Developing one's creative potential is a basic human right, and thus the relationship between democracy and creativity is ineffable.
At Scuola Miele we recognise this intrinsically; teaching through this modality embeds deep learning and an aesthetic awareness not often evident in formal schooling, despite the overwhelming evidence regarding the value of a sustained art education.
Our children are all born creative and brave, yet something happens to them as they grow – the opportunities to express themselves artistically at school become minimised, the art curriculum becomes marginalised, and our children's creative genius falls away.
At Scuola Miele we cultivate the fundamental right of every child to an education that nurtures their inherent creativity.
In addition there is a particular need these days for massive loads of information to become meaningful at an experiential level, and for knowledge to turn into culture-environment-sensitive action.
However, why do we call for art to expand the concept of knowledge? Why not update integrative pedagogies from the interdisciplinary basis of science and technology?
Complex relations and interactions tie multiple micro and macro agents into the same system, a climate for instance, and hence different disciplines must be intertwined together for comprehensive study.
Moreover, interdisciplinarity is needed because one’s identity is never tied on one discipline or one profession, but is multidimensional and always in flux .
However, in education, interdisciplinarity solely between sciences and technology is not efficient enough as it does not wholly encompass experientiality, epistemological, or ethical dimensions.
Art, instead, covers those dimensions, by both critically discussing on a theoretical level, as well as physically creating and interacting in the concrete level.
Embodied sense-making is crucial for a comprehensive understanding of the world, while a personal, experiential, and reflective relation is needed to avoid phenomena remaining distant and abstract.
So why waste our kids’ creativity? Let them get in touch with painting, sculpture, drawings, … and allow them to get their hands dirty.
The results will surprise you.