The arts are everywhere in our lives and have always been an important part of human daily experiences. The arts also are an enormous economic force in our world from fashion to design to the entertainment business; all are multibillion-dollar industries. Numerous studies have shown a positive correlation between a balanced and comprehensive education in the arts and high student standardized tests. A comprehensive arts education program helps students develop self-esteem, self-discipline, cooperative skills and self-motivation, all of which are necessary to be successful in life. (Arts Education Partnership, 2006) A comprehensive elementary arts education program should consist of all 4 elements: dance, music, theatre and visual arts.
DANCE
Why?
The first important element in arts education is dance. The art of dance has been around since the beginning of time. Before humans even developed verbal and written languages, they used movement to communicate and understand. The art of dance teaches students to appreciate our diverse cultures, beliefs and societies; children learn to connect with one another because dance is an important element in almost every culture. Dance education will teach students the basic fundamentals of dance and choreography, self-discipline, focus, problem solving and creativity.
What Content Should Be Taught?
Dance education should start with the child becoming aware of how creatively their body can move. They should learn the basics of movement and choreographic skills and how music and rhythms can play apart in creating movement. They learn how to work alone and/or with a partner to create movement. Students begin to be taught vocabulary relating to dance and how to use their ears and...
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...tion Partnerships: http://www.aep-arts.org/publications/info.htm?publication_id=25&PHPSESSID=ec05412ba4a60e526cf1b5da5be89b2e
North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction: Art Education. (2003). Arts Education Teacher Handbook. Retrieved June 24, 2011, from North Carolina Public Schools: http://www.ncpublicschools.org/curriculum/artsed/resources/handbook/dance/01introduction
Saraniero, P. (2010). Constructivism: Actively building arts education. Retrieved June 24, 2011, from The Kennedy Center ArtsEdge: http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/educators/how-to/from-theory-to-practice/constructivism.aspx
The National Arts and Education Network. (n.d.). K-4 Standards in Dance, Music, Theatre and Visual Arts. Retrieved June 24, 2011, from The Kennedy Center ArtsEdge: http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/educators/standards/full-text/K-4%20Standards%20by%20Arts%20Subject.aspx
Holcomb, Sabrina. "Arts Education." Rss. National Education Association, 17 Jan. 2007. Web. 10 May 2016.
For the dancer, music and choreography are paramount. The music guides the dancer, and the moves express the music. However, the dance has to start from somewhere.
Since 2008, approximately 80% of school districts in America have experienced cuts within their arts budget (Metla, 2015). Legislation at the federal and state levels have enabled these drastic and controversial cuts. No Child Left Behind enforced Common Core standards ensured t...
As a student studying kinesiology, I believe that professionals should acquire knowledge of dance because dance is an activity that has to do with physical movements. In my opinion, to be a professional in Kinesiology we must have enough knowledge of the human movement and dance is indeed a topic that requires the knowledge of physical movements. The physical education professionals are not like psychiatrists or physicians that give the clients medicine and tell them what to stay away from. However, people in the other fields, i.g. physical education, have to let clients know that there is a different kind of approach to their issues by introducing them to dance. Dance is related to the history of kinesiology because it has been practiced since long ago and it is still present
... social dance. Many people in today’s society enjoy social; dancing. Chapter eleven dance concert, properly planning and establishing a dance concert is of the utmost importance. The partnership with the lighting designer usually takes priority over all other factors. One of the most important issues concerning customers has to do with mobility. The dancer must be able to move comfortably in the costume. The task of producing a dance concert is an overwhelming and tiring one. Chapter twelve dance in education and career in dance, many dance educators present the argument that teaching and learning dance as an art form is obviously absent from the American student education. There has always been and always will be people who have a love, desire, and passion to instruct and learn the art of dance, will ensure an important place for dance in higher education.
Ballroom dancing in New York gives underprivileged children the opportunity to be exposed to the arts, which is usually a program that is cut from low-income schools. This program is a part of a fine arts curriculum with a focus on movement/dancing. A fine art curriculum approach integrates the different aspect of the arts to enhance the learning experiences of the students (Agrelo, 2005; “Dancing Classrooms- Mission”, 2015; Gorski
“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.
All around the United States, art programs are being cut out of the budget in public schools. The arts include dance, band, chorus, theatre, film, drawing, painting, photography and literary arts. Some school board members feel these art programs are not necessary and do not benefit the students in any way. Elementary, middle, and high school students are forced to quit their passion and feel that their talents are not supported by their schools. Although many are not aware, there is a strong connection between arts education and academic achievement. Unfortunately, due to budget cuts in many public schools, the art classes are first on the list to be cut. It is important that the students, parents and teachers fight for their desire to keep the arts in public schools. Art programs in public schools are essential to the development of young minds; therefore the school boards should enhance and improve the programs and should not cut funding or force a class to be discontinued.
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?
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 in our country a dramatic cut in arts education curriculum in our public schools due to the limited amount of both time and funding. In many cases budget cutbacks mean arts education cutbacks. This limited amount of resources often forces administrators to place a 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.
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 creation of art, music, dance, sporting activity and literature should be made a fundamental part of every school 's pre-K to 12th grade curriculum. The creation art it’s very important for children from their early age, a lot of benefits children can do and learn through art. A lot of benefits they can receive:
Staff Writers. "10 Salient Studies on the Arts in Education." Online Colleges. 6 Sept. 2011. Web. 25 Feb. 2015. .
Overby, L. (1992). Status of dance in education (Report No. ED348368). Washington, DC: Eric Clearinghouse on Teacher Education. Discusses the status of dance as a part of the elementary school curriculum. This Digest examines the rationale for dance in education, the status of dance education, and selected issues in dance education.
"Why Arts Education Is Crucial, and Who's Doing It Best." Edutopia. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2014.