PST210G Ass02

All around the United States, art programs are being cut out of the budget in public schools. The arts include dance, band, chorus, theatre, film, drawing, painting, photography and literary arts. Some school board members feel these art programs are not necessary and do not benefit the students in any way. Elementary, middle, and high school students are forced to quit their passion and feel that their talents are not supported by their schools. Although many are not aware, there is a strong connection between arts education and academic achievement. Unfortunately, due to budget cuts in many public schools, the art classes are first on the list to be cut. It is important that the students, parents and teachers

Throughout my early teen years, I was exposed to different mediums of art and discovered that I could express myself through more channels than just paper. Although Barry found comfort in her 11 x 17 newsprint and some paint, I was able to focus my energy on making music and taking photographs. Without my art teachers, I wouldn’t have the expressive outlet I do today. My childhood was not filled with unhappiness as Lynda Barry’s was, but from both backgrounds, we found a warmth from the exposure of art that the educational system gave to us.

The importance of education is seen in the goals of society from the dominance of math and science to launch the space race, to the back-to-basics program in order to improve world education ranking and ensure America as a strong educational nation. As a teacher I hope to enrich the lives of students and educated them to the best of my ability. Furthermore, I hope to set an example for students that is based on respect, truth, honor and fairness. Students come from diverse backgrounds and struggle to reach individual goals. As a teacher, I am obligated to see those challenges and help students set and meet their goals. For students in my classroom, that of an art class, must also deal with expression and individual ideas that will allow students to interpret their surroundings.

They will analyze and describe this in the verbal and written communication. They will be able to continue the classroom experience in their own lives through discussions of the value of art that they will share with their families, friends and other acquaintances.

According to US News, eighty percent of U.S. school districts funds, including Pinal County, have been cut. The first programs to get effected is art. Even though it is difficult to invest money into the art program it is greatly beneficial. If our community was more aware of all the positive outcomes of art programs Pinal County could stand out from other surrounding communities. People aren’t aware of the many benefits for art programs. The two major benefits for Pinal County is it improves education and the community business. For education art makes students want to learn and be more creative, improves academic performance, makes students come and stay in school, students learn good morals, help students learn many skills, helps with math, art develops the whole brain, and prepares students for the future. Art helps the Pinal County community by building the community, helping out local business, increases tourism, making the community stronger, it has a social impact, and it strengthens the economy.

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.

“Students who study art are 4 times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement and 3 times more likely to be awarded for school attendance” ("11 Facts about Arts in Education"). Music and art are clearly not two subjects that schools today can afford to cut off funding for based on this evidence. Music and art programs are responsible for increasing school attendance, which can lead to being one of the most important things in a student’s academic success in school. Students have to attend school and be present in order to attain the information from their classes and teachers if they wish to succeed. Better attendance means more students are in class, which means more students are getting the information they need to excel from their teachers, which ultimately means better grades and test scores for schools. As of today, arts are defined as core subjects in only twenty-six states in America (Mandel). If only twenty-six states are treating art education as a core subject, that means that twenty-four states are currently neglecting art programs and not considering them important to their student’s education. If more states are educated on the importance of art programs for young students, and the arts are defined as core subjects nationally, then there will be a

Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit.” During my past career as an art teacher at Intel Academy, introducing and demonstrating aesthetic techniques and materials have thrilled me as much as completing an art piece. Through workshops and demonstrations, I learned how to communicate and suggest better ways of developing their ideas and expressions. Some children had difficulties encountering art due to their behavioral problems; however, respecting their accomplishments and encouraging their process of following the curriculum became a part of the solution. My decision to apply to masters program in art education was pursued as I faced these

Using theses conclusions, one can justify art integration as a means of increasing attendance to school as well as productivity. If a student can remain engaged, excited, and interested in their own learning, then their growth academically will flourish. These studies also found interesting correlation in young students growth academically when paired with art education. The study conducted by the Arts Education Partnership found that “James

Art in our culture today is not as appreciated as it used to be, due to the decrease in interest, many people find creative arts classes such as drawing classes, and theatre classes are not as important and are useless to the educational system. Schools all over the country have begun cutting art classes from the academic programs, assuming it will be better for the student’s sake. However, a recent poll found that eighty percent of the American people believed that creative arts classes will enhance academic performance. In addition, studies have also shown that arts programs teach a specific set of skills that are not taught in the academic curriculum. This means if the studies are true, cutting arts classes could lower students’ test scores and their overall grades. Ellen Winner and Lois Hetland, the authors of “Art for our Sake: School Art Classes Matter More than Ever-But Not for the Reasons You Think,” stated that, after visualizing different art classes in different schools, they realized that the students are not only taught the basics of art but also the willingness to learn from their mistakes, which are not taught elsewhere in schools. The students are also taught how to analyze their work and their peers work, as well. According to Winner, arts classes are important to the educational system because it teaches appreciation and self-value. It also teaches the students certain aspects of knowledge that

First, educators need to have a paradigm shift in the idea that arts education is the responsibility of only the art teacher. Fowler (1994) offers that strong schools tend to have strong arts program. Fowler (1994) states,

There needs to be an understanding to the strength and diversity art can offer additional subjects. Developing the skills to observe and learn to comprehend is valuable to not only art but all academic classes.

Art education has been proven to help with “cognitive ability, critical thinking, and verbal skills” as well as “motivation, concentration, confidence, and teamwork” (Smith). Having the ability and patience to sit down and paint a masterpiece or work through a song on the piano requires high focus and dedication. Students willing to do this will in turn have stronger skills to focus and be dedicated in other subjects. The mixture of all these abilities gained from participation in art programs lead to higher test scores and overall better performance in school. Still, these are only a few of the assets provided by art education.

Self-initiated learning is a key aspect of Rogers’ beliefs for a lasting education. He notes that when a student is fully engaged with the subject matter, they are more likely to retain the significant information they have been taught. When developing a curricular activity to represent Rogers’ experiential learning theory, we must remember to assemble a curriculum where the student can reflect on their work. As a secondary school art classroom focuses on work developed by the student, the assignments are often structured with a curriculum created by the educator. Assignments and art pieces are put in place to help the student learn the foundations of art and art history. Although students create the art pieces, they are often confined to the outline created by the teacher.

During the early twentieth century, art education was seen as unproductive and more often not cost effective. However, in the 1950’s opinions about art education made a drastic change as Americans craved more self-expression. Art education began to flourish as the importance of art involvement became known (DeHoyas).