Art Classes in Schools: To be, or not to be?

1295 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: the effect of music on education

Most people would agree that music and art programs in schools have a huge impact on students not only academically, but in just about every aspect of their lives. Studies have shown that students who are involved in music and art programs have an overall higher IQ and show signs of many other academic benefits. Participating in such programs also allow students the opportunity to express themselves artistically and show the world their perhaps otherwise hidden potential. We all know how fun it can be to show the world your unexpected abilities, and what better way to show those off than the place where we spend most of our day-to-day lives? Unfortunately, even with all these obvious benefits, when the school budget is short, the first things to go are the art programs. Because of this, opportunities become more limited. Creative expression is cut short. Higher potential for success in math and science shrinks. Enjoyable, informative, and influential elective classes disappear. Art programs really are not the best choice when deciding which classes to cut in order to have enough money for those extra textbooks or new desks.

Time and time again, the issue has been tested and has proven that benefits are very real and art programs are largely effective. The University of Michigan exalts music and art programs and portrays them as essential classes (Murphy). The university considers art programs to be ways to develop imagination, which helps build an understanding of the real world. It sees the connections between arts, math, and science: both “require imagination and aesthetic judgment … [and] call on discipline in the acquisition and application of skills, along with intellectual strictness in the pursuit of both formal and conce...

... middle of paper ...

...p>.

Davidson, Benjamin. National Arts Education Public Awareness Campaign Survey. July 2001. PDF.

Murphy, Shannon. "Music and the Arts Education.”. University of Michigan, 2000. Web. 5 May 2012. .

Paris, K. "Summary of Goals 2000: Educate America Act." Summary of Goals 2000: Educate America Act. North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, 1994. Web. 06 May 2012. .

Smith, Fran. "Why Arts Education is Crucial, and Who's Doing it Best.”. The George Lucas Educational Foundation, 28 Jan 2009. Web. 5 May 2012. .

Tsioulcas, Anastasia. "'Kinshasa Symphony': An Ode To Musical Joy In Central Africa." Deceptive Cadence from NPR Classical. NPR, Washington DC, 07 Mar. 2012. Radio.

Show More
Related

  • The Big Issue With School Funding

    1682 Words  | 4 Pages

    Turbide, Anne F. "Why Art Programs Are Beneficial to Students." The Synapse. N.p., 15 May 2015. Web. 10 May 2016.

    Read More

  • Fine Arts Programs Should Be Kept in Schools

    868 Words  | 2 Pages

    One thing that many people do not appreciate is how beneficial fine arts can be to academic success. All fine arts ...

    Read More

  • Funding Cuts For Arts Programs

    909 Words  | 2 Pages

    A recent development in public education has been the decline in arts programs nationwide. Budget cuts to arts programs are responsive to decreases in state funding, especially in states with conservative economic policies. Many states have also enacted legislation disabling local school districts’ abilities to justify employing art and music teachers. Consequently, several problems have manifested themselves, including the loss of arts programs proving detrimental to the overall quality of education for today’s children. First and foremost, arts programs improve overall performance in core school subjects; this is demonstrated clearly through higher test scores amongst students with exposure to arts and positive correlations between arts and core class engagement. Other reasons supporting retaining arts programs include to help foster community development, produce creative minds, develop problem-solving skills, aid in child development and visual-spatial skills, and encourage underprivileged students to remain in school (Metla, 2015). By removing arts programs from some public schools, an alarming issue of public concern arises. Public education, given that it is considered to be a non-rivalrous and non-excludable, is deemed a public good (Clark, 2016). Cutting arts programs in public schools, especially when cuts transpire in schools saturated with heavy minority populations, creates inequitable education and creates a serious issue of public concern.

    Read More

  • Budget Cuts Have a Detrimental Effect on a Student’s Education

    1561 Words  | 4 Pages

    Programs during the regular school hours affected by budget cuts are those that help a student to become a well-rounded individual. One program that is being affected by budget cuts is the art education program. According to a study by the National Education Association (NEA), an independent federal agency devoted to promoting the benefits of the arts, at risk children have better life chances by taking part in an art education program because it promotes better academic outcomes, fosters higher career goals, and the students are more engaged in their education (Gifford). By incorporating the arts into their curriculum, educators are helping students to excel academically and with personal growth. Art education helps to promote growth in students in at least six different areas which include visual learning, decision making, language and cultural development, motor skills, inventiveness, and an improvement in academic performance (Lynch).

    Read More

  • The Importance and Effects of Music Education

    1954 Words  | 4 Pages

    Music evaluated as a subjects that is many times overlooked. If a school seems to have financial trouble, then music and art programs are the first to get cut. Essentially, students do not need them to succeed and they are just hobbies. This is the mindset that many school boards have towards music education.

    Read More

  • The Importance of Music Education

    1574 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Recent studies show that being involved in music classes makes it easier to learn other subjects and improve skills in other classrooms” (Brown, “The Benefits of Music Education”). A lot of people tend to overlook how much music education has an impact on the success of a student. Because of this, schools should be required to offer fine arts and music classes as electives for the students. Not only will this improve the students test scores, but it will also give the students a broader imagination and more creativity in and out of the classroom. In a lot of schools, fine arts and musical classes are the first to go when there are budget cuts. “Seventy-one percent of the nation’s fifteen thousand school districts have cut instructional hours spent on music and other subjects” (“State of the arts: should music and art classes be brushed aside”). Not only is it affecting the teachers who have specialized in the study of fine arts, it is affecting all of the students and parents who are actively involved in these programs. “Johnson, professor of music education and music therapy and associate dean of the School of Fine Arts at KU, found jumps of twenty-two percent in English test scores and twenty percent in math scores at elementary schools with superior music education” (Lynch “Music Boosts Test Scores”). With that being said, schools should be required to offer music and fine arts classes as an elective for their students.

    Read More

  • Arts in Public Schools

    2034 Words  | 5 Pages

    There are many positive aspects associated with the arts and it is important people are aware of these benefits. According to Smithrim and Opitis, “reported benefits of the arts include the development of the imagination (Greene, 1995), greater motivation to learn (Csikszentmihalyi, 1997), increased student creativity, lower dropout rates, and increased social skills (Catterall, 1998; Luftig, 1995)” (110). These advantages can possibly set a student up for am extremely successful life. They should be embraced and utilized as opposed to overlooked and unmentioned.

    Read More

  • Funding Fine Arts in Schools

    1631 Words  | 4 Pages

    Fine arts programs are programs in schools that are typically centered on both vocal and instrumental music, art, dance, and drama (Music and arts, 2002). These programs are responsible for the majority of entertainment in most public schools. Arts programs, which have always had a shaky existence in the public schools, are now making academic claims to encourage their school districts to keep them in the budget when money gets tight (Title I programs struggle for funding, 2003) . Although many of educational professionals link the overall achievement in school to these art programs, these programs are still in danger of becoming extinct if massive budget cuts continue.

    Read More

  • Arts Education Should Be Taught in Public Schools

    1267 Words  | 3 Pages

    Arts education stimulates academic learning and social skills, representing the capacities of the mind central to the goals society typically needs for public education. Art education is a necessity for the present and future of the education for students which can provide and grow great skills within the students. Like many great scientists, inventors, writers, mathematicians, and many other professions, it all began through openness to accept the great power of the use of arts. Performing arts, visual arts, and music enrich and enhance the intellect and potential of every student and so providing adequate opportunities and courses for nurturing students with arts is valuable.

    Read More

  • Don’t Stop the Music

    737 Words  | 2 Pages

    Priest and theology professor Martin Luther was a great supporter of music education, “I always loved music; whoso has skill in this art is of good temperament, fitted for all things. We must teach music in schools; a schoolmaster ought to have skill in music, or I would not regard him.” In tough economic times like the ones we are experiencing now, it becomes increasingly more difficult for public schools to operate without cutting back. Unfortunately the programs on the chopping block all seem to fall under the category of the arts, especially music. School districts are overlooking the effect on students because they believe it will save them thousands of dollars, and give the schools more time to teach what “matters”. In reality the benefits of keeping music classes out weigh the cost.

    Read More

  • The Arts: The Importance Of The Arts

    903 Words  | 2 Pages

    From early on children and students learn beneficial and necessary skills from their art classes without realizing it. “Although arts and music programs tend

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On The Importance Of Art In Education

    1024 Words  | 3 Pages

    Art can be used to raise scores in every subject, “Students who took four years of art classes scored 91 points higher on their SAT exams than those who took half a year or less. Multiple studies also confirmed that there is a correlation between art engagement and students’ other achievements.” (Valeriya Metla) Even with the research linking art and better grades some educators think that it is more worth while to only focus on the core classes because it is more important to fund what is being tested than to help raise children who are creative.

    Read More

  • The Importance of Arts Education

    1494 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Every student in the nation should have an education in the arts.” This is the opening statement of “The Value and Quality of Arts Education: A Statement of Principles,” a document from the nation’s ten most important educational organizations. The basic message is that music and art programs in the schools help our kids and communities in real and substantial ways. There is an abundant amount of facts and information that supports this statement. The benefits of arts education can be narrowed down into 4 basic categories: success in developing intelligence, success in ...

    Read More

  • The Benefits of Funding the Arts

    956 Words  | 2 Pages

    In today’s society anything can be considered “Art”. From the great sounds of a symphony, to the architecture of a modern structure, or even an elephant painting with its trunk, art is what the viewer perceives it to be. Individuals will always agree or disagree with the message behind a certain piece of art, as pieces can be offensive to some, but beautiful to others. Some argue that funding the arts in school is a waste of money, time, or a combination of both, but the benefits outweigh the negatives by far, due to a variety of reasons.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Art Education

    1154 Words  | 3 Pages

    Art Education is not always valued in school settings. Although some may see it as an unnecessary use of school funding, there are many who believe it is beneficial to students in more ways than one. There are many different studies that have been conducted to test the effects that art education has on school-aged children. Some studies have proven that art education can help students to improve in other academic areas. In a journal article from Ohio State University’s “Theory in Practice,” Karen A Hamblen states, “There are linkages between art learning and learning in other subjects areas and that art study can promote creative behaviors, critical thinking skills, and academic achievement.” It has also been found that the arts can teach children better self-regulatory strategies, and even foster more confidence and self-efficacy in school which relates to confidence in academics. Overall, art education in schools has been very beneficial and has proven to ignite creativity, confidence, critical thinking skills, and academic achievement in students.

    Read More

More about Art Classes in Schools: To be, or not to be?

Open Document