Most would agree that arts education is a good thing. The benefits of arts education, however, have been under scrutiny since the US started to fall behind much of the world in skills that seem most applicable to working in a modern economy, like science, technology, engineering, and math.
When administrators attempt to improve school curricula, they grapple with what to omit so to make room for more modern subjects. For the sake of our children’s’ futures and financial well being, should arts education be scrapped entirely?
Here are two main reasons not to disinvest in arts education. (Although there are many more!) The first is that arts can be a respite for creative-minded students who struggle with the rote and analytic parts of a curriculum, which can empower them to stay invested in school and not drop out. The other is that art breeds special skills – creativity, self expression, production ownership – that are hugely applicable, not only to other subjects, but in modern industries that increasingly reward innovators.
Art education improves overall scholastic achievement.
According to Americans for the Arts, young people who participate in the arts for about nine hours per week, “are four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement, to participate in a math and science fair or to win an award for writing an essay or poem than children who do not participate.”
Arts education helps improve skills that are crucial for general school performance, like creativity, critical thinking, problem solving and learning skills. The old mode of teaching one method to find one correct answer is increasingly out of touch with both education standards and our modern workforce. This makes arts education more relevant than ever for modern students.
According to The Education Fund, “…several recent studies have concluded that the creativity and innovation utilized in the artistic process will be highly valued by employers in the United States in the coming years as we continue to shift into a global economy.” Compelling children to think creatively now will help those skills come more naturally in their future careers.
Increasingly, even jobs that don’t seem explicitly creative require out-of-the-box fluid thinking and elements of design. By prioritizing art education, we prepare our students for the realities of today’s world of work, and give them the best tools that we can for tomorrow.
Janani Nathan is a Chicago-based multimedia artist, CPS art teacher, and tattoo artist. Her art is colorful, organic, and full of vivid...
May 5, 2021Our latest Artist Process Video features graphic designer and letterpress printer Ben Blount, and we couldn’t be...
May 3, 2021
LinkWhether you're starting out on the road to becoming a professional illustrator, or further into your career but in need of a...
April 26, 2021
LET'S TURN ART INTO IMPACT.
