What is Art Integrating?

According to Sandra Ruppert, the majority of the American public believes that “the arts are vital to a well-rounded education,” with over half of them rating the importance a strong ten on a scale (“New Harris Poll”). According to this Harris Poll among 1,000 American adults from May 2005, a stunning “eighty-six percent of Americans agree that an arts education encourages and assists in the improvement of a child’s attitudes toward school.” Eighty-three percent feel confident that an education involving art helps students communicate better with everyone around them. Seventy-nine percent believe that “incorporating arts into education is the first step in adding back what’s missing in public education today,” and many feel that it is so important that they would become personally involved to help increase the quality and amount of arts education children receive.

By having art programs in schools students gain skills such as, problem solving, critical and creative thinking, integration of multiple skill sets, and working with others. Qualities such as these are very necessary for creating exemplary students. Arts have already proven to help with many long standing problems but critical thinking is needed for jobs in the outside world. “ … Creating art supports problem-solving, creative thought and critique like no other discipline.” ( Schoales,2) By participating in artistic classes students gain discipline that most classes fail to teach. These valuable lessons learned from art can’t be found anywhere

The main example I can recall where I knew and recognized the “integration of learning” concerned westward expansion through Manifest Destiny in the United States. I had learned about this event previously in grade school, so this was not an unfamiliar concept. Yet every time I was taught it, it was viewed as a positive thing, how it settled the country and led to the building of countless railroad tracks and telegraph lines. However, in my Environmental Studies class this year, this event had a much grimmer picture. The desolation of tribes and the pure fact that we justified our horrible and extreme actions in the name of God defined this event. I had always had the inkling in the back of my head that something was wrong with the picture

The pairing of arts integration in the classrooms and a structured arts rich learning environment is the most effective way for students to fully express their creativity and to thrive in academic studies; but, even though using both tactics is the best way, it is not used as often as the majority of school systems place a greater importance on standardized testing based subjects. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts stated that the integration of the arts is “an approach to teaching where the students can construct and demonstrate an understanding through the usage of an art form.” This “approach” engages the students in a way that builds their creative processes and connects the subjects together more cohesively. This cohesion is why arts integration is of importance for the schools systems, which have increased scores, and the students, which not only enjoy their education but also learn and understand more

Schools and educators are beginning to understand the value of inclusion of art education in K-12 curriculum more and more each year. So much so, that many states are adopting common core standards and hiring highly qualify teachers to teach in the subject area of visual arts. “Research over the past decade reveals areas where effective arts education strategies, especially arts integration techniques, have yielded practical and impressive results,” (Education Digest, 2011). Part of what is driving this initiative is the understanding that some students learn most effectively through the arts (Robinson, 2013). Recent research reflects that art integration correlates with low-performing learners by increasing test scores. Studies conducted in North Carolina and Oklahoma with art integration programs tracked consistent gains in student achievement as compared with state and district averages

There are many ways that this decision of keeping art out of the school is hurting the children instead of helping them. With the addition of art children get to develop their own creativity and thinking style. Exposure to art can have positive effects mentally on the child in numerous ways. In participating in artistic projects, children will be able to try and experiment with new ideas and techniques that will help them develop and learn cognitive skills, problem solving, and cause and effect.

Through the recent years, school budget cuts have led to the discontinuation of many classroom and extracurricular activities, including the visual and performing arts. Yet, because of this, classrooms are losing out on a very effective tool that can help aid the academic and social-emotional developments. According to Lorie Scott, Sallie Harper and Mathew Boggan, “Art integration helps students to engage in meaningful learning as well as understanding at a much more defined and deeper level” (2012, p.83). Unfortunately, arts programs are limited to only the wealthier schools and have been eliminated from those schools for the more marginalized youth including English language learners and that of inner cities (Lorimer, 2011).

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

There once was a time in our society that the arts took a strong role in the lives of our young youth and community, but the stress of regulations and test requirements has put the arts in the hot seat. There is no amount of fine art that students would not benefit from if teachers consistently incorporated it in their classrooms. The importance of arts should not be thrown aside for the sake of achieving test scores. There are 6 critical reasons why communities should not be so quick to cut the arts programs and unintentionally hinder students growth.

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,

Instead of cutting the art budget to where art programs and teachers will slowly not be a part of the school courses offered, school systems need to be proactive and innovative and use the arts to help students learn and enjoy learning in other classes. Using different aspects of art such as drawing and acting can be outstanding ways for memorizing and studying for the core classes that the school systems desperately try to have their students focus on. School systems and parents are oblivious to the fact that art programs are more than just a time for a student to relax and not focus on math, science, or English. Art programs are enriching and lead to a development in retention, individualized thinking, and can be used as a stress relieving hobby. Not only will it help students while attending school, but it will give them habits to retain information better while also having a fun and relaxing hobby. With the increase in technology and everything becoming technologically based America is becoming oblivious to the dramatic impact the arts have made in shaping society today. By not opening students up to the different aspects of the arts you are leaving those to be closed minded and teaching the philosophy to focus on standardized testing, good grades, and inside the box thinking. This nation was founded on out of the box thinkers and innovators. Do not let the arts dwindle in the American school system. It is receiving extremely effective results in the areas where it is being offered and is being cared for. Think about everything in this country that would not be possible without artist drawing, acting, or playing it for all of us to hear or see. Without the introduction into the arts none of this would ever be. Something as simple as the beautiful red, white, and blue flag pledged to every day would not be here without an artist. The arts is too

My central idea is that fine arts programs fosters academic excellences for all students and school districts should focus on and advocate for visual and music art based programs, making them a continued part of the school curricula, because with out art programs our schools run a risk of not having a progressive society.

When used well, the arts are the cement that brings all the disparate curricular areas together. In the best schools, this is often the case. The arts are valued for their interdisciplinary potential. The result is a more cohesive curriculum in which students explore relationships across disciplines. . . . the arts in conjunction with other aspects of the curriculum afford students more complete and compelling conceptions. (p. 7)

A good teacher can balance both art and science in their classroom. “The teacher who ignores scientific knowledge about teaching and learning and makes arbitrary decisions runs the risk of using methods and principles of teaching that are ineffective.” (Pg 15) If a teacher balances both art and science, it will make it easier for the students to learn and absorb the information while keeping their attention span. Although depending on the grade level in which the material is being presented one of the types of teaching may need to be

Art Education is very important for students. A growing body of research suggests that the arts offer students a unique, valuable way to grow intellectually, socially and emotionally. These things are all associated with creativity. Schools today want to focus more on the four core classes math, science, english, and social studies which is acceptable for some students who are academically stronger in school. Opposed to the students who have a harder time focusing in school and we see them drawing when they need to be taking notes. Creativity today has become less and less more visible in classrooms in America. Due to the expansion of technology people see that it takes less time to look an idea up on the internet rather than taking the time to come up with something original.