Paige Donovan

Sean M. George
English 1010D.03
10 December 2015
Is It Really That Important?

Art can be put into two main categories, Performing Arts and Visual Arts. Performing arts
consists of dance, theatre, and music. While Visual arts can consist of drawing, painting,
photography, and ceramics. Funding for art programs have decreased so much over the years,
because are programs are said to be less important than core classes and extracurricular activities
like football or baseball. Why is art education looked so down upon? It is said that children and
teens who take some kind of art program that they are more likely to be more successful in
school, having a more stable mind set, and they are able to see the world in a different, more
creative way compared to those who do not take art classes. Art education programs should get
as much funding as those of general education classes get.
Many people and educators argue that art is something that is just squeezed in to
education to give children creative breaks that will not help them succeed in the future. There
have been many clinical studies and tests that beg to differ. During one clinical test it was said
that, Adult dancers were significantly more accurate than non dancers in an attentional task and
faster in a biological motion perception test (A Preliminary). Even though they said that adult
dancers and not young dancers, either way whether younger or older dancers are faster and more
accurate at these kinds of tests. Arts programs have also been said to help improve selective
attention. Long and short term memory, and interface control. Preforming arts like theatre and

music focus more on the academic aspect rather than the emotional or creative aspect. In the
journal, Connections Between Education in the Arts and Student Achievement, Nick Rabkin
explains that students who have taken theatre and/or musical arts students have shown a
significant change in their self- efficacy, self-concept, comprehension, perseverance, and team
work skills. Fran Smith, the Author of Why Arts Education is Crucial, and Whos Doing it
Best, quoted Tom Horn, who said, If theyre worried about test scores and want a way to get
them higher, they need to give kids more art not less. Theres lots of evidence that kids immersed
in the arts do better on their academic tests than those who dont. Art may not be able to help
every child with their academics and thats understandable, but it does help many other kids.
Art education is said to improve ones self-esteem, social skills, mood satiability, and
psychosocial adjustment. How does art help with the mind set of children? Building social skills
is a huge affect on involved in multiply art genres. Teachers have noticed that at risk students
who have attended art classes in school have found pathways through the the arts to help them
control their emotions. Art classes in school come in handy when when dealing with students
with who may have a kind of autism. These children are un able to express their emotions or
themselves in the same way as other children do (Miksza). If schools took art classes out of
schools how would these children be able to do what everyone other student does? It helps them
feel normal with the other students in the art class. Art does not just have to be a creative outlet
or to help with academic success. It has a wide chain of benefits to students beyond their learning
ability (connections). In the article Preliminary study of the effects of an arts education
program, the doctors, who helped write the article, have noticed that, Art education affects the
neural system leading to cognitive, emotional, and behavior changes in children is yet to be
established (Preliminary). This maybe true but there have been many different stories about

how its helped students with childhood and teenage depression. Knowing that one does not have
to necessarily be good at something in the world of art but that they had an experience that made
them want to keep going and not give up. Dance is a great example; not everyone is born with
natural talent or natural flexibility, but it helps young children and young adults to build a lot of
perseverance and self-confidence. Dance can also make someone a risk-taker, which may not be
the best thing but its can help make children stand up for themselves or make them stronger so
when their older certain things will not scare them. There is a huge emotional grab on art
education whether certain doctors can prove it in a test or not. Having art classes in school can
make a huge difference from those schools who do not.

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Rabkin, Nick. "Connections between Education in the Arts and Student Achievement." GIA
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Smith, Fran. "Why Arts Education Is Crucial, and Who's Doing It Best." Edutopia. N.p., 28 Jan.
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