Persuasive Speech On Art Education

Many schools have stopped funding the arts such as painting, sculpture, and the band. But schools should continue to fund the arts because on average youth who participate in the arts have a higher grade point average, and a lower dropout rate. It is becoming more and more common now a days that schools are not being funded properly so they have to cut the “non-academic” classes. And the arts including band, drawing, sculpture, and photography tend to fall victim to these cuts. And this isn’t just occurring in the United States it is happening all across the world. 1.

Math, science, history, and literature are some of the key subjects taught in schools. Students learn many skills needed for college in these courses. However, students cannot be truly prepared unless they have had the opportunity to express their creativity throughout elementary and high school. Many people support keeping the arts in schools because of the opportunities these programs provide students of all ages with. Though money might be an issue when it comes to supporting and funding the arts in schools, there are ways to overcome these obstacles. While subjects such as math, science, literature, and history are extremely important for students of all ages to learn, the visual and performing arts in school should be recognized with

The article “Book Tackles Old Debate: Role of Art in Schools” by Robin Pogrebin explains the influence of art and the conclusion of two researchers, Ellen Winner and Lois Hetland. “Students who study the arts seriously are taught to see better, to envision, to persist, to be playful and learn from mistakes, to make critical judgements and justify such judgements,” conclude both researchers.

When children take the arts classes it promotes self-directed learning, school attendance improves, and their critical and creative skill improve along with it.

To begin with, education and engagement in fine art programs are an essential part within the school curriculum because subjects such as mathematics, science, and language arts all require cognitive and creative capacities which are enhanced with the process of learning art. For instance, in the article, Critical Evidence: How the Arts Benefits Student Achievement, it states that “researchers

Art has been a part of our culture since the very beginning of time and has been used for many different purposes. The creation and viewing of art has the ability to transport us to another time or place, to calm us, to help us express our emotions and define our sense of self. It is only natural then to wonder how we can use these emotions towards art to learn more about a person and their situation as well as how to use art to help someone cope with any harmful emotions or difficulties they may be dealing with. The field of art therapy aims to do just this. Art therapy employs the use of many different mediums and techniques such as painting, modeling, and drawing as a unique way to diagnose a mental condition. It also uses these mediums as a method to help alleviate and manage harmful symptoms by helping patients to de-stress and express their emotions in a healthy manner, especially if they are unable (or unwilling) to verbalize their thoughts and feelings. For adults with anxiety and/or depression, art therapy has shown to be a wonderful coping mechanism, helping them to relax and develop a healthier self.

Famous Spanish artist, Pablo Picasso, once said, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” Schools all around the United States are closing their arts programs including music, art, and theatre, because of budget cuts. More than 25% of public high schools have closed done away with their arts programs. Blogger Katrina Soliman stated in her blog about the lack of creative opportunities in school, “Children have a knack for originality” and “Schools advise students to be creative but do not give time to do so.” The arts, however, are very important to children while they learn to grow and there have been hundreds of studies showing why they’re important. They improve test scores, give students creative ideas after high school and there are also other nonacademic uses.

Fine arts broaden our perspective and to help promote social tolerance, but also gives students many academic advantages they can use for a lifetime. Students that are exposed to an environment where they are allowed to express themselves freely musically or artistically will guarantee the ability of teamwork skills, confidence, and critical thinking skills. Some school districts fail to recognize the importance of education in the arts. Musical involvement promotes better math skills, students with band and orchestra experience attend college at a rate twice the national average, art teaches critical thinking rather than just getting the right answer, and theater participation helps develop social tolerance. All of these examples show why arts in public education are so important and why is a necessity in a public school and has overall higher academic achievement, critical thinking skills, and other things that are important in living

The intended audience for this presentation are an educational advisory boards with regards to advocating for art education in school curriculum in America. This topic is appropriate for parents that are interested in how fine art education helps to improve at risk student

This survey records the habits of mind, personal attitudes and social abilities intrinsic to arts education. Moreover, review of the article has identified that students learning the arts would have the better influence on their mind for other subjects such as mathematics, reading, and social studies. Students who are enrolled in art classes experience improvement in other domains of life and course subject to learning. A report of the national survey, which has used a federal database of more than 25,000 students, the analyst found that students who were involved in any program of arts in any way gave better performance on standardized achievement exam than students who do not participate in the education of arts. A very general viewpoint about learning experience is that it includes some transformation both in education and life inside the school or outside the school life. However, the extent and nature of this transformation remain a subject of interest for the researchers. (Ellen,

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.

“The arts are an essential element of education, just like reading writing, and arithmetic…music dance, painting, and theatre are all keys that unlock profound human understanding and accomplishment” (William Bennett, Former US Secretary of Education).

Schools that offer fine arts classes have lower dropout rates and raised attendance. The fine arts positively impact students of lower socioeconomic status more those of a higher  status. The fine arts have no barriers for race, religion, and culture when it comes to being involved in the arts. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to be involved (Katy Independent School District). Without the arts these students have no outlet for creative capabilities and no way to express their talents. Students who need this way of expressing themselves are overlooked and they are the ones who need it the most (Dickson). When viewing the participation of arts in the eyes of a ten-year old, “It cools kids down after all the other hard stuff they have to think about” (Arts and Smarts: Test Scores and Cognitive Development).

“People are forgetting that math is taught when a child is playing an instrument. English is taught when a child is reading or writing a script. Critical thinking is taught when a child is analyzing art” (Sabrina Holcomb). There is a significant correlation between participating in the arts, and success in school. Multiple studies have shown that there is a strong correlation between playing an instrument, and an increase in scores in mathematical subject. In these studies, it was also noted that students who were more creative were better problem solvers than students who were not as creative. All of these characteristics are sought after in the work force, meaning that the arts not only help during the school years, but in work and business as well (Ron Whitehorne). Also, it is important to note that “Low-income students who had arts-rich experiences in high schools were more than three times as likely to earn a B.A. as low-income students without those experiences. And the new study from the National Endowment reports that low-income high school students who earned little or no arts credits were five times more likely not to graduate from high school than low-income students who earned many arts credits” (Tyleah Hawkins). The arts have always been used as a form of expression and inspiration for people across the world, the arts have also been shown to improve high-risk student's outlook on their schooling. Research has shown that the arts help improve standardized test scores like the ACT or SAT (Tyleah Hawkins).People who support the arts believe that quality art education can help engage at-risk students in ways that other subjects such as math, science, or reading cannot. This is why it is believed that the arts are a key tool in the prevention of high-school dropout. There are many studies that point to a lower dropout rate for students who participate in

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).