Why Arts Education Is Crucial

Extracts from article by Fran Smith contributing editor for Edutopia -- read full article

"Art does not solve problems, but makes us aware of their existence," sculptor Magdalena Abakanowicz has said. Arts education, on the other hand, does solve problems. Years of research show that it's closely linked to almost everything that we as a nation say we want for our children and demand from our schools: academic achievement, social and emotional development, civic engagement, and equitable opportunity..."

"..intrinsic pleasures and stimulation 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. And strong arts programming in schools helps close a gap that has left many a child behind.."

"In many districts, the arts have suffered so long that it will take years, and massive investment, to turn things around...Yet some districts have made great strides toward not only revitalizing the arts but also using them to reinvent schools. The work takes leadership, innovation, broad partnerships, and a dogged insistence that the arts are central to what we want students to learn"

"When you think about the purposes of education, there are three, we're preparing kids for jobs. We're preparing them to be citizens. And we're teaching them to be human beings who can enjoy the deeper forms of beauty. The third is as important as the other two."

(Tom Horne - Arizona superintendant of public instruction)