Posts Tagged ‘crisis’
How teachers can use art and music education to help children heal from trauma and crisis
Music and arts education are valuable components of academic instruction. And they become even more valuable when they are used towards the resolution of crisis situations that affect and traumatized children around the globe. Creative expression has both educational and psychological significance for children that have suffered natural disasters, wars, and violent acts, serving as a way through which people of diverse cultures can interact and unite in their shared humanity.
Teachers use art and music to cultivate communication, social abilities and cognitive emotions to increase cooperation, self-confidence and self-esteem. Through the creation of singing, moving, and listening stimulus to music, a broad range of emotional, cognitive and physical abilities of children are brought out and help them to learn new skills.
Creative therapy can be expressed in a variety of forms including music and movement therapy, writing techniques and play therapies. Aiming to provide children with a means of expression that can help them express their emotions about their individual experiences while using their imagination and the creativity of the therapist, creative therapy offers a sense of accomplishment.
Music and movement therapies have a therapeutic effect on children. By addressing physical, psychological, cognitive and/or social functioning, music and movement act as a powerful medium that provides support and encouragement to each traumatized child in the effort to acquire new skills and abilities. Movement therapies transform feelings into movement that helps children release their stress and express their emotions. On the other hand, music, because of its ability to touch each person in a different way and often in many different ways, creates the grounds for new learning opportunities and most importantly, for leading a normal life.