It’s officially back to school season! Something that’s on everyone’s minds more than ever before this year is whether or not certain programs are going to be cut, or not funded. Budget cuts these days in schools are all too common. Often, the first things to go are the arts programs. These include music, theater, and painting, drawing, and sculpting classes. Many people believe that arts programs in schools are a frivolous waste of money, but this is not the case! Studies have shown that arts programs actually have many benefits for students. Here are several reasons why we should continue funding the arts programs in schools. 

Increased Creativity

One of the biggest reasons to keep arts programs around for students is that children exposed to arts programs are more creative. Arts programs teach students to create new things and begin to establish a creative voice. These programs also encourage children to take calculated risks, which translates well into real-life skills. In addition, our society needs creative people to function. We constantly are finding new, better ways to make our world work and to fix our problems, and this wouldn’t be possible without the creativity that is fostered in arts classes in schools. 

Boosts Critical Thinking

Several studies have shown that exposure to the arts can boost students’ critical thinking, as well as make students more open-minded in how they perceive the world. As students engage in music, drawing, or theater, for example, they become more used to being careful and taking time to think about their decisions before they make them. This leads to the students growing up to be conscientious adults. 

More Successful in School

Students who regularly participate in the arts are more likely to be successful in school. Students who take arts classes are likely to participate in math or science fairs. They are more likely to be recognized for some sort of academic achievement or win an award for an essay or poem that they have written. Music students in particular are likely to have higher math grades. Students are also less likely to have disciplinary problems if they take arts classes. They’re likely to have higher rates of graduation, in addition to higher test scores. 

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Increased Learning Outside of School

Students become more curious about the world when they are exposed to the arts, increasing their desire to keep learning when they are not in school. If a student finds that they really enjoy painting, for example, they might be more likely to go to an art museum on the weekend and continue to learn while they’re there. These patterns that develop during a student’s years in school are likely to stick with them after they graduate, and they will continue to want to learn new things that they’re interested in once they become adults. 

Established Appreciation of Art

Art programs in schools begin to establish an appreciation of the arts, as well as culture when students are exposed to a variety of different media and art styles. Once students have an appreciation of the arts, they are better able to understand the music and art that already exists. This is important, because students will be able to better understand art and music from different historical periods, and therefore have a better understanding of history. 

In addition, once students have an appreciation for the arts, they will have a greater appreciation of creating art themselves! Art is much needed in our society in many different ways. We rely on the artists and creators to keep us entertained throughout much of our day as we listen to music at work, or go home and watch tv. Even many products we use in our day to day lives rely on people who have a passion to create art. Without arts programs, we wouldn’t have any of these things!

Healthy Outlets of Expression

Exposing students to the arts gives them a healthy outlet of expression. As students grow up, there are no doubt going to need a safe place to express themselves and a healthy way to share their thoughts with those around them. The arts are a wonderful way to do this! Through painting, drawing, or sculpting, a student can show what they’re feeling or thinking about. Music and theater are wonderful ways as well to express one’s emotions. 

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Conquering Challenges

The arts introduce children to challenging situations. Any form of art presents several challenges at each stage of every project. Any student that is involved in the arts is going to be able to tackle challenges later on in life with persistence and decisiveness, and without relying completely on others. These are valuable skills that art learned in arts classes that shouldn’t be taken away from school curriculums. 

Attention to Detail

Another benefit of arts classes is that they increase a student’s attention to detail. This will serve these students well later in their lives. Kids who are exposed to the arts develop focus in many different areas. Acting, playing a musical instrument, and painting, for example, all require students to pay attention to the details to make sure their projects come out well!

Helps Students with Disabilities

Another crucial benefit to including arts in school programs is that the arts are extremely helpful to students with disabilities. Arts programs including music, dancing, crafts, and performing arts can be helpful in teaching important skills to students with disabilities. Music can help a student grasp rhythm and help hone listening skills, while dancing and crafts can help a student with their motor control, for example. The arts have many other benefits for students with disabilities, too. While these benefits are wonderful for all students, they are especially crucial for students who have disabilities. The arts help these students learn important skills in new ways that might be easier for them to grasp.

Conclusion

Arts classes can be incredibly beneficial for students. While some people think that the arts classes are unnecessary for students, it’s been proven that these classes actually have many benefits for students in the long run, even if they do not go on to continue learning about things they learn about in arts classes. Many of these benefits, such as increased test scores and graduation rates, are things that school districts across the country are trying to make happen in their classrooms. Advocating for funding in the arts has many benefits. If we place more focus on the arts and allow students to have more creative space, we might just solve many of our school’s problems! 

Other Photos by Dragos Gontariu on Unsplash

Written by Jackie Ebel, a blogger at Safe Harbor International Ministries. For more articles, check out our blog page: https://safeharborim.com/articles/.