McClain 1

Jillian McClain

Mrs. Cramer

Comp Pd. 5

7 December 2018

The Value of Art Education in Schools

Jacob Bronowski, a former scientist of the Stalk Institute, once said “science and art

equally are expressions of man’s marvelous plasticity of mind”. He was essentially saying that

science and art work well together because of how flexible the mind is. While he thinks that,

there are some people that think money put into art education is a waste of school resources.

There are two opinions regarding art education, those would find it to be a favorable way for

students to do better in school and those who believe it is useless. Some people think that the arts

provide no benefit to the education of students or their future. Other people agree with

Bronowski and argue that the arts do benefit students in school and that the money put into the

art program is a good use of school resources. Moreover, the arts are profitable to students

because they assist1 them in their academics while also improving students’ social skills.

First, others say that there is not any actual proof of the arts affecting academic

achievement2. However that would be incorrect, since there have been multiple studies that have

reported that the arts benefit students academically. STEM is a term used to group four academic

disciplines together, usually used when addressing education policy and curriculum choices.

STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, math, and potentially art to make STEAM.

One major reason would be that STEM has been considering adding an “A” and making it

1Diction- this is using diction because profitable and assist are stronger word choices then benefit and help.
2Synecdoche- this is a use of synecdoche because the use of the words academic achievement is referencing all
the subjects in schools that art education would benefit.
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STEAM. They recognize that the arts are not just used for fun but are making a difference in the

lives of students. There are also recorded accounts of teachers using the arts to try and improve

student learning. Students found the activities to be fun and helpful so they showed more

progress than they would have rather than reading a book about the subject. The arts have

demonstrated on multiple occasions that they show academic improvement.

Secondly, the art education is important in developing students' social skills. Drama

activities successfully improve social skills like building confidence and cooperation

(Fennessey). Drama activities encourage kids to get up in front of their peers teaching them how

to develop confidence. Kids have to have confidence to get up in front of peers, especially when

in fifth grade, which is the level this study was conducted on. In another study, third grade

teachers used the visual arts to develop their student's skill of sensory exploration (Buldu and

Shaban). Teachers felt personally3 that the arts have students focus on subjects and this gives a

better understanding of it. The arts also improve student's ability to be more aware of their

surroundings. Students observed plants over the course of a year and had to draw out models of

the plants while also labeling their functions (Kurson). In this study, the students had to draw out

a plant and label its functions over the course of the plant's growth. Having the students draw out

the plants developed their sense of focus on an object while also developing sensory exploration.

They gained a better understanding of how the plants functioned and looked because they had to

keep track of its growth and draw it. Furthermore, the arts develop students' social skills, which

is an investment for the future of student careers.

On the other hand, while there is evidence to show that the arts are beneficial, there are

still people who argue that the arts are a waste of resources. However, this is not true because

3Ethos- this is using ethos because when it states how the teacher felt about art education, it was trying to
convince the audience to agree with their thinking on the arts assisting students.
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they are helping students obtain valuable skills that can be used toward their future. They help

students to develop their social skills in a way that could potentially help them when getting a

job or interacting with people in general. They also help students academically, and if students

do well academically, the hope is that they can get into a good college which will lead to a good

career.4 The arts have helped me out in my own academic experiences. On my history tests,

sometimes there are pictures that I must analyze to get the right answer to questions. For some

images I had to be able to look at the pictures and be able to break them down and understand

what’s going on to even be able to consider picking an answer. I have been introduced to the arts

for as long as I can remember, having to look at and draw different things has helped me better

analyze these pictures. 5 The arts are not a waste of resources, they are benefiting students.

While the arts are helpful to students' social skills, they also assist students in their

academic studies. Art has become a larger part in STEM and has been used together with

chemistry (Ochterski and Lupacchino-Gilson). Arts have been mixed into STEM to show just

how well the arts interact with science. People have been discussing that the arts should remain

integrated into STEM permanently. There was a study done where fourth grade students sculpted

scientists in class to grasp a firmer understanding of scientists and what they do (Jackson and

Rich). The students were able to understand what and who scientists were because they were

having a fun time sculpting them. They were not just being told about scientists, they were

engaging in a fun activity about them. The study also said that students paid more attention to

what their classmates had to say about their sculptures because they were interesting to look at.

In another study conducted, a fifth-grade teacher used theater games to help her students become

4 Anaphora- this is using anaphora because the repetition of student and academically is used to put emphasis the
students' work efforts.
5 Anecdote- this is using an anecdote because it is a short story describing a student’s own personal experience

with art education in their history class.

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more proficient in language arts (Fennessey). These games included a range of things from one-

line improvisation to improvising scenes from literature. These games helped students learn how

to coordinate the body and voice creatively, develop sensory detail, and develop directional

language. The arts factor more into academic success than is commonly known because they

further the want to learn in kids.

Additionally, academic achievements and the improvement of social skills are both

benefits that occurred as a result of the use of art education. Students have shown to achieve

higher academic grades in both language arts and science when the arts are incorporated. The use

of art activities helped create a calm environment where the students were focused and enjoying

what they were learning. They have also been shown to improve multiple social skills among

students of varying ages. The arts are a long-term investment in the future of students in both

academics and future life experiences. Although some have doubts, it has been proven on

multiple accounts that students achieve more with the arts rather than without. Making an

investment in the arts would be a wise decision because they are profitable in multiple ways.
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Works Cited

Buldu, Mehmet, and Mohamed S. Shaban. "Visual Arts Teaching in Kindergarten through 3rd-

grade Classrooms in the UAE: Teacher Profiles, Perceptions, and Practices." Journal of

Research in Childhood Education, vol. 24, no. 4, October/December 2010, p. 332+.

Student Resources In Context,

link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A242590974/SUIC?u=pl1949&sid=SUIC&xid=0e924e48.

Accessed 20 Sept. 2018.

Kurson, Rebecca. "Learning about Plants with Steam: In a Yearlong Unit on Plants, Students

Use Art to Make Models of Their Subjects." Science and Children, vol. 53, no. 9,

Summer 2016, p. 58+. Student Resources In Context,

link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A503272893/SUIC?u=pl1949&sid=SUIC&xid=58856ae6.

Accessed 20 Sept. 2018.

Fennessey, Sharon. "Using Theater Games to Enhance Language Arts Learning." The Reading

Teacher, vol. 59, no. 7, Apr. 2006, p. 688+. Student Resources In Context,

link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A144868689/SUIC?u=pl1949&sid=SUIC&xid=e01d30fe.

Accessed 20 Sept. 2018.

Jackson, Julie, and Ann Rich. "Sculpt-a-scientist: An Artistic Activity Shapes Fourth-grade

Students' Perceptions of Scientists." Science and Children, vol. 52, no. 1, Sept. 2014, p.

75. Student Resources In Context,

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link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A382255988/SUIC?u=pl1949&sid=SUIC&xid=80dd8235.

Accessed 20 Sept. 2018.

Ochterski, Joseph, and Lisa Lupacchino-Gilson. "Getting an a in STEM: Beginning a Steam

Collaboration between Art and Chemistry Students." The Science Teacher, vol. 83, no. 7,

Oct. 2016, p. 39+. Student Resources In Context,

link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A495940135/SUIC?u=pl1949&sid=SUIC&xid=3280030f.

Accessed 20 Sept. 2018.