Why Is Education Of The Arts So Important In High School?

Plain, repetitive academic classes can definitely become old and dull—especially when it could be all that’s happening daily. Students become bored and dissatisfied with this lifestyle, but the integration of arts can cause various changes in a student’s life. The arts in classroom curriculum open up a diversity of things for students to develop their interest and enjoyment in or express their minds. It not only allows students to enjoy life, but to also expand their academic skills. However, the focus of schools is on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics—STEM, rather than on STEM and the arts: STEAM. Schools all around the world are focused on STEM because the world is developing and becoming more complex. Students need to have the skills to think critically and deeply, solve problems, garner and analyze evidence, and make sense of information. Arts education enables students to develop these skills, open up their minds to new perspectives, enjoy life, and flourish.

Whilst observing the capturing pieces of art at the Majorie Barrick Museum, I had encountered a piece that has truly grasped my attention. When we had the art tour guides guide us around the musuem to observe 3/4 specific pieces, I noticed they all were different with similar ties. They all had something unique about them, from the "graphite splatter" to the "thinned out chair leg" and the "fill in the vowels" worksheet found in a first grade work book. I've also noticed that art varies with age. If you ask a first grader to create art, we would most likely result in a piece of paper with splatters and stick figures, (yet there are a few youngsters with different mindsets), but what we don't know is that it has a certain meaning to them. Now

During my time as volunteer at Somerset Dade Academy, I was able to work closely with the elementary and middle school teacher. During each visit, I was able to follow Ms. Lee’s daily routine. In the morning, we had 30 minutes to plan and get her cart ready with supplies she needed for the day. Also, we would both create various model artworks to inspire her students to create something more original and imaginative. She wheeled her cart through certain elementary classes depending on her schedule. Depending on the grade level she was assign to that day, we were able to teach her students the fundamental concepts of arts and major art movements, all in 30 minutes. Every three weeks, she would focus on a concept, artist, or art movement. Additionally, she would assign vocabulary words, which her students would copy and also had access to them online on Quizlet. At the end, she would administer a summative test on everything they learned for the past three weeks. On the other hand, Ms. Lee’s middle school classes were different, more one-on-one, and it was a one-hour period. Her students were able to recreate impressionist and expressionist artworks, such as Monet’s Water Lilies, Van Gogh Starry Night and The Bedroom on wall-sized canvases.

Artists come up to me, place their drawing 3 inches from my face, and tell me they are done or ask, “Is it good”? I ask them if they went to the art strategy board and looked at #1? Getting advice from peers is not only a TEK but an awesome way to get kids to communicate and engage in meaningful questioning. I insist that they ask an art question. It may take a few reminders, but “I can’t” will become a thing of the past. I’ve become such a fan of changing mindsets, because growth mindsets are the key to pretty much any challenge kids will face in their lives. Growing mindsets empower students for their own

Over three decades, art programs have been on the decline, because of budget cuts and the general thought of art being a privilege and not a necessity when it comes to the classroom. (Smith.) In fact, it has almost set a chain of continuous reaction. The children in the 1970s and 80s who were not exposed to art during class time are now adults who probably do not appreciate art today. And, if they themselves are involved in the education system, do not see art as an importance to the education of children today. In the article Why Arts Education Is Crucial, and Who 's Doing It Best Sandra Ruppert, Director of the Arts Education Partnership (AEP), a national coalition of arts, business, education, philanthropic, and government

The arts are a fundamental element of ones human condition as it provides a medium for the freedom of self-expression such as thoughts, ideas, beliefs and culture. There is a natural necessity to create as it shares an insight into identity and culture (Wright, 2003). Through implementing arts into early childhood, it can foster and support a child’s mean making, self-expression and holistic development (Ministry of Education, 1996). The arts play an immense role in a child’s holistic development as it supports the links between body, cognition, spirit and culture. It also has multiple benefits to a child’s visual, spatial, aural and bodily-kinaesthetic modes of learning or multimodal leaning (Wright, 2003). A children who contributes participates and views art, experience and demonstrate imagination, creativity, pride and pleasure. Through this, children are able to record their thoughts and feelings without verbally communicating. In all environments and cultures, there is a vast amount of visual arts. These arts can be

During school, students should be engaged and willing to learn more about what they are learning. With art, there is no need for someone to be good at it. Art is dependent only on the artist herself. If students view art as just another subject, then they are missing the academic value art gives. Art goes beyond having artistic value and surpasses the idea of one's own limits. According to Allyono17, one of the authors of an article in Teen Ink magazine,

It is important for children to be able to practise and experiment with different techniques and materials as it helps children to develop control, confidence and technique ; pupils should be taught to ‘improve their mastery of art and design techniques, including drawing, painting and sculpture with a range of materials’ (DfE, 2013, p 177).

In today’s world, art carries a huge role in our lives as it surrounds us. It forces us to think critically and in different ways based on what’s in front of us, such as shocking, fascinating, and impressing our minds. It’s just a simple way of displaying color and style in order to force us to try and figure out what their message is. Art is not only about showing self-expression, but it also helps bring a population of people closer and promotes team building skills, such as building up long lasting relationships. It encourages people to contribute to the world so they can be remembered for doing something big. It is also a powerful way to communicate with others. If you were to travel to a whole different place where you didn’t understand

Every child is different and they are gifted in one way or another. Every child learns differently because each child has different experiences. The creative arts are a powerful learning tool. They engage children’s senses in open-ended play and support the development of cognitive, social-emotional and multisensory skills. They activate the spatial domain, stimulate the senses and improve well-being. They are a creative playground for the growing mind. Young children need to use the power of the arts to express their ideas and knowledge and to respond to their experiences.

Some people look at art as something trivial, a thing people do because they are too lazy to have a professional occupation, but to others, art engulfs their whole world, gives life meaning, and they feel as if talent is only gained by hard work. With these opinions, there can be a debate on including art in education, and whether or not the education system should be putting more of an emphasis on teaching children art. Specifically visual art, although there are valid arguments on why other spectrums of the arts should also be taught in school.

When children’s artwork is displayed in various places throughout the classroom it can also make other students interested in their peer’s artwork. With the world of technology documenting children’s artwork and various activities has never been easier. By being able to document children’s artwork it can give the parents or caregivers a sense of feeling connected to what their child does in the classroom. This can be good for parents who occasionally work out of town or that are in the military. Throughout the article, it listed different studies that have been done that prove the reasoning behind ways that each category is

“From music and dance to painting and sculpting, the arts allow us to explore new worlds and to view life from another perspective. They also encourage individuals to sharpen their skills and abilities and to nurture their imagination and intellect. As a Nation, we must continue to recognize the importance of the arts in building strong and vibrant communities.”

It has a contribution to a child’s development because it makes an experience for the child to understand the world around them in a visual form. This visual education deals with an aspect of humanity that no other subject can touch on. There are many developmental skills of art such as motor skills, decision making and visual awareness. It’s also beneficial for young children in the long run because “throughout the centuries art has been practiced to articulate, refine and give expression to our visual sense” (Barnes, 2015). When using enquiry based learning in art, as teachers we must consider how we can teach art practically and visually to children rather than us speaking and them taking notes on what we say. “In this view of how children learn art, the role of the teacher would be to provide contexts and materials and allow children to create art in response to their own ideas and interests” (Edwards, 2013). One indicator of enquiry is that children are able to investigate objects and materials by using all their appropriate senses and being supported by high quality resources. By the teacher providing information and materials, the children would

With the utilization of visual and performing arts, students can begin to enhance their personal growth. By producing original works, enjoying the time spent on the piece of art, and having a sense of pride in one’s accomplishments, an art student will experience an increase in self-esteem and confidence (Importance). A child who receives praise for their art work from parents and teachers will most likely be more positive in their artistic abilities. For example, when a child brings a painting home to his parents and his parents react with smiles, cheers and display the picture on the refrigerator, the student will in turn feel very proud of his accomplishments. This newly found self-esteem and confidence often expands into other subjects at school to the overall benefit of the individual. Participating in art is also a way for students to