Why We Love the Arts

By Corgan Atkins, Aidan Ramirez, and Brylee Cuthbertson, Willow Canyon High School

Art has been a paramount staple of humanity, dating all the way back to the Lower Paleolithic when rocks were our only canvases. Now, stages, desolate train cars, mannequins, whiteboards, and even iPads play as our canvases. This development of art and what we define as art has affected culture and society by changing opinions, assembling people, and engendering communities that last a lifetime. Music, painting, literature, and other such forms of art preserve what historical records can’t. Here at Willow Canyon High School, we appreciate the arts for this exact reason.

Why are the arts important to establish in schools? Not only do they promote innovative learning skills but they also help teach us motor skills, social skills, and other qualities useful in day-to-day life. The arts also give us the opportunity to express ourselves when we might not get the chance to at home. Arts education is crucial in schools, and we believe that to some extent, it should be required. There are several positive connotations linked to the practice of the arts, and if we want children to grow up as creative, risk-taking, high achievers, then we need to start implementing and normalizing the arts in modern education.

As students involved in theatre, the arts are very important to us. A student here at Willow Canyon explained to us perfectly her experience in the arts.

“When I was younger, I went to a school that did not offer any fine arts classes. No choir, no theatre, no band. The closest thing someone could get to singing and acting was being on the morning announcements. I remember how crazy it felt, being swarmed by science and engineering classes, pushed into a job path I wasn’t so sure about. When I switched out of that school and found a school with the arts, I had never felt more confident in what I wanted to do in the future. I got involved in plays, festivals of the arts, and so much more. I discovered my love for acting, singing, and taking part in all parts of theatre. Theatre changed both my perspective on my own life and the overall perspective I took on the world. Not only that, but theatre provided me with friends and connections that made me a thoughtful, more confident person. I know that I have been influenced by the artistry and ardency that the arts hold.”

Overall, the arts are an inspiring thing. It allows us to converge and to stand out in a way we never knew we could. It makes a vigorous community with all those sharing the same kind of excitement. The arts can connect people of different interests, hobbies, cultures, and so much more. The arts change people as individuals and communities.

Without music, without theatre, the world would be greatly divided and destitute of personality and color. Anyone can express themselves through art, not just actors and musicians. That’s the attraction of the arts, and that’s what makes them so important to us.