Art in schools is necessary!!

It appears that art is being seriously threatened in schools. It also seems that, as many teachers have said before: art teachers are becoming an “endangered species”. I would like the reader to take notice of the word “endangered” it has the word END in it, and that is one thing I know must not happen to the art program. Yet art is always the first thing to go followed by music then shortly after if the need for money in a school is great enough, sports comes shortly after.

The average amount of classroom time spent on art in a school as opposed to social studies or mathematics is: ____________________________. Over the years and years humans have been on earth art has had a fluctuating importance, for example: It was less important in the middle Ages than it was in the Renaissance and now it looks like the people in charge think it’s expendable, that when schools are having a shortage in money art goes first. I look at that as very wrong art should be considered a core subject because if it isn’t, where will students get the chance to be creative? Maybe they don’t want to be an artist and go to art school but is still very important for kids to have the chance to be creative. Besides that’s one of the most important things about even being a kid. Am I saying that Math and social studies are any less important, No I’m saying that they should be treated as equals.

Recently budget cuts have been hitting the art program hard. Here is a section of a post from a blog called: “The Artists Blog” this is just one of the many blogs I’ve seen talking about the danger of budget cuts for the art program.

Art and Music Department Budget Cuts, What it Means for Your Child and What You Can Do as a Parent

Thursday, April 21st, 2011

I am sure you are aware of the nationwide trend of downsizing, even eliminating, art programs in schools.

What is not entirely known is the impact of removing the fine arts from the education of children.

‘Champions of Change, the Impact of the Arts on Learning’ is the most comprehensive study on the subject of students involvement in the fine arts and how it relates to academic …

He states “what is not entirely known is the impact of removing the fine arts from the education of children.” I agree it could completely destroy the rest of some kids education and might even make parents upset.

Another thing that concerns me is the NCLB (no child left behind) which according to an LAUSD teacher is: “An attempt to bring all schools to proficiency through standardized tests. A law promised to give schools and teachers finances which was never funded it seems that it is mostly punishment and almost no support. Apparently teachers were left to their own devices when it comes to “designing” their own tests. Also different states have different standards which means if for example one state has low performing students but lower standards it will appear that the students are doing very well and if there’s another state with higher performing students and very high standards it may appear that those students are not doing so well. This leads me to believe that the scores are much skewed.

If people in charge are looking at the art program as an expendable waist of funds, they are wrong. Art gives (as I have said before) numerous opportunities for creativity it teaches patience and coordination I think total severing of funding for the art program is an incredibly huge mistake and should be rethought because when art goes a major source of pleasure, entertainment and academic and creative resource goes.