If I am to trace back to my very first encounter with awe and wonder, it’ll be the one when I was still an art student, spending time printing black and white photographs in the dark room, seeing the image slowly emerge out of the blank piece of paper. That moment truly filled me with wonder. It pushed me to go out there in the world to capture more images of beauty.
I always remember a quote by the author of The Little Prince, “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood, and don’t assign them tasks. Instead, teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.”
I believe learning is a magical journey where learners are explorers, venturing into the unknown territories, getting lost, and gaining new vistas, seeing the world afresh. And we as teachers are like guides, constantly inspiring our students to yearn for the mysterious, to see the beauty and marvel at the achievements of the world.
I recall an outdoor art lesson with my class. We woke up before dawn, sat quietly by the shore, fighting off sleepiness until suddenly the horizon lit up, the sun broke through the clouds and all of us sat in silent awe. No photographs or science could possibly capture what we felt.
In another art lesson, my students were given something small. A peanut. A raisin. They were to spend time with it, to talk to it, to explore it, to examine it under a microscope. Then draw a super huge drawing of this tiny, little object. Looking at it through 50 different ways in order to uncover its beauty and its magic. So, what if we, as teachers, could bring that sense of wonder in every lesson?
Picture a classroom where curiosity takes centre stage, where each lesson is an adventure waiting to unfold. Imagine students marvelling at the existence of things, appreciating the world not at what it can give them, but at what it simply is. In this magical realm of learning, we cultivate and engage our senses, encouraging students to question how things came to be, and marvel at their very existence. We infuse learning with playfulness, transforming moments of confusion into adventures. We ground our teaching in humanity and humility, showing that true learning reveals our beautiful vulnerability and connect us more deeply to the world around us.
Arts education holds the key to this transformative approach, changing lives by opening eyes and hearts to the beauty that surrounds us. But we must be vigilant. Teaching art without inspiration is a disservice to its profound potential. As we prioritise convenience, we risk disenchanting learning.
Let us embark on this magical journey together, rekindling wonder in learning and inspiring a new generation with awe-filled eyes.
This article is adapted from Mr Chia’s video in the STAR (Singapore Teachers’ Academy for the aRts) Thought Leadership Video Series. Watch it here:
