The Arts And Arts 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.

Schools across America are cutting Fine Arts programs left and right due to budget cuts and reduced funding, which is preventing students the ability to have an equally standardized arts education. About 95% of schools in America have eliminated or reduced their fine arts program’s funding. According to a report released by the PCCY only 149 out of the 268 public schools in Philadelphia have a choral teacher and 59% of them have an art teacher (Davis). These schools that lack fine arts teachers have felt the need to reduce faculty in order to pay for other expenses. This prevents students from receiving the benefits associated with a fine arts education. In addition, two out of every ten schools don’t have a choral or an art teacher (Davis).

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

“After a certain high level of technical skill achieved, science and arts tend to coalesce in esthetics, plasticity, and form. The greatest scientist are artist as well” (Albert Einstein). In this advanced modern tech-world mostly people are dependent on science and technology, but arts also play an important role in education. Art creates balanced thinking and better imagination which helps humans to be successful in their career. Yo-Yo Ma intensely informs about important role of arts in modern education society throughout his essay Necessary Edges: Arts, Empathy, and education. Ma illustrates that arts should be also part of education, because it improve students to filter their imagination through disciplined knowledge. Liberal arts should be equal to science and technology because it creates new idea, and in this modern world people should think critical than divergent in their lives. Empathy teaches students to understand and simplify the complicated life. Collaboration include discussion amongst people or group to make things effortless. Moreover liberal arts itself is beauty such as performing arts, it values the beauty of imagination in modern society by art and sculpture.

One reason they should not be cut from schools is, fine arts have tremendous benefits. The arts also help with early childhood development. Some say they are the building blocks of child development. Arts education helps with motor skills, language development, decision making, visual learning, inventiveness, cultural awareness and diversity, and even improved academic performance. High arts education in a school engages, learning, results in higher test scores, and lowers drop out and truancy rates.

Although these results appear to be encouraging, one must consider what improvements are missing when implementing the fine arts. One area that lacks improvement is the math and sciences. Garcia et. al states that there is no significant correlation between improved math and science scores and fine arts exposure. This lack of improvement is a serious factor that must be considered while discussing the effects of fine arts. In today’s society, the majority of growing career fields

Although fine arts programs are being cut there is hope that the fine arts will continue to thrive trough the coming years. There are several successful fine arts programs throughout the country and they all have

Greek philosopher Aristotle defines the arts ¨as the realization in external form of a true idea, and is traced back to that natural love of imitation which characterizes humans, and to the pleasure which we feel in recognizing likenesses.¨(IEP). The fine arts which have been a part of human history for 30,000 years have played an essential role in the development and advancement of our societies. As of today, the fine arts are facing the danger of vanishing in the education system of the United States Schools in places like Minnesota, Michigan and Philadelphia struggle to obtain arts programs within their schools. Districts like the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan district, have been struggling with raising student’s academic scores in courses

“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

In school there are a lot of students who enjoy painting, or taking photos, or playing music or anything that is arts related. Students who take these fine arts programs love these classes and enjoy being in them, taking them away could falter a student’s school life. Fine arts is a big deal at Central, we have so many talented students at our school, they deserve all the consideration and appreciation that they get. Funding for the fine arts programs should not be considered to be cut because the fine arts can benefit a student’s test performance, they benefit a student’s culture, and can help a student’s future. First off, the fine arts program can actually help students, it helps them benefit their school life and it can actually help test scores, in an article with “The Washington Post” from Tyleah Hawkins, the author, states how the fine

For many years, schools have been cutting the fine arts programs to try to save money. The fine arts include art classes, such as drawing, painting, music, and theater. “Student exposure to the arts education in schools has steadily declined since 1997” (Pergola). Since 2010 schools are cutting many of the fine arts programs from their classes. When schools, lost money they needed ways to make up for their loss and keep the school running, so cutting fine arts programs was on the top of the list. Proponents argue it saves money, keeps other extracurricular activities from being cut, and fine arts impacts the least number of students, while opponents argue it will reduce scholarship opportunities, there will be less classes to choose from, and it affects learning.

Fine arts are one of the first things that get cut when school budgets are getting tight. Administrators even question why we have a fine arts program if it’s not beneficial to the curriculum. You need fine arts to improve creativity and mindset for whatever you may want to do, and help kids see a way to have a place to belong and get in where they may feel left out or otherwise rejected. Research shows that low poverty areas that have fine arts programs keep kids occupied and out of trouble. Fine arts should be kept in schools because it keeps kids out of trouble, improved school results, and the outcome of fine arts involvement.

“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