Art education needs to be taken more seriously

It never ceases to amaze me that every time education budgets get tightened, art programs are the first to get cut. So much evidence points to art’s importance in a child’s development – and not just in abstract thought.

According to dosomething.org, students who study art are four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement, and three times more likely to be awarded for school attendance.

While school districts may be tempted to believe that the arts are a meaningless part of the educational system, art is a critical component in a well-rounded education, but art education isn’t just helpful to create a well-rounded student: studies suggest it also helps students academically.

Researchers in a study from the Arts Education Partnership determined that students who received more arts education did better on standardized tests, improved their social skills and were more motivated than those who had reduced or no access to art education.

“Notions that the arts are frivolous add-ons to a serious curriculum couldn’t be further from the truth,” says James Catterall, education professor at the University of California-L.A., who coordinated the research.

Another study by the Soloman R. Guggenheim Museum sent artists to schools to teach students and help them create their own masterpieces. The study found that those who took part in the program performed better on six different categories of literacy and critical thinking skills than those who didn’t.

Program organizers believe the improvements were the result of learning valuable critical thinking skills while talking about art, which could then be applied to understand literary materials.

Students then can use these same skills they learned throughout their lives: Into middle and high school, then into college, and into their future careers.

Whether or not people choose to believe it, art education is just as important as math and science. Art is in everything around us. Art is in language and writing. Music is an art. Dance is an art. There is art in our buildings, our furniture, our technology, and almost every product on the market. Take away art and we are left with almost nothing.

There would be no artwork on the walls, no clothing, no buildings, no music, no books. Our world would be extremely dull.

Even in things as simple as your favorite article of clothing, or the logo of your favorite beverage. They all start with an idea, and then a drawing.

Art education provides students with so many benefits.

Art education isn’t just about being able to identify a Picasso or spewing facts and figures about art, it’s about introducing students to a new way of seeing things.

With art education, open-ended questions help to encourage students to reflect on their own emotional response to the artwork.

This also enables students to be more receptive of other peoples’ point of view, and to visual expression. There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to art, and this really allows students to have their own thoughts and ideas.

Art education can also help students to gain better communication skills. By encouraging students to talk about art, they gain more vocabulary not only surrounding art but also get better at articulating their ideas.

A study of Missouri public schools in 2010 found that greater arts education led to significant positive effects on the academic and social successes of their students.

The study mentions, “a growing body of research…suggests that the impact of the arts includes strengthening student learning in other academic areas, including the much-tested areas of Communication Arts and Mathematics.”

This can also help with learning to understand other peoples’ point of view, while also being able to formulate their own ideas.

With all of that said, it’s time we start looking at art education in the same light we do with math and science classes.

If we keep taking away from art education, we’re not only saying the arts don’t matter – we’re saying that something people are passionate about doesn’t matter, but without art, we would be missing out on so much.