TheImportanceofFineArtsEducation

Educationintheartsisanintegralpartofthedevelopmentofeachhumanbeing.Thosewho
havestudiedlearningprocessesthroughouttheages,beginningwithPlato,have
emphasizedtheimportanceoftheartsintheeducationprocess.
Artseducationrefersto
educationinthedisciplinesofmusic,dance,theatre,andvisualarts.
Studyintheartsis
integraltooursociety.TheyareapartoftheculturalheritageofeveryAmerican.Theartsare
whatmakeusmosthuman,mostcompleteaspeople.Theartscannotbelearnedthrough
occasionalorrandomexposureanymorethanmathorsciencecan.Educationand
engagementinthefineartsareanessentialpartoftheschoolcurriculumandanimportant
componentintheeducationalprogramofeverystudentinKatyISD.
Sufficientdataexiststooverwhelminglysupportthebeliefthatstudyandparticipationinthe
fineartsisakeycomponentinimprovinglearningthroughoutallacademicareas.Evidence
ofitseffectivenessinreducingstudentdropout,raisingstudentattendance,developing
betterteamplayers,fosteringaloveforlearning,improvinggreaterstudentdignity,
enhancingstudentcreativity,andproducingamorepreparedcitizenfortheworkplacefor
tomorrowcanbefounddocumentedinstudiesheldinmanyvariedsettings,fromschool
campuses,tocorporateAmerica.
Evidencefrombrainresearchisonlyoneofmanyreasonseducationandengagementinfine
artsisbeneficialtotheeducationalprocess.Theartsdevelopneuralsystemsthatproducea
broadspectrumofbenefitsrangingfromfinemotorskillstocreativityandimproved
emotionalbalance.Onemustrealizethatthesesystemsoftentakemonthsandevenyearsto
finetune.InastudyconductedbyJudithBurton,ColumbiaUniversity,researchevidenced
thatsubjectssuchasmathematics,science,andlanguagerequirecomplexcognitiveand
creativecapacitiestypicalofartslearning(Burton,Horowitz,&Abeles,1999).Thearts
enhancetheprocessoflearning.Thesystemstheynourish,whichincludeourintegrated
sensory,attentional,cognitive,emotional,andmotorcapacities,are,infact,thedriving
forcesbehindallotherlearning(Jensen,2001).

Thefineartsalsoprovidelearnerswithnonacademicbenefitssuchaspromoting
selfesteem,motivation,aestheticawareness,culturalexposure,creativity,improved

emotionalexpression,aswellassocialharmonyandappreciationofdiversity.Thesearethe
veryfibersofthefabricknownasourAmericanculture.

ThefollowingarefindingsreportedinChampionsofChange:TheImpactoftheArtson
Learning(Fiske,1999)thatshouldbenotedbyeveryparent,teacher,andadministrator:

Theartsreachstudentsnotnormallyreached,inwaysandmethodsnotnormally
used.(Thisleadstobetterstudentattendanceandlowerdropoutrates.)

Itchangesthelearningenvironmenttooneofdiscovery.(Thisoftenreignitesthe
loveoflearninginstudentstiredofjustbeingfedfacts.)

Studentsconnectwitheachotherbetter.(Thisoftenresultsinfewerfights,greater
understandingofdiversity,andgreaterpeersupport.)

Theartsprovidechallengestostudentsofalllevels.(Eachstudentcanfindhis/her
ownlevelfrombasictogifted.)

Studentslearntobecomesustained,selfdirectedlearners.(Thestudentdoesnot
justbecomeanoutletforstoredfactsfromdirectinstruction,butseekstoextend
instructiontohigherlevelsofproficiency.)

Thestudyofthefineartspositivelyimpactsthelearningofstudentsoflower
socioeconomicstatusasmuchormorethanthoseofahighersocioeconomicstatus.
(Twentyonepercentofstudentsoflowsocioeconomicstatuswhohadstudiedmusic
scoredhigherinmathversusjustelevenpercentofthosewhohadnot.Bythesenior
year,thesefiguresgrewto33percentand16percent,respectively,suggestinga
cumulativevaluetomusiceducation.)

Isthestudyoffineartsimportant?Theyengagemanyareasofthebrainandalsohave
farreachingeffectsonthelearnersmind(Jensen,2001).Theartspromotetheunderstanding
andsharingofculture.Theypromotesocialskillsthatenhancetheawarenessandrespectof
others.Thefineartsenhanceperceptualandcognitiveskills.TheBurtonstudyofmorethan
2000childrenfoundthatthoseintheartscurriculumwerefarsuperiorincreativethinking,
selfconcept,problemsolving,selfexpression,risktaking,andcooperationthanthosewho
werenot(Burtonetal.,1999).Theartshavethecapacitytoengageeveryone.Alllevelsof
Americansocietycananddoparticipateinthefinearts.Therearenobarriersofrace,
religion,culture,geography,orsocioeconomiclevels.

TodaysworldiswitnesstotheInformationAge.Theprimarysourcesofcontentinformation
arenolongerteacherlecturesortextbooks.Learningisnotlimitedtowhatyouknow,butis
dependentuponhowtofindinformationandhowtousethatinformationquickly,creatively,
andcooperatively.Weareinthetwilightofasocietybasedondata.Asinformationand
intelligencebecomethedomainofcomputers,societywillplaceanewvalueontheone
humanabilitythatcantbeautomated:emotion(Jensen,1999,p.84).Todaysstudentsare
inundatedwithdatabutarestarvingformeaningfullearning.Workplacedemandsarefor
studentstounderstandhowtosolveproblems,whatmakesargumentsplausible,howto
buildteamsandcoalitions,andhowtoincorporatetheconceptoffairnessintotheeveryday
decisions.Studentsneedtobethinkers,possesspeopleskills,beproblemsolvers,
demonstratecreativity,andworkasamemberofateam.Weneedtooffermoreindepth
learningaboutthethingsthatmatterthemost:order,integrity,thinkingskills,asenseof
wonder,truth,flexibility,fairness,dignity,contribution,justice,creativityandcooperation.
Theartsprovideallofthese.

Perhapsthemostfundamentalelementtoeducationoneshouldconsideristhemannerin
whichweperceiveandmakesenseoftheworldinwhichwelive.Aneffectiveeducationin
thefineartshelpsstudentstoseewhattheylookat,hearwhattheylistento,andfeelwhat
theytouch.Engagementinthefineartshelpsstudentstostretchtheirmindsbeyondthe
boundariesoftheprintedtextortherulesofwhatisprovable.Theartsfreethemindfrom
rigidcertainty.Imaginethebenefitsofseeking,finding,anddevelopingmultiplesolutionsto
themyriadofproblemsfacingoursocietytoday!Theseprocesses,taughtthroughthestudy
ofthearts,helptodevelopthetoleranceforcopingwiththeambiguitiesanduncertainties
presentintheeverydayaffairsofhumanexistence.Thereisauniversalneedforwords,
music,dance,andvisualarttogiveexpressiontotheinnateurgingsofthehumanspirit.
(Eisner,1987)Thepremierorganizationsinthecorporateworldtodayrecognizethatthe
humanintellectdrawsfrommanywells.Artseducationgivesaccesstothedeepestof
thosewells.

compiledbyBobBryant

Sources:
Jensen,E.(2001).Artswiththebraininmind.Alexandria,Va.,AssociationforSupervision
andCurriculumDevelopment.
Eisner,E.(1987).Whytheartsarebasic.Instructors3RsSpecialIssue.3435.
Chapman,R.(1998).Improvingstudentperformancethroughthearts.Principal.2026.
Kaagan,S.(1998).Artseducation:Schoolingwithimagination.Principal.1619
Faison,H.(2000).Isanyoneouttherelistening?.FoundationforAcademicExcellence
Symposium,Haskell,Ok.
Buka,S.(2000).Longtermoutcomesofmusiceducation:resultsofathirtyfiveyear
longitudinalstudy
.FoundationforAcademicExcellenceSymposium,Haskell,Ok.
Lehman,P.(2001).Whatstudentsshouldlearninthearts.Contentofthecurriculum.
Alexandria,Va.AssociationforSupervisionandCurriculumDevelopment.(122)