My Thoughts on the Arts

 Arts Programs getting Cut

Many schools are cutting arts programs almost completely out of their curriculum. But why? Why are these schools making budget cuts? Why are other programs supposedly  more important than the arts? Let's find out.

The main reason why arts programs are being cut from schools, is because of budget cuts. Schools are making these budget cuts, and giving little funding to the arts programs, so that the funding can be rerouted to more core subjects like math and english. The No Child Left Behind Act puts even more focus on core subjects mentioned.  According to an article from KMPerform School for Arts and Performance, “The Act was put into place after the NCLB Act, with even more emphasis to be put on core subjects and skills that students needed in order to succeed in college.”  

According to the article Funding For Schools’ Arts Programs Ending, “During the 1999-2000 school year, 20% of schools offered dance and theatre classes, and 87% of schools offered visual arts classes. After these budget cuts were put into place, during the 2009-2010 year for example, only 3% of schools allocated funds for dance, and only 4% offered theatre opportunities.” Some cuts that schools have made are a lot more harsh, while others aren’t as bad. During the same school year however, 83% of students were offered visual art classes, which was less significant, but still a noticeable decrease. Overall, budget cuts are forcing schools to choose what is most important in a students’ education. 

Even though budget cuts continue to make art programs struggle to stay alive at school districts, there are still many pros about arts programs that not many people may know about. According to author Jen McDonald,”With data collected from numerous studies, it has been found that students that took four years of arts classes scored a whopping 91 points higher on their SAT tests than those who did not.” Therefore, arts classes are in a way helping students learn better. 

Arts programs have also decreased dropout rates in schools, due to the fact that arts programs give students the motivation to stay in school. This gives students who participate in the arts programs a higher graduation rate. Arts programs also have a good effect on younger students, specifically those in elementary school. According to the article Funding for Schools’ Arts Programs Ending, “Visual arts classes taken in elementary school help develop a child’s motor skills, which are crucial and help develop these skills when children use tools such as scissors, pencils, and paintbrushes.” 

Education in music at a young age is also very important. This is supported in Funding for Schools’ Arts Programs Ending when author Jen McDonald states,”Children who practice a musical instrument for at least 30 minutes a week have been found to have more developed brains than other children their age who do not.” Arts programs do have importance, helping students with core subjects, and even helping them when they’re out in the real world. 

Many people wonder why do arts programs have to be cut, and why can’t they figure out something so they don’t have to cut arts programs completely. Some schools have been figuring this out, and here are some examples of how they are doing just that. A solution that some schools are using is art integration. Arts integration is when arts programs are integrated into more traditional subjects, and the two subjects become one whole subject. Instead of treating the arts as something separate, schools can incorporate the arts into more traditional subjects. 

When arts programs are implemented into traditional subjects properly, these programs become very effective. For example, West Michigan Academy of Arts and Academics has made bland subjects more interesting, and even captivating, by incorporating dance, music, and the visual arts. What seems like “fun” learning can actually have educational outcomes. According to Reviving Creativity: How to bring Art back to Schools,”The test scores of WMAAA students rival the highest-rated traditional public schools in its district and neighboring ones too. By allowing students to be active, instead of burying them in text books or regular written assignments alone, learning moves from a place of isolation to one that has other applications beyond the topic at hand.” There are ways to keep the arts programs, some schools just need to implement these new found ways of teaching. 

 There are different reasons and laws being passed that make keeping arts programs a struggle, but there are also solutions to these problems. Arts programs can help kids both older and younger, provide a sense of artistic value, and even help them with core subjects in school. Overall, the arts programs do have importance, and need to be kept for the well being of both students and schools.

Bibliography

Lynch, Matthew. “Reviving Creativity: How to Bring Art Back to Schools.” Theedadvocate.org, 16 October 2016, https://www.theedadvocate.org/reviving-creativity-bring-art-back-schools/. Accessed 7 January 2021.

McDonald, Jen. “Funding for Schools' Arts Programs Ending?” kmsd.edu, May 2016, https://www.kmsd.edu/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&DomainID=312&ModuleInstanceID=1237&ViewID=6446EE88-D30C-497E-9316-3F8874B3E108&RenderLoc=0&FlexDataID=3316&PageID=383#:~:text=Because%20of%20this%2C%20many%20schools,it%20to%20raise%20test%20scores. Accessed 7 January 2021.