Dear Editor
I’d like to spread the word to readers about a neglected aspect of child psychology.
From the age of two, children use spontaneous drawing as a language medium. Their early scribbles and crude representations — endearingly familiar to those of us who have or have had children — are important in two ways. Spontaneous drawing contributes, as do all languages, to mental development and psychological health and we know for certain that spontaneous drawing contributes to literacy.
The problem is that drawing as a language medium has been and still is relatively unknown and as a result children are not getting an optimal schooling in this critically important area of the curriculum.
From the point of view of the child, drawing is a language without a code and a pleasure to use in processing the highs and lows of growing up. From the point of view of parents, teachers and responsible citizens it contributes to the highest goals of schooling. Through drawing with empathy, children are able to articulate, express and communicate their most subtle and complex perceptions, thoughts, feelings and memories. This is a huge potential for learning, seldom realized but always there.
My colleagues and I in the Drawing Network are undertaking a letter campaign across Canada, province by province, stirring up interest in this neglected language resource. We believe that the aforementioned information is new to many parents and indeed to many teachers and academics. There is no blame here: our awareness of what is language schooling is simply changing as we learn more. We are attempting to make up for lost time, to get rid of old practices and replace them with something better, a double language of words and pictures. For parents it is important to understand that you don't need to be a drawer and you don't need to have a teaching certificate. You just have to be a motivating caregiver who discusses possible themes to motivate children to draw.
The project is sponsored by the Drawing Network, an informal community of parents, teachers, academics and concerned citizens devoted to spreading the word about this largely overlooked language resource. (See our website - http://drawnet.duetsoftware.net/)
There is no formal structure, no AGM, no fees or responsibilities, no possibility of a scam as the only benefit comes to the children, their parents and society at large. We welcome correspondence (drawnet@shaw,ca) and we offer free help to parents and teachers who encounter problems in setting up drawing programs at home and school.
Bob Steele,
Associate Professor (Emeritus) UBC
The Drawing Network.
