ARTS EDUCATION

Importance of the Arts

ETHAN MINGOIA, copy editor

The United States is currently in alleged educational stagnation. Concerns mount that by withholding from dramatic reforms to the educational system, our economy is destined to fall behind in the international community. Various State Departments of Education controversially decided to increase standardized testing, therefore, emphasizing the misinterpreted shortsightedness of tests like the SAT and ACT. Consequently, these reforms down-play the expression that art education provides and threaten the quiddity of creativity for future generations. Art education is reinforced by years of research linking it to almost everything that our nation says we covet for our children and demand from our schools: academic achievement, social and emotional development, civic engagement and equitable opportunity. Involvement in the arts is analogous with gains in math, reading, cognitive ability, critical thinking and verbal skills. Arts erudition can also improve motivation, concentration, confidence and teamwork. A 2005 report by the Rand Corporation about the visual arts argues that the intrinsic pleasures of the artistic experience “can connect people more deeply to the world and open them to new ways of seeing,” laying the foundation to forge social bonds and community cohesion. From Mozart for babies to tutus for toddlers, the children of affluent, aspiring parents generally get exposed to the arts whether or not public schools provide them. Low-income children, often, do not. “Arts education enables those children from a financially challenged background to have a more level playing field with children who have had those enrichment experiences,’’ said Eric Cooper, president and founder of the National Urban Alliance for Effective Education. Engaging with art is essential to the human experience. Almost as soon as motor skills are developed, children communicate through artistic expression. The arts challenge us with different points of view, compel us to empathize with “others” and give us the opportunity to reflect on the human condition. Empirical evidence supports these claims: Among adults, arts participation is related to behaviors that contribute to the health of civil society, such as increased civic engagement, greater social tolerance and reductions in other-regarding behavior. Clearly, art has remained a transformative and impactful part of people’s lives and is a vital factor in K-12 curriculum.