Art and Music Department Budget Cuts, What it Means for Your Child and What You Can Do as a Parent
I am bound you are alive of the comprehensive trend of downsizing, even extinguishing, 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 success
The study builds a strong for students achieving higher levels of academic success and in higher overall numbers when involved with fine art
Per the study;
- 82.6% of 8th graders earned mostly As and Bs who were involved heavily in fine arts versus 67.2% earning As and Bs who were not
- 30.07% of the respondents who take part in close-grained arts performs community service where only 6.28% of the respondents who do not participate in fine arts execute community service
- Students who are not heavily involved in close-grained arts have more than ambiguous the chance of dropping down out of school by the 10th grade
- 56.64% of the respondents who participate in fine arts read for pleasure where only 34.Chances are you will a handful of musical instruments in good condition gathering dust in a garage or attic
These are only some of the findings in this study
Fine arts help teach students far more than how to draw roses in a vase, or how to play the violin
They help stimulate the creative part of the child’s mind, teach discipline, instill a sense of pride, accomplishment, and self-worth
These attributes not only help students do better academically, but do better in their adult life, with their career, their new family, their emotional well being
So what do you do if your child’s school has had major cuts in their art program?
Your first option is, of course, private lessons. You need to be cognizant of the pros and cons in this option
Lets appear at the pros first
First, callable to budget cuts and pressure for schools to insure their students score well on standardised testing (oddly enough the students who are involved in the arts score better on moderate) the arts get less attention that other subjects in school. Thus the quality of instruction suffers
Meaning your child has an excellent chance of getting better fine art instruction in a professional fine art instruction environment. The classes are smaller, sometimes even one on one. The instructor only has to instruct that careful art form
Another plus in private fine art education is that your child’s success is directly tied into the instructors income
A public school teacher who has half of their art class receive failing grades will still be paid the same at the end of