There is high percentage of people who believe that integrating arts into education is important. If this is the case than why is there such a lack of funding in arts education? There has been extensive research done and evidence showing that arts education starting from an early age and continuing throughout students schooling is beneficial to them. The importance of implementing arts in education helps students with their creativity and imagination, helps their appreciation of different aspects in life, and helps students connect to assignments.
People of all ages continuously talk about “finding their inner child”. They talk about how they need to have the innocence, play-fullness, but most importantly the imagination of a child. Adults want to be as imaginative as children, but how do adults gain that if a child does not have it himself. The organization, Americans for the Arts, put out a commercial in 2002. It centered around a ten-year-old boy who lacked all imagination. When at a party, he looked at the balloon animal that the clown made for him with confusion. The clown announced that it was a giraffe and the boy replied, “I don’t see it” (Losing Art Education). This type of response is absolutely absurd for a ten-year-old boy. The lack of imagination in this child stems from the lack of arts education in school. In addition to the lack of imagination, the boy has zero appreciation for the arts. When he walked past a musician playing violin on the street he yelled, “Get a job!” (Losing Art Education). This type of action displays not only disrespect for adults, but how he does not respect anything in the arts. This commercial was a great way for Americans for the Arts to get their point across to America.
In July of 2010, there was a resolution passed by the House of Representatives. This designated that “National Arts in Education Week” would take place the second week in September. They wrote in House Resolution #275, “Whereas arts education, comprising a rich array of disciplines, including dance, music, theatre, media arts, literature, design, and visual arts, is a core academic subject and an essential element of a complete balanced education for all students” (AEPARTS). This is a great start in implementing arts into education for students, but it isn’t enough. Bob Lynch, president and chief executive of organization Americans for the Arts, said, “We want to emphasize that while 95 percent of Americans believe that arts are important to education, there is a big lack of arts education in the schools and in their lives” (Losing Art Education). Lynch brings to our attention that although most of Americans believe of its importance, the arts are forgotten. It is something that is should be embraced and taught to all children at an early age. Actor Alec Baldwin once said in an interview, “When I was exposed to the arts, it changed my life” (Losing Art Education). If art is not implemented in our education system, we may not have the entertainment that we have today. It is important to remember that art is a core to many of the aspects of life we as humans love.
Art should be a part of children’s lives in education from the beginning. Education itself is something that is important for students to gain the knowledge that they need to continue on with life. However, teaching the main core subjects is not enough for children to be part of society in its entirety. “Teaching the arts to children should not be considered an educational luxury. Architecture, painting, sculpture, theatre and literature, in particular, are vital parts of every child’s heritage…” (Proposal for the Arts). These art forms are a part of student’s daily life and without the education on them they will not understand nor appreciate the art they see every day around them. Without art in education from an early age, young children cannot begin to understand the importance of what differences buildings have from one another as they get older. For example, a child cannot understand the difference between a museum and an office building. These have different architecture that helps both run smoothly. What makes those differences is good architects being able to decipher what is needed and what is not (Proposal for the Arts).
Music education in school is another important aspect for children to be exposed to. Music is one of the most common forms of art in any person’s life. Children hear different genres of music depending on their family’s personal preferences. Even when considering this, most children are exposed to mostly pop music and may not hear any classical music during their life unless it is exposed to them in school. It is a great way to teach children to different cultures and learn to accept differences in people. It is important for children to learn about different art forms in their early education regardless if it becomes their passion or not. Educators can implement art into their curriculum which helps students not only learn the state required material but helps them develop other parts of their personality and imagination.
When implementing arts into the curriculum the students benefit in multiple ways. They are more engaged in activities and lessons when there is an art aspect to connect with. Students in urban areas are less likely to gain education in the arts because of funding. Everett School District in Massachusetts was fortunate enough in 2013 to gain a grant from the U.S Department of Education to integrate arts into their curriculum. In three years, Everett was able to amalgamate arts into the curriculum and it has affected the students in a positive manner. The district has a higher percentage of English learners and students living in poverty and this type of economic stress on the students hurts their education. However, when the students were able to adopt arts into their everyday learning it helped the students make meaningful connections to music, visual art, and theatre which in return helped with their academics overall (Districtwide Arts Integration). Integrating arts into the classroom is certainly rewarding, but it is not always going to be easy. In addition to the high costs in some areas, it takes a lot of time and planning on the teachers’ part. This should not stop anyone from putting these plans into action. During the age of standardized testing, arts and creativity should be a priority for students of all ages. It helps keep the classroom an interesting and engaging environment (Districtwide Arts Integration).
Attending a high school that focus more on the arts than most school was extremely beneficial. As a student there, the opportunities to grow as an artist were presented, but in addition to that, it allowed the students to also grow as people. They became better parts of society accepting change and differences in people. Not only did students learn their core academic subjects, they excelled at them! There is a heavy focus on the arts of their choosing in the school, but the administration makes it clear that the focus on the arts education and discipline would not take away the importance of general education. The education on different arts in school has given the students an understanding and appreciation for the arts and in return an appreciation for different aspects of life.
Despite that 95 percent of Americans believe arts in education is important in the school system, there is a lack in the curriculum (Losing Art Education). Part of this is because of funding for specific art education classes. Educators need to add art into their daily activities and lessons to help with the lack of arts education for children of all ages. The research done showing that arts education starting from an early continuing through the years is beneficial to students. The importance of implementing arts in education helps students with their creativity and imagination, helps their appreciation of different aspects in life, and helps students connect to assignments.