“Art has the role in education of helping children become like themselves instead of more like everyone else.” – Sydney Gurewitz Clemens

This quote from the influential American educator Sydney Gurewitz Clemens speaks to what I see as the power of the use of the arts in educating children and adolescents. Whether it’s through the drawing out of their ideas, the enactment of characters in a student-created play to demonstrate learning, or the creation of poetry around their observations of the natural world, the arts allow each student to communicate their thinking through creative products that are unique to that individual. Additionally, when an individual student’s creative products are viewed and witnessed by others, it not only helps to deepen connections to learning content, but also between the individual artist-creator and their peers and teacher. 

Located in Fukui Prefecture, “The Happiest Prefecture in Japan” (Japan Research Institute, 2024) and noted as providing high quality of education (MEXT, 2021, Sony Life, 2022), the University of Fukui is one of four flagship teacher training universities designated by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT, 2022). We believe part of that result is from a strong focus on community and education throughout Fukui.

We have taken on a new venture at the Hanahau‘oli School Professional Development Center–printing apparel with hallmark progressive education quotes meant to inspire and spread the message of the ongoing progressive education movement. Characterized by a distinct philosophy and practice that emphasizes experiential, child-centered, and hands-on learning, progressive education at its core is also dedicated to ensuring the future of our democracy. It is for this reason that we selected this quote from John Dewey (1916) to print on our inaugural line of t-shirts: Democracy has to be born anew every generation, and education is its midwife” (p. 138 - 139).