Why Art?
Today more than ever the arts are needed by our young people as a
forum for safe expression, communication, exploration,
imagination, and cultural and historical understanding.
The arts define what it is to be human.
Among the many benefits of arts education,
consider these few examples:
· The arts empower children to communicate ideas that words
and numbers cannot always adequately express.
· The arts provide opportunities to explore other cultures
and times, teaching tolerance for other's heritage
and belief systems while valuing the individual.
· The arts encourage multiple responses, respecting that the
questions are often as important as the answers.
In the arts, there are many correct and valid responses.
· The arts teach flexibility in thinking, a mandate for
success in a global society.
· The arts teach students to continue searching
for meaning and understanding.
Evidence supports the arts as fundamental to learning and on equal footing
with other rigorous courses of study. Indeed, the No Child Left Behind Act,
signed into law in 2002, includes the arts as core content alongside math,
science, language arts, and social studies. As such, the arts have their own
academic standards. They are not ornamental, nor are they meant as support
systems for other subjects. The arts are substantial and require commitment
by students and educators alike.
Are the arts important in education?
I submit that they are more than important.
The arts are central - the arts are at the heart
of all we need to know and
should be teaching.
Pam Stephens, School Arts advisory board and Art Education Coordinator,
Northern Arizona University
Our Humble ISD Elementary Art teachers
integrate science, math, history, literature and geography
into your child's art classes.
