These days, it’s not unheard of for school districts to face budget cuts and end up eliminating art programs from their curriculum. With so little public funding, schools have been relying more on private funds and patrons of the arts to provide creative outlets for students. Arts learning can also improve motivation, concentration, confidence, and teamwork. To support your local programs or to pay school art fees, try Skookii.
A report by the Rand Corporation about the visual arts argues that the intrinsic pleasures and stimulation of the art experience do more than sweeten an individual’s life. According to the report, they “can connect people more deeply to the world and open them to new ways of seeing,” creating the foundation to forge social bonds and community cohesion.
Strong arts programming in schools helps close a gap that has left many a child behind: From Mozart for babies to tutus for toddlers to family trips to the museum, the children of affluent, aspiring parents generally get exposed to the arts whether or not public schools provide them. Low-income children, often, do not. “Arts education enables those children from a financially challenged background to have a more level playing field with children who have had those enrichment experiences,” says Eric Cooper, president and founder of the National Urban Alliance for Effective Education.
Below are 10 Incredible Reasons Why We Must Support Arts in K-12 Education:
#1 Reason: 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.
#2 Reason: 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.
#3 Reason: 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.
#4 Reason: 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.
#5 Reason: Multiple studies have concluded that curricular and extracurricular art studies and activities help keep high-risk dropout students stay in school.
#6 Reason: Experts estimate that out of a class of 30 students, up to ten will someday be employed in an arts-related occupation.
#7 Reason: Nine out of 10 parents surveyed opposed cuts to the arts in our schools, yet many policy makers seem tone-deaf to this critical part of educating our children.
#8 Reason: Nationally, the nonprofit arts and culture industry generates $166.2 billion in economic activity every year.
#9 Reason: The not-for-profit arts and culture industry generates 5.7 million jobs every year.
#10 Reason: About 86% of artists vote in comparison with about 60% of all Americans.