Important Disclaimer
At the Academy of Art of Highland Park and Gallery, Inc. (AAHP), we warmly welcome all thinkers and doers and their very different modes of learning. We teach all students individually at all times, so as to acknowledge, protect, and enhance the individual’s mode of approaching the plastic arts. We don’t believe in talent. Neither did Maestros Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Cezzane, Degas, and countless others at the top. Like our Maestros, we believe only in enthusiasm and hard work. We train our member artists to become strong observers, committed explorers, and sharp creative problem-solvers.
The AAHP is a training studio, not a recreational facility; it is the equivalent of a conservatory of music. Though our child, teen, and adult practitioners never like to leave class, each and every class is cognitively and intellectually demanding, from start to finish.
Our curriculum and pedagogy requires
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a reasonable level of emotional well-being
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that the student practitioner operates under top 10 learning skills at an age-appropriate level, before registering for studio, as listed below. *
A strong learner of any age...
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...is driven by enthusiasm.
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...has the ability to make eye contact with others, even authority figures.
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...presents an audible, responsive voice.
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...has the courage to ask questions.
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...has the courage to act in a totally new way.
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...presents a healthy sense of self.
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...displays a love of exploratory action into an unknown region.
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...feels excited to show another person what he or she is learning.
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...places trust in the learning situation and feels safe with it.
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...can allow for "failure" (we teach that unexpected outcomes help make you stronger).
A strong learner has begun to develop the following skills and sense-abilities by age 5, even before joining the studio. The strong learner is he or she who continues developing these top 10 learning skills and sense-abilities throughout life.
Many approaches to learning presume that learning is centered on intellectual life; our model asserts that learning is based on emotional life, and is founded on such matters as a sense of safety, trust, courage, and joy, among other things. When these things are available to the learner, then deep learning will follow.
* These caveats do not apply to our special needs artists, who are taught under a different curriculum and pedagogy. If needing to discuss your individual learning needs with us prior to registration, please contact us at art14@artacademynj.com. Please note that we also have another email address for confidential matters, aahpconfidential@gmail.com.