Art has been part of this world for thousands of years. And for thousands of years, people have used the arts for an endless number of things from performing rituals to self expression. The arts have been a huge part of people’s lives. People celebrated the arts and gave respects to those who entertained others through theater. However, as the years go by, colleges have pushed aside the arts. Some colleges put a few “introduction to art” classes as optional elections, and others have ignored all forms of art. In college, many students know what they want to do in the future, yet many others have no idea what they want to become. Therefore my question is: Should an introduction to art, music, or drama be a part of every college student’s education? …show more content…
Additionally, some students would argue that they are not good at any type of art form. However, schools require every student to write essay after essay, which is a form of expression, but deny other types of self expression like signing, dancing, acting, drawing etc. It is considered okay to ask a dancer to write essay after essay, yet you would not ask a writer to play the piano. Not every artist is good at writing, and not every writer is good at other forms of art, but in college, it is expected of all students to be able to write great essays. There is so much research that has proven the impact the arts have on students and schools as a whole, altogether it should be more enough evidence to show that colleges should make these classes mandatory. Some colleges would argue that if a student wants to study the arts they should go to a college that specializes in that area. However, looking at the benefits of having the arts as core classes, there are more benefits than there are drawbacks. Requiring students to take a class, to learn about all types of art, benefits colleges more than if they do not offer it at all. Another argument that could be made against having these classes made mandatory would be that some colleges offer some of these classes as electives. However, if classes like dance, signing, drama, and drawing are part of the curriculum as electives, why wouldn’t writing, at a higher level than an introduction, not be considered an elective? Because writing is used a form of communication, it is important that students know how to write well enough to get their ideas across and expressing their opinion. However, not every student needs to be a writer, so why is writing, at a higher level than an introduction class, considered a core
Fine arts gives students a chance to pour their hearts into something beautiful; a chance to be a part of something that is bigger than just themselves. Some schools are facing financial troubles with the current economy, and one of the first programs they consider cutting is fine arts. The removal of fine arts programs would be absolutely devastating to countless members of the community. Many students would lose their favorite class, in some cases the one class that helps them get through the day, and many teachers that truly care fir the students would lose their dream jobs. Fine arts should not be cut from schools; they build confidence, help with the application of other academic concepts, and even help to prepare students for their future work in the business world.
“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.
In education today, art studies are not often viewed as a priority for students and they very frequently get cut from school’s curriculum due to a lack of proper funding. Howeve...
Secondly, college is where a person goes to discover him/herself. This is one of the many goals of the college system, and that discovery process is hindered by unneeded, mandatory classes. Students should be able to try many different classes to discover what interests them the most, not to be fed knowledge that they very well might know already (and is perhaps of no interest to them). If required courses were eliminated, it would free up much time that students could then use to pursue their own interests. College exists to help people become unique individuals, not to put every person into the same standard mold.
Fine arts classes benefit students and schools alike. Fine arts are needed courses, not just as electives but as core classes that promote learning and creativity in the lives of students. There are three different styles of learning: auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. Fine art provides an avenue for all of these learning styles to be utilized during one class period; therefore, all students are able to understand and benefit from the curriculum. In a normal academic setting all types of learning may not be used, so a percentage of the classroom will not understand the lessons as well as it could have if it had arts incorporated into the class. It may seem impossible to include arts into an academic setting, but it is possible, effective, and fun. According to Barry Oreck, it has been proven that students learning molecular bonding through a dance had a more proficient understanding of the concept. He states, “We have found that if you learn something through a theater game, you can still answer a test question” (new horizons Dickerson 3). This statement proves that arts are extremely important and beneficial. With fine arts, students have a safe environment to express themselves, a motivation to stay in school, and higher test scores. The fact that fine arts are needed is evident, but will schools respond or live in denial?
My first reason why general education classes should not be required in college is because the topics that they are learning have already been taught in high school. In an article by Jessica Williams, she summarizes it by saying, “We spend 13 years in ‘general education’ courses. Why are we wasting time rehashing what we already know we aren’t interested in when we could be spending that time adding to our resumes” (Williams). For a majority of students, if they take a class where they have already learned the material or even have a grasp on the subject, most likely, they will become bored and uninterested in their sch...
This limited amount of resources often forces administrators to place value on the various subject areas. There is always a demand for greater concentration upon the traditional basics: English, math, science, and history. There is also a new focus on computer competency and a renewed focus on the need for foreign language education. Add to this health education, family life education, industrial arts education, AIDS education, home economics, physical education, and business education and one begins to wonder where arts education fits in. “Every student in the nation should have an education in the arts.”
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.
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.
Art education is often underestimated by many who believe that school was created to teach only analytical concepts such as mathematics and literature. However, research has shown that art courses are important, even necessary for students in elementary, middle, and high schools. These art classes may include not only visual arts but performing arts such as dance, theatre and choir. Barbara Streisand said, “Art does not exist only to entertain, but also to challenge one to think, to provoke, even to disturb, in a constant search for the truth,” (Quotations). Streisand points out that there are multiple benefits to art whether it be painted by a brush or sung from the heart. Art has the ability to allow people to see situations from different points of view not merely to look beautiful as decoration. Those who believe that art education is unimportant are simply ignorant to the benefits that involvement in the arts holds for not just the individual but for society in general. While some in society may not recognize the immediate results. Art education is beneficial to students in primary and secondary schools.
In fact because of schools focus more on academics and athletics and that art programs are not their main focus. By this it is showing that the art inclined students are not their main focus, but would rather focus on the other students that would show that they are better than other schools in the area. Because of the school focusing on the students that are better at academics and athletics, it makes the art inclined students feel like they are not one wanted or are they should be better at academics and athletics just like everyone else at the school. It also makes them feel like they can't be a part of the school and make it better for everyone. With only one art teacher in my high school, only a few students could get into the art classes. This made it very hard for the students who really wanted to be in the classes and having to choose classes that they did not want and not able to express their creativity.
We learn to follow the steps, use the formula, and get the right answer, but because of these classes, we forget about the arts. If the arts are forgotten, then the student’s way of expressing what they feel is taken away. Which brings more pressure to students in classes like math, physics, geography, etc. That is why schools should make arts classes mandatory because arts classes help students build their artistic and creative skills, make them better learners, and encourages them to find other ways of expressing their thoughts. The chair of the UK Government had a test made to see the ability to think in “divergent or non-linear ways” between the ages 3- 25.
Music, art, dance and drama is a huge hobby people may have. It been a class in school for many years. It’s a fun class that you can learn about your strengths and weaknesses. Many people don’t like the same hobby as others. I think that we should keep theses classes so we can learn about the background of it all. It shouldn’t be a requirement to take these classes it should be optional. kids need to learn what they like to do so they can learn what their career may be for the future. without these classes they can 't learn much about themselves.
It is important that all students get the best possible chance of success for the future. Because not all students have the ability to attend magnet or charter schools, they are forced to attend public school; and when public schools cut the fine arts, these chances are dramatically reduced for these students, especially those interested in pursuing an art career. Not only does cutting the arts complicate and, in some cases, eliminate a student’s plans for the future, but students can also lose certain advantages in brain development that the arts specifically provide. This includes improvement in motor and cognitive ability, communication, and memory; all of which are skills that students can and will use for the rest of their lives. It is also worth noting how the fine arts shape a student to be ready and appear well rounded in many mays, which is important when applying to college. The students currently in school will shape the future of the world; they will take places in the government, become bosses of big companies. Some will even become president one day. Then for what righteous reasons should they be deprived of fine arts courses that allow for a mental break while also creating positive mental stimuli? To put it simply, there are no justifiable reasons for cutting fine
Art classes throughout kindergarten and up to my junior year in college have taught me so much about expression, performance and making a statement. Learning and practicing art introduces a new way of processing information, and approaching problems. In my