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The Arts Build Academic and Social Sills

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It seems to be the impossible dream: to find a way to teach students valuable life skills in a way that is enjoyable. Teachers spend hours attempting to think of ways for students to learn that usually end with unwillingness to participate. Essays and worksheets can teach students a little about these skills, but they will not maintain their interest. Once the students get bored, they lose all motivation to learn, resulting in a less educated generation. Often overlooked, the arts provide an easy, fun way for students of all ages to learn these skills that use a student’s already present energy and creativity for learning. Involvement in the arts is beneficial to students because it improves creativity, builds communication skills, and improves academic performance.

Creativity is one of the first skills that kids learn from the arts. Since the arts allow people to think, feel, and act on things in their own way, it opens up many possibilities for creativity (Aland par. 3). Creativity can be described as imagining something and giving it a form in real life or as dealing with a problem by coming up with a new solution (“Why” par. 1-5). Many issues can be dealt with by using creativity. Innovation requires the use of imagination and creativity by using them to come up with original ideas (Secomb par. 1). However, imagination and creativity are not the same. Imagination requires creativity, but making a physical product of the imagination is what creativity really is (“Why” par. 1).

Creative activities in school benefit kids in many ways. Unfortunately, the fear of failure inhibits creativity, especially in children (Secomb par. 9). That is why learning the arts in school is important. Creative th...

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...eb. 18 Oct. 2013.

Russell-Bowie, Deirdre E. “Developing Preservice Primary Teachers’ Confidence and Competence in Arts Education using Principles of Authentic Learning.” Australian Journal of Teacher Education. Jan. 2012: 60-71. Web.

Secomb, Dave. “The Seeds of Growth: Why Creativity is Important in Education.” inquiryblog.wordpress.com. Inquire Within. 18 Apr. 2013. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.

Smith, Fran. “Why Arts Education is Crucial, and Who’s Doing it Best.” edutopia.org. The George Lucas Educational Foundation. 21 Oct. 2013. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.

Walling, Donovan R., and D. Jack Davis. “Art Education.” Encyclopedia of Education. Ed. James W. Guthrie. 2nd ed. Vol 1. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2003. 117-123. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. 18 Oct. 2013.

“Why Creativity Is Important.” arts-humanities.squidoo.com. Squidoo, LLC. N.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.
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