I am but one of a long line of creative types, but luckily for me, my type of art brings in money to support my family. We may never be wealthy but we can survive just fine, thank you.
My 3 children all inherited the "artsy" gene, and my youngest attends Grover Cleveland Middle School. I happen to like this school, and my 12-year old is bonkers over it. She loves her teachers, the classes, the building, and everything about it. I agree. It is pretty terrific.
But there seems to be something missing - and that something is pretty big.
It's not sports or gym or Spanish or any of the important core subjects.
Heck, this middle school even has robotics.
Still, it's March and my own creative kid, who spends much of her free time creating figures and then somehow making them come alive and become animation, has not yet had one art class.
Let me repeat: it is March 4 and she has not had one art class during this school year!
No matter how much I adore our school, I am flabbergasted by this lack of art.
No art - and it's already March?
The middle school offers art one semester or marking period, and for my child that happens to be at the end of school.
Due to budgetary cuts, there are no ongoing all-year-round art classes.
Yet, contrary to this sparse schedule, where art is "extra" (unlike sports), since other subjects are far more important for a student's middle school years, the in depth research shows otherwise. Art will never replace math or science or social studies or even language arts. But without art - all forms of art - do you really expect your children to thrive, and get into those top notch schools? Will they grow up and be able to adjust and change with our ever-changing times? Believe me, they do not stand a chance. Even here in Essex County, in towns I cover such as Montclair and Nutley, the kids in the middle schools are surrounded by all kinds of art classes, including animation, and will truly have a large advantage when it comes time to get into those great universities.
No matter how tight money is, I believe we need to offer art to our children during the entire school year. I am very downhearted about this, and feel beyond sad about this quite grim state of art educational affairs. Great schools and great minds require art. Creativity is a tool to foster, not ignore. Research shows art is an integral part of any child's education.
11 Facts About Arts in Education*
Students who study art are 4 times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement and 3 times more likely to be awarded for school attendance.
Arts and music education programs are mandatory in countries that rank consistently among the highest for math and science test scores, like Japan, Hungary, and the Netherlands.
The No Child Left Behind Act clearly mandates The Arts (music, art, foreign language, etc.) as a core academic subject.
One study group showed that third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade students who were taught a foreign language every day in school outperformed the students who were not exposed to a foreign language on their Basic Skills Test.
While nearly all schools in America are required to offer coursework in languages, the amount of instruction provided for those subjects does not come close to that of math, science, and english courses.
Federal funding for the arts and humanities rolls in around $250 million a year, while the National Science Foundation is funded around the $5 billion mark.
Researchers find that sustained learning in music and theatre correlates strongly with higher achievement in both math and reading.
In a study of a high-poverty schools in Chicago, the schools that were participating in the Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education (CAPE) made huge strides in closing the gap between high- and low-income students’ academic achievement.
Multiple studies have concluded that curricular and extracurricular art studies and activities help keep high-risk dropout students stay in school.
New brain research shows that not only does music improve skills in math and reading, but it promotes creativity, social development, personality adjustment, and self-worth.
Research suggests that studying a second language is essential to the learning process, creative inquiry, and critical thinking. Foreign language studies have proven to increase problem-solving skills and overall cognitive development.
Sources: Education Fund, NYSAFLT
