Essay about Why Do We Teach Art in Schools?

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.

While art does have its advantages, it will not solve everyone’s problems. It is true that not everyone enjoys the thrill of creating a beautiful masterpiece because they might have been forced to take that class. However, those who love these classes show that there is a relationship between creativity and

            Many people don’t realize that art is involved in everything. I think that as a society it is our responsibility to support, promote, provide access and education to the history and or practice/appreciation of the arts in our community. To be honest when I think of art I think of famous paintings but in reality, everything around us involves art. Through what I have learned in this class so far I have learned that there is more to art than just a painting. Through art we can communicate the things we can’t necessarily see or articulate through spoken or written speech; it acknowledges that which is hidden to the naked eye, and it has a transformative power that allows us to access parts of ourselves and the

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.

But art is the exact opposite. It allows us to expand our minds and learn more about ourselves and the world around us. People express their creative skills and imagination through art, and others appreciate their artwork for its beauty or emotional power. Art defines what it means to be human and expresses the emotions of the human experience. One of the greatest periods of prosperity for art was the Renaissance. It was an age filled with several advancements, especially in art.

The brain is divided into two separate bisections, the left and right hemisphere, children need both sides of the brain innervated in order to learn properly. The left hemisphere is responsible for perceiving information more logically and analytically, it is the side that processes things math, science, and writing. Whilst the right hemisphere of the brain is responsible for more imaginative creative thinking, the importance of developing both segments of the brain is not something that should be overlooked. With the aid of the arts, children see there are an infinite set of different perspective, each complexity is in the eye of the beholder, this shapes how kids view and react to problems. Every child is different, and art can be compromised to each child's individual personality in a way math and science cannot. This results in separate individuals and a diverse society where no one is the same. Since the beginning, humans have naturally been innovative and found experimental ways to negotiate through life. Creativity is valued in any career path, just as much as logic, employers are looking for fresh new ideas rather than regurgitated information. For example in his article Anthony Fasano, a internationally known inspirational speaker who specializes in

To create art takes a lot of planning with the mixing of colors and shapes of different sizes. Children will learn decision-making, and will learn from their mistakes when something does not turn out as they plan. (Mincemoyer.)

Bob Bryant, the Executive Director of Fine Arts for Katy ISD in 2000, emphasises the importance of utilizing art in schools’ curriculums: “The arts are what make us most human, most complete as people. The arts cannot be learned through occasional or random exposure any more than math or science can” (Bryant). Art is a way of expression and leads to acquiring a deeper understanding of the details in life. The first day of preschool, teachers teach through the help of art. This is due to the fact that art is the foundation of a child's learning. Art is a way, where one can explore their ideas and thoughts. Creativity should neither be contained nor limited. Art is an outlet used for people to show who they are. The aspect of art is carried along in each generation. Different cultures use art to show who they are as one. Art appeals to people's senses and emotions, which helps people connect with one another. Since art is an essential, integral part in a student's academic learning, schools should make art classes mandatory.

Throughout history art has been used to document the occurrences of the time period in which it was created. One may believe that art is nothing more than a painting or drawing; however, art has a much more complex definition as it is never-ending. Art embraces a much wider scope; after all, art can be anything from visual arts (i.e. painting or drawing), photography, sculpture, literature, musical, architecture, etc. Art has the ability to take us one step closer to understanding the people of the past. With the outstanding creations that humans were capable of bringing to life, we are able to better hint at the sense of what was important. Essentially, art is transcending and everlasting – forever creating an imprint, allowing all those who

The era of accountability has heavily swayed public schools towards narrowing the curriculum across content and disciplines. Student test scores have become the measure in which states, districts, schools, classrooms, and teachers are deemed “excellent.” Also, many schools have been confronted with budget cuts that determine the content offered in schools. Unfortunately, arts programming across the United States’ K-12 public education has been minimized and/or not given the proper attention it deserves. To strengthen the argument for arts education, researchers have developed the integration of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to curriculum and lesson planning. I argue that the integration of the arts in classroom curriculum with early childhoods students can provide benefits not only for students but teachers. Arts education centers on allowing both students and teachers to engage in creativity and bring out their multiple intelligence. I recognize four reasons why arts education is a valuable tool with young children: (1) arts can be used across subjects and context (interdisciplinary), (2) it touches on the needs of different learners (multiple intelligence), (3) flexibility that allows creativity in the classroom, and (4) shifts away from traditional methods of rote learning.

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.

Testing and academics such as math and science are viewed as more important. The arts have many benefits to help people develop. It enables students to get a different view and approach things differently. An art classroom is a great place for children to learn a number of skills which will benefit them greatly in their later lives. Students learn how to tap into their creative side and make something without judging the outcome before it happens. They learn the satisfaction of completing a job and taking the initiative to finish the project. This is a huge benefit in today's world, the work ethic that many people lack. Students learn the important skills of learning to critique projects. They can analyze something they are presented with and through that, they will learn how to look at the good and bad aspects of any work. This teaches the important skills of analysis which will come into play for the rest of their lives. Art can bring all these skills to students and these are important cognitive skills for success in one's entire life. Studies show it helps with brain development. Which is why

I selected Engaging the Adolescent Mind: Through Visual Problem Solving to analyze for its curricular components written by a veteran art educator named Ken Veith. Veith’s goal was to create a book for art educators to use as a resource to initiate visual problems skills and incorporate the importance of critique. Inspired by art theorist Elliot Eisner, Veith (2005) believes writing a curricula that transforms consciousness opens the door to the imagination and is necessary to inhabit an environment conducive for learning (2). Eisner argues a similar thought, the school should be the environment to create a culture to prepare students to use their imagination and explore the senses through art. Furthermore Eisner expresses, (2006) “A major aim of art education is to promote the child’s ability to develop his or her mind through the experience that the creation or perception of expressive form makes possible” (24). This form of consciousness allows the student to awaken an interest in the world around them. In other words, when teachers create a curriculum, which provide the opportunity and space for students to develop a visual language, they are nurturing the student’s mind (Blasco & Veith 2014; Eisner, 1996; Eisner, 2006).

Figure 1 represents the answers of 97 people when they were asked whether art education was important in school from kindergarten through the twelfth grade. 100% of them answered that art education was important. This poll was conducted using people of various ages, demographics, and backgrounds (Saal).