The Importance of Arts Education

As summer winds down, many are turning their minds to school. Parents are busy planning their tax-free weekend purchases, carpool schedules are being drawn out and kids are planning on what to wear and how to pack their backpack for the all important first day of class, all the while desperately trying to relish the last few weeks of freedom from homework and tests. It is definitely an eventful time.

We can all agree that education is possibly the most important thing in life. Learning how and why the world works the way it does, or how 1+1 can sometimes equal 3 if you do some magic math (thank you, Mr. Thrasher for blowing my eighth-grade mind) is how we discover ourselves and how we fit into this wonderful world. More importantly, as you grow older, you learn that everything has a reason and that everything works together. The more you know about the world around you, the better you can navigate it and reach your goals.

Everyone knows the core subjects in school – and when I speak of school, I mean elementary through high school – Reading, (W)riting and (A)rithmetic. Then you’ve got your History, Science, Foreign Language, and Gym classes. But we’ve left out one, very important class – the Arts (band, dance, visual art, drama).

The role the arts play in education is becoming increasingly important and apparent. Exposing students to art, at any age, is proving to be vital in their future success. Students learn more than just how to play a few songs on their trumpet or how to memorize a few lines of a play – they are learning how to be creative.

You simply cannot ignore the fact the creativity is the root of innovation. If we want our children to grow up and invent the next Facebook or create the cure for cancer – they’re going to have to be creative. Instruction in the arts expands the mind to think of different ways of solving problems, of different ways to tell a story or of different ways to express that which cannot be put into words.

There is a problem though. With the economy the way it is, many states and even Washington have cut funding to the education system. We tell teachers to do more with even less and with more students. We tell students to learn about history from books dating back to the mid-90s, when the Internet had quotations around its name and when social media was limited to a handshake.

Regardless of the debate on educational funding – the truth is that when funding is cut, the arts are typically the first thing to go. Many people ignore the benefits of the arts to a child’s education. Let’s crunch some numbers:

*Students with high level in arts involvement are less likely to drop out of school by 10th grade than those with low arts involvement (1.4% compared to 4.8%).  They are also more likely to be involved in their community and have higher academic achievement. (Arts Education Partnership)

*Research from 1987-1998 shows that young people who ‘practice’ the arts at least 3x a week for 3hrs over a year:
  -4x more likely to be recognized for academic achievement
       -Being elected to class office 3x more often
       -4x more likely to participate in a math and science fair
       -3x more likely to win an award for school attendance
       -4x more likely to win an award for writing an essay or poem 
(Source: Dr. Shirley Brice Heath, Standord University, for Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching) 

*Data from the College Board shows that arts students outperform non-arts students on the SAT by an average of 92.5 points over the past 12 years.  (not including the newer Writing section, but over the past 5yrs of that being in existence, arts students have out performed an average of 40pts higher in that section). (Source: The College Board, 2010.  2010 College-Bound Seniors: Total Group Profile Report)

*There is also a high correlation to cognitive development and arts students. (Source: LEARNING, ARTS, AND THE BRAIN, The Dana Consortium Report on Arts and Cognition, Dana Press, 2008)

But how does that help my child get ahead later in life? Well US employers have rated creativity/innovation as one of the top five skills that will increase in importance over the next five years. On top of that 56% of employers agree that a college degree in the arts is the most significant indicator of creativity in a prospective job candidate.

The point is folks – the arts matter.  They matter in life and they matter in school.  So break out those rhythm sticks, recorders, macaroni and Shakespeare – it’s time to learn.

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All data above sourced from Americans for the Arts

If you want to hear more, check out Champions of Change, the White House’s nod to those who change the world in America – Week 15 is dedicated to Arts in Education.

Check out the original blog post here.