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Advocacy [Conversation]

Fighting for Art Education

Started on Oct 30, 2011 by ylsart
Last post on Apr 15, 2012

I work on the policy side of education, and I am a big supporter of art education. Funding for art education is being cut across the board in this country, and I was wondering how you all felt about that. What do you say to someone who says reading and mathematics are more important than art education?

9 Keeps, 1 Likes, 4 Comments

  • imagiNATION 01/24/2012 at 03:07am
    I would tell them to listen to/read anything by Sir Ken Robinson. Creativity is invaluable in just about every major career. It is not to say that creativity can only be taught in the arts but it is where it is most targeted and prioritized. Reading and math are important but the only way to successfully transition into the future is through ingenuity. Ingenuity must be learned and encouraged in schools. Art is a great way to make sure it is happening.


  • MsFoushee 04/07/2012 at 04:37pm
    I've been collecting articles on my personal website for just that reason!
    http://lindseyfoushee.wordpress.com/articles/

    Here are 3 of my reasons:
    1.) an arts-rich environment benefits ELL & economically-disadvantaged students and can help narrow achievement gaps
    2.) art education is one of the few places where students can learn how to think creatively (in my opinion one of the hardest 21st Century Skills to master)
    3.) "People who participate in the arts are twice to three times as likely to engage in positive civic and individual activities as non-arts participants."


  • tuckerabiArt 04/10/2012 at 06:41am
    Many art lessons teach reading/literacy and math skills. Students who might not think they are successful at math in the regular classroom might thrive in the art room doing measurement or division(of space) and not even realize they are doing math. Students learn on different levels and the arts teach higher order thinking skills and connect to all curriculum subjects.


  • emmacraig 04/15/2012 at 05:26pm
    I would argue that it is not a competition to see who is the most important. They are all equally , and in different proportions at different times of a persons development and we should teach children to be full rounded kids, encouraging them to use all parts of their brains and not ignore the creative side. As they get older , they will naturally go towards the kind of things they are interested in but as educators we have to give them the experiences initially.
    Also agree with above comments...!