Written by Valerie Huang
Music and art are prevalent in every aspect of today’s society. Orchestras construct the instrumental soundtracks in every movie, theater provides the backbone of Broadway musicals, and millions of paintings pour life and perspective into walls around the world. Yet despite their importance in our everyday lives, fine arts in education have long been pushed aside to focus on bookish academic subjects. Underfunded and underappreciated, the arts are viewed as less important and a waste of time. However, fine arts provide academic benefits, improve behavior, and benefit students with low socioeconomic statuses.
Although it may not be apparent, fine arts benefit students academically. A 2006 study by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum involved third graders taking part in the Learning Through Art Program. Consequently, these students “gained improved abilities to reason, hypothesize, and describe texts after exercises in which they discussed the meaning of paintings” (Chen). Analysis done by Texas’s Keller Independent School District showed that students involved in art or athletics performed better on standardized tests, where “14% more students were proficient in English, 20% more were proficient in math, 16% more were proficient in science, and 16% more were proficient in social studies” (Chen). Finally, in 2011, research conducted in some of Maryland’s public schools showed that students who took classes where art was combined with other subjects improved their reading and math skills (Chen). Fine arts often involve other subjects or important academic skills. For instance, music classes weave together principles from math with different rhythms, while theater involves complex memorization and skillful training of demeanor and bodily movements; in addition, art can involve an eye for geometry and perspectives (“Arts Education”). Consequently, fine arts help students become more well-rounded, and students who study fine arts often have higher academic performances than their peers who only take academic classes.
In addition, studying fine arts benefits students’ behavior positively. The Arts Education Partnership discovered that drama classes “helped students develop an improved understanding of social relationships and complex emotional issues,” while a “2010 study in Missouri found an inverse relationship between studying the arts and disciplinary infractions” (Chen). Schools with fine arts programs experienced significantly fewer disciplinary issues. Not only do fine arts help make sure that a student builds a positive character, but they also help students develop important life skills. Fine arts classes involve learning skills that a student may be completely new to, such as learning to play an instrument or learning an art technique. Learning and mastering these skills demonstrates a heightened ability for students to be patient, disciplined, persistent, and positive (“Arts Education”). These are all essential soft skills needed in the workplace that may not be emphasized in solely academic classes.
Finally, fine arts benefit economically disadvantaged students. The National Endowment for the Arts states that students with fine arts education “have better long-term academic, occupational, and social outcomes than their peers,” where they are more likely to attend college and earn a bachelor’s degree (Chen). In college, many students who have immersed themselves in fine arts previously choose majors such as nursing or accounting in hopes of following a higher professional career. They also tend to have more civic engagement by participating more in community volunteering and elections. Finally, students with lower socioeconomic statuses from fine arts backgrounds are motivated to choose higher careers that involve college education. For instance, they often choose law or medicine, which typically have higher-paying salaries and require more rigorous education (Chen).
That middle school orchestra might be horribly out of tune, and the years of renting an instrument may seem terribly expensive, but fine arts are more than an improvement in art or musicality—they are an investment in the overall success of a student and should be treated as much more than a frivolous waste of time.
Sources
Chen, Grace. “How the Arts Benefit Your Children Academically and Behaviorally.” Public School Review, Public School Review, 9 Nov. 2022, https://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/how-the-arts-benefit-your-children-academically-and-behaviorally.
“Importance of Arts Education.” Liberty Classical Academy, https://libertyclassicalacademy.org/importance-arts-education/.
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