(no subject)
Thomas Chapman
November 5th, 2009
EDUC 2110
The Importance of Art Education
In today's society where education is constantly under scrutiny, curriculum and budget cuts yield questions of curriculum necessities. Emphasis is placed on student achievement, test scores, and slim budgets leave school faculty second guessing the necessity of the arts in a student’s education. Further study into the relevance of the arts’ place in student curriculum yielded popular opinion that the arts are not only important in a well rounded education, but necessary. The critical thinking skills developed through an education in the arts extends to all areas of the general curriculum.
The shocking opinion that sports and physical education are more important to schools is seen by many to be a detriment to higher learning. Even the Essentialist perspective of education, which calls for the better test scores of America’s students, calls for math, science, history, foreign language, and literature to be the foundation of education, not directly mentioning art, but mentioning literature as a form of art. The lessons taught by an education in the arts are invaluable. “The arts empower children to communicate ideas that words and numbers cannot adequately express, encourage multiple answers and stress the importance of asking questions, and teach students to continually search for meaning and answers”(Stephens 65). A physical education is required by most schools and is undoubtedly important, yet the idea of cutting arts-centered programs before physical education is disastrous. Yes, it is important for America’s youth to be physically fit, yet the arts provide an outlet for student’s who may not be very academically inclined, and may encourage them to seek self expression, express creativity, and seek their own form of fulfillment. In recent studies, it has been found that “interaction with art not only promotes creativity and critical thinking skills, according to studies, it also can improve language and writing as well as boost academic achievement” (De Leon 2009). Visual interaction with the arts encourages students to perform visual thinking strategies, in which they draw many different conclusions about the work that is in front of them. They develop higher level thinking that transfers to other subject areas in schools (2009). Many schools, including Harvard Medical School, are utilizing visual thinking strategies to improve their students’ observation and diagnostic skills. Developed by Abigail Housen, visual thinking strategies “which identify patterns of thinking that are connected to how much art a person has seen or experienced. She concluded that this deliberate exposure to art can build critical thinking skills that can be transferred to other subjects including writing, math, social studies and science” De Leon 2009).
Creative expression is perhaps the most important asset to alleviating the stress of being a teenager. During a time in our lives when homework is heavy, most teenagers experience many kinds of stress as their bodies and minds undergo changes. While not everyone is made to fully understand math and sciences, self expression can be defined as the most important way to alleviate stress and aid students who may be lagging in other curricular areas to succeed and experience fulfillment (O 2006). By cutting arts-centered programs in our schools, the community as a whole might suffer increased suicide rates and an increase in crime rate. It takes years for an artist to hone his/her skills for them to be presented on a professional level, and like languages, it is much easier for our youth to develop skills in learning how to play an instrument and find creative output. By cutting arts programs or even postponing them, we risk losing opportunities to better our students.
Statistics
De Leon, Virginia. "Visual interaction with art boosts academic achievement." The Spokesman Review. 1 June 2009. Web.
McGee, Theresa. "The Importance of Art in Education." The Teaching Palette. School Arts Magazine, 17 June 2009. Web.
November 5th, 2009
EDUC 2110
The Importance of Art Education
In today's society where education is constantly under scrutiny, curriculum and budget cuts yield questions of curriculum necessities. Emphasis is placed on student achievement, test scores, and slim budgets leave school faculty second guessing the necessity of the arts in a student’s education. Further study into the relevance of the arts’ place in student curriculum yielded popular opinion that the arts are not only important in a well rounded education, but necessary. The critical thinking skills developed through an education in the arts extends to all areas of the general curriculum.
The shocking opinion that sports and physical education are more important to schools is seen by many to be a detriment to higher learning. Even the Essentialist perspective of education, which calls for the better test scores of America’s students, calls for math, science, history, foreign language, and literature to be the foundation of education, not directly mentioning art, but mentioning literature as a form of art. The lessons taught by an education in the arts are invaluable. “The arts empower children to communicate ideas that words and numbers cannot adequately express, encourage multiple answers and stress the importance of asking questions, and teach students to continually search for meaning and answers”(Stephens 65). A physical education is required by most schools and is undoubtedly important, yet the idea of cutting arts-centered programs before physical education is disastrous. Yes, it is important for America’s youth to be physically fit, yet the arts provide an outlet for student’s who may not be very academically inclined, and may encourage them to seek self expression, express creativity, and seek their own form of fulfillment. In recent studies, it has been found that “interaction with art not only promotes creativity and critical thinking skills, according to studies, it also can improve language and writing as well as boost academic achievement” (De Leon 2009). Visual interaction with the arts encourages students to perform visual thinking strategies, in which they draw many different conclusions about the work that is in front of them. They develop higher level thinking that transfers to other subject areas in schools (2009). Many schools, including Harvard Medical School, are utilizing visual thinking strategies to improve their students’ observation and diagnostic skills. Developed by Abigail Housen, visual thinking strategies “which identify patterns of thinking that are connected to how much art a person has seen or experienced. She concluded that this deliberate exposure to art can build critical thinking skills that can be transferred to other subjects including writing, math, social studies and science” De Leon 2009).
Creative expression is perhaps the most important asset to alleviating the stress of being a teenager. During a time in our lives when homework is heavy, most teenagers experience many kinds of stress as their bodies and minds undergo changes. While not everyone is made to fully understand math and sciences, self expression can be defined as the most important way to alleviate stress and aid students who may be lagging in other curricular areas to succeed and experience fulfillment (O 2006). By cutting arts-centered programs in our schools, the community as a whole might suffer increased suicide rates and an increase in crime rate. It takes years for an artist to hone his/her skills for them to be presented on a professional level, and like languages, it is much easier for our youth to develop skills in learning how to play an instrument and find creative output. By cutting arts programs or even postponing them, we risk losing opportunities to better our students.
Statistics
De Leon, Virginia. "Visual interaction with art boosts academic achievement." The Spokesman Review. 1 June 2009. Web.
McGee, Theresa. "The Importance of Art in Education." The Teaching Palette. School Arts Magazine, 17 June 2009. Web.