to us through line and color
It seems that one of the reasons for not putting sufficient value
on the children's painting in Iran, is ignoring their mental growth
and their analytical capacity. However, considering that fast
technological advancements and proximity of the global communications
and the changes resulting from these, the children of the future
generation will be aware, informed, and analytical.
A 10-year-old boy in of Tehran's schools did the drawing featured
on this page, exactly one month after the events of the 11th of
September in the United States. The assignment was done while the
subject and technique were free. This drawing shows that the child has
not been indifferent toward his environment and situation and the
social and political world events have affected his psyche and essence
so much that instead of drawing the landscape, flower, and garden,
football match, car, etc, has created such work.
The tragedy of September the 11th has perplexed the mental and
psychological tranquility of the child to an extent that he,
unconsciously, has depicted this feeling of insecurity. Is it possible
to assume that such a child does not possess mental growth and
creative power and the ability to analyze? Undeniably, in the
extensive country of Iran, there are many similar children who
unfortunately either, do not have the possibility to demonstrate their
talents and capabilities due to the lack of necessary facilities or
even if they do have them, these capabilities have not been identified
by an expert and has not been conducted in the necessary direction.
The child separates the information and events that he or she receives
from the outside world from each other and again puts them together
and expresses them through painting.
In painting, the child frees herself from the inhibitions and
states her problems, discoveries, and worries in an unconscious mode.
Accordingly, if we base the teaching of painting on the correction of
the painting and during that teach the children to copy and imitate
from early ages, we have committed a large mistake.
In this process, the school does not achieve much except for
adjusting the child's work with the submitted samples since it removes
the child's ability to grow and receive the input from the outside
world through his or her paintings. Therefore, that is by compelling
the children to copy and imitate, the instructor or parent destroys
any possibility for any communication with the child This happens
since he or she has been compelled to do something which he or she
conceives as unnecessary or probably feels that it is even useless.
Ignoring the child's inner voice or shattering it with the tedious
task of copying means leaving the child alone or preventing the
flourishing of the child's mental creativities. Moreover, is it
possible to force a child who has such analytical view of the society
and
