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The importance of arts education for children
Should art classes be compulsory in school
Does standardized testing have negative effects on education
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High school has a tremendous impact on student’s future. Classes that students take have a very large effect on their life. Art classes should be required because students should be able to express their creativity, have a break from their ordinary core classes and an opportunity for new experiences. Art classes should be required because it will give students an opportunity to represent their creativity. Required core classes give students no opportunities to show their creativity. Core classes follow standards that the students must learn; on the other hand art classes let students represent their individuality. In core classes students rarely have an opportunity to show their imaginative characteristics. Students should be able to express their creativity to help them figure out what they are good at. Young adults have so much opportunity and possibilities in life but sitting in a class they have no interest in prevents them from showing their true potential. Art classes will be a good way to find way students hobbies and talents are. If required these classes will help students express themselves. …show more content…
Typical classes required for graduation have many standardized tests through out the year. Standardized testing does nothing for the students but test their memorization however most art classes having no standardizing testing in place. Without testing students will be less stressed. Despite the testing the typical classes are usually boring. The majority of high school students complain about their long pointless classes but if they took an art class they wouldn’t. Students never pay attention in their classes but if they were in a required art class they would. A break from traditional classes would help with stress and depression of high school
General Education courses may be one of the most hated requirements in college by students. These courses are required amongst all college students regardless of one’s major or minor. General Education courses may vary with schools but usually consist of: the arts and humanities, social science, natural science, mathematics, and writing. These courses should be optional; students should be able to take them at their own interest such as with elective courses. Without General Education courses it is understood that students will not have completed or received credits needed to graduate. Required college courses should be based solely on one’s major or minor. Students should not be required to take general education courses for the simple fact that they are deemed “important”. General Education courses causes more money, unnecessary time spent taking classes that do not correlate with one’s major, and also lower grades. However, general education classes are said to be the basic skills needed for college students.
In high school, an Arts credit is required. To obtain this art credit students take art, but not all students are good at it. Many people love to draw, visual learners draw things to explain themselves. People create art to explain how they feel or see the world. If a student puts the time and hard work into their art, and they get told their art is not up to standards and the teacher fails it, that student may give up on art and not pursue something they genuinely enjoy.
The purpose of a high school education is to prepare one for college and ultimately, the workforce. By the end of freshman year, in high school, the average student has learned a sufficient amount of material in enough subjects , that he or she can be considered "well-rounded" in his or her studies. This is because the rate at which material is covered in schools, across the nation has increased dramatically compared to the past. Students now learn more advanced curriculum at a younger age, and this continues to become more evident year after year. High school has now become more focused on teaching students a small amount of information on several essential subjects, rather than having them focus deeply on the subjects they seek to pursue in career. Unfortunately, this shift in focus has caused the overall high school experience to stray away from its intended purpose. If students are not prepared for their career, what purpose does a high school education have? If High Schools inserted more elective course opportunities into their standard set of curriculum, it would further prepare students for the career of their choice, allow them to truly master a subject, build their confidence, and refine their talents so that they may grow and succeed their future occupations.
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?
The Importance of Arts Education Jane Alexander, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), once said, “Many children are missing out on something which gives their education context, gives their lives depth and meaning, and prepares them to be the future workforce.” This “something” that she spoke of is music and art education. Unfortunately, she is entirely correct. We are currently seeing a dramatic cut in arts education curriculum in our public schools due to the limited amount of time and funding. In many cases, budget cutbacks mean arts education cutbacks.
Art is intended for all to enjoy and learn from. Through an art curriculum; phonics, mathematics, and readiness skills to name a few can be learned through an art curriculum. With this curriculum a teacher can adapt that centers to teach those with diverse abilities such as emotional and intellectual challenges, visual impairments, hearing impairments, and orthopedic impairments.
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.
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.
The arts are not only a nice way to pass time; the arts can greatly help with education. Schools in the United States have encouraged children to have an outlet and if the outlet is not sports, most kids take some kind of art class. According to Velasco (2012), a child development specialist, certain students who have taken at least one art credit every year since the start of third grade were more likely to comprehend math and literature easier; for example, counting the beats in every stanza of music or learning the history and background of song lyrics. Velasco also states that students scored 1.5 times better in standardized tests, than kids who did not take an art credit. By helping schools fund art programs, the skills learned by students taking these classes can ultimately help schools excel in academic achievements, and they can aid students to a brighter future.
Mandatory classes can be annoying to a student because they can pull them away from the classes that interest them, but don’t fit into their schedule. The forced emphasis on the class makes students question the validity of the content they are being forced to learn. When this question goes unanswered students do not have a purpose that will motivate them to learn. Students are not the only ones questioning the validity of mandatory classes. John Taylor Gatto questions the need for required classes because individuals have been successful without schooling.
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.
Balanced programs for art education have been constantly changing and adapting over the years. One program that was developed back in the late 1960’s by Elliot Eisner incorporated three areas of art into the curriculum. These included art object, art criticism and the historical context of art. His program developed into a theoretical base for art curriculum in the elementary schools that is very similar to programs used today (Madeja 2001).
...l K-12 but if they cannot be , then they should be integrated into the other subjects. Without art in schools it could hurt a child’s early and late deployment. Art integration has shown that it helps with creating ideas, thinking with a new mind set, and process new challenges that they will face as they grow and see things that they have not seen yet. Many people believe that art integrated with the other subjects would not help students I disagree with that, art can help with many subjects and help students understand them.
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.
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