Let kids learn how fun Hebrew day school can be at RHA
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The Arts at RHA: Developing Fine Minds Our Middle School arts block incorporates not only visual arts and drama, but drumming and coding as well. Sounds odd? According to the research, not at all. The benefits of the visual arts are pretty well known. They enhance creativity, critical thinking, self-expression and self-confidence. Drama has been linked to skills such as quick-thinking, listening and imagination. But drumming? Amazingly, science shows that drummers have an innate ability to problem-solve. A Stockholm study found a link between intelligence, good timing and how well problems are addressed. Other studies have demonstrated that a steady rhythm improves cognitive function, and can actually improve grades. Psychologists at Oxford University found that the act of drumming increases positive emotions and leads people to work more cooperatively. At RHA, drumming is also used to introduce cultural traditions from around the world, bringing global awareness to the forefront of student learning. What about coding? While most people think of it as science, it's increasingly being seen as an art, according to the University of Toronto's Varsity newspaper. Code text, for example, can be arranged to form a particular object. Coding is also used to create cultural products like websites, video games and music. Live coding – which demands improvisation and real-time modification – is at heart an artistic process. Paul Graham, a computer programmer who became a painter, wrote a seminal essay called Hacker and Painters. In it, he argues that painters and programmers have many similarities: they both create something from nothing, they both improve their art through refinement and they both create works for an audience. For painters, the medium is a canvas filled with paint. For programmers, the medium is a blank computer screen that is ultimately filled with code. Artists and programmers face only one constraint: the breadth of their imagination. RHA's coding program is designed to unlock our students' creativity as it enhances their technical skill and computational thinking – the perfect storm that creates sharp, resourceful and practical innovators. f i f t e e n