Alex Soulsby is a creative education specialist and the Creative Director for Prem International School and their Artist Residency Thailand programme.
Here he argues that regular engagement with the Arts is key to nurturing the skills required to tackle the increasingly complex challenges we face as a species.

So with very few international exceptions, it seems like the pandemic is over and it’s back to normal for educators. Masks gone, testing over, lock down threats a thing of the past and face- to-face learning in place for the vast majority of students and teachers. Zoom has all but been pushed to one side and for the fortunate, the main visible legacy is an ongoing battle with post lockdown waistlines, dietary habits and our relationship with the local gym.

It’s true that not everybody was prone to developing a ‘pandemic paunch’ during Covid restrictions. For many. Covid helped us recognise that nurturing a love of exercise (for example) is particularly useful in coping with lockdowns.

Other than the obvious benefits exercise and sport provides, engagement with sport in schools is about more than producing potential athletes. Nelson Mandela said that: ‘Sport has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. That broader philosophical message combined with the knowledge that our quality of life is improved through regular exercise, is understood by most contemporary educators but that wasn’t always the case.

I remember my PE teachers yelling in an attempt to make us run faster on a track or be more aggressive on a field. My physical education at school was borne out of a lack of imagination and there was little or no focus on engendering a love of exercise. Moreover, there was no sense that in addition to having transferable skills, like many subjects, PE also. had transferable benefits. During Covid-19 many of us had to delve deep into our own tool kits in order to find ways to cope, often evaluating where we might fall short and where we may need to grow or adapt. With the world still facing so many challenges and with humanity racing to find ways to rise to address climate change, the cost of living and the impact of regional conflicts, I wonder how our schools can better serve some of these needs and current priorities.

Throughout some of the darkest times in history, making art and having a creative outlet have been beacons of light that punched through some of mankind’s most difficult moments.

In a recent conversation with the philosopher, author and broadcaster Nigel Warburton, we set about identifying the key ‘post pandemic skills’ that we felt would best equip humanity if and when we find ourselves in a similar situation again. Critical thinking, an altruistic attitude and a deeper understanding of the role of the arts in times of crisis were the 3 areas that we settled on. To be more specific, the transferable skills of identifying fake news and information, prioritising the needs of others and understanding how to engage meaningfully with the arts as a way to express and seek understanding are likely what will help us all navigate the next crisis. No, binge watching Netflix was not what we were referencing.

‘DURING COVID- 19, MANY OF US HAD TO DELVE DEEP INTO OUR OWN TOOL-KITS IN ORDER TO FIND WAYS TO COPE, OFTEN EVALUATING WHERE WE MIGHT FALL SHORT AND WHERE WE MAY NEED TO GROW OR ADAPT.

Throughout some of the darkest times in history, making art and having a creative outlet have been beacons of light that punched through some of humankind’s most difficult moments. Just as we don’t all exercise to become competitive athletes, spending time making art and being creative in one way or another isn’t just about producing professional writers, musicians, painters or actors. When we are thinking and creating through the arts we are nurturing our ‘whole selves’, developing our “inner worlds, getting a better sense of who we are and a better understanding of how we connect with others. But if we can easily make the case for finding a love of exercise through sports engagement, is there not a similar case to be made for prioritising the role of the arts in schools simply because of the wide ranging and essential benefits they provide for our young people?

Asked last year what schools need to prioritise post pandemic, Jonothan Neelands, Professor of Creative Education at Warwick University, United Kingdom, responded: ‘Compassion, empathy, tolerance, highly interpersonal skills and respect for difference should be central tenets. More importantly he emphasised that the development of these skills cannot be achieved through.

IN ORDER TO FIND WAYS TO COPE, OFTEN EVALUATING WHERE WE MIGHT FALL SHORT AND WHERE WE MAY NEED TO GROW OR ADAPT.’

inner worlds, getting a better sense of who we are and a better understanding of how we connect with others. But if we can easily make the case for finding a love of exercise through sports engagement, is there not a similar case to be made for prioritising the role of the arts. in schools simply because of the wide ranging and essential benefits they provide for our young people?

Asked last year what schools need to prioritise post pandemic, Jonothan Neelands, Professor of Creative Education at Warwick University, United Kingdom, responded: ‘Compassion, empathy, tolerance, highly interpersonal skills and respect for difference should be central tenets. More importantly he emphasised that the development of these skills cannot be achieved through

‘Could it be that regular engagement with the arts are key to nurturing the skills required to tackle the increasingly complex challenges we face as a species?

the basics of literacy and numeracy alone. I would argue that if this is the case, then it is the Arts that need to take centre stage in schools so as to develop the types of human beings that can both recover and thrive in a post pandemic world. I am not making the case that our schools need to focus on populating the world with athletes and artists (although it might not be a bad idea) but as we look back at this crisis, we need to think carefully about what we want our ‘new normal’ to look like. We should be mindful that it is through being makers, audience members and aspiring artists that we develop essential skills and habits, the central tenets that Neelands describes.

One of the vital questions that schools should be asking themselves right now is this: “If we are not going to prioritise developing the skills that Warburton and Neelands point to via centralising the Arts in our education systems,

then what alternative tools are better suited?’ Perhaps more importantly, we should all be asking just how great are the risks and consequences of treating an Arts education in 2023 the same way as my physical education was treated in 1991? Could it be that regular engagement with the Arts is key to nurturing the skills required to tackle the increasingly complex challenges we face as a species? Quite possibly. And are many educational leaders simply ignoring the wealth of evidence that supports the case for centralising them in schools? Almost definitely.

So for those of us who do understand the transformative and empowering nature of the Arts in our schools and the vital skills they engender in children and young people. simply put, what are we going to do about it?