CREATIVE ARTS

Historical Banner, featuring the 'four pillars'

One of Newington's 'Four Pillars'

"Art is the living and concrete proof that man is capable of restoring consciously, and thus on the plane of meaning, the union of sense, need, impulse and action, characteristic of the living creature. The intervention of consciousness adds regulation, power of selection and redisposition. Thus it varies the arts in ways without ends. But its intervention also leads in time to the idea of art as a conscious idea – the greatest intellectual achievement in the history of humanity."

— Dewey, 1934

At a developmental conference on the arts at the University of California, some years ago, it was charged:

"The purpose of education is the full realization of the total person and his/her understanding of and communication with others;

• Experience in the arts is an ingredient of that total realization;
• This ingredient in each art form is a unique, non-verbal revelation of an aspect of living.

Within our complex, modern society there has been a questioning of the underlying philosophies of education. It is felt by many that emphases in what is considered educationally important, are biased. Over the last one hundred years or so, investigations have been carried out into the nature of knowledge and learning in an attempt to provide grounds and evidence, which might be used to redress such imbalances. With the stress and problems created by industrialized and computerized living, with its increased pace, sophistication and leisure time available, most serious consideration should be given to the 'plight' of the total person. This certainly involves a holistic approach to a person’s development in his or her environment."

As part of a liberal education offered at Newington College, the Creative Arts are one of the 'four pillars' which underpin all we do to prepare our boys for the modern world.

"The College views the combination of the four pillars of education at Newington, namely academic, pastoral and spiritual, sport and other co-curricular elements and the creative arts, as the foundation of the College’s liberal and holistic education."

— Newington College Strategic Plan

It is vital, therefore, that the contribution that the creative arts make, both in the classroom and in the co-curricular programs, to this process is fully understood and nurtured within the school community. The College provides a wide-ranging, quality creative arts education to all boys, K–12. Programs and systems have been developed and monitored that truly represent the philosophy, applied to the needs of boys and standards the College expects of them to accurately reflect the vision of the College's Strategic Plan.

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