By Bill Cirone, Santa Barbara County Superintendent of Schools
Newspaper Column
When school budgets get very tight, art and music
education tend to be among the early casualties. In a very sad way, it’s
understandable. These are the days when every school and every classroom is
rated according to how students achieve on standardized tests. You can scan
those tests till you grow very weary and you will surely never see mention of a
treble clef or a two-point perspective. When tests measure reading, math, and
social studies, that is what is taught and that is where resources must be
allocated.
What is much more difficult to understand is a political
arena and a social context that makes that choice necessary in the first place.
It is short-sighted and counterproductive. The arts are not frills — they
are essential elements of a complete education, and often provide the very
skills and motivation required for school success.
The reasons to include arts in a school curriculum are
compelling.
The arts represent a form of thinking that is both
sensory and intellectual, and is based on human imagination and judgment. The
arts are a form of expression and communication that is essential to the human
experience, and truly deserve a regular place in our classrooms. What’s more,
the arts provide unique ways of reaching students who may not access knowledge
as readily through language and mathematics alone.
In addition, studies also point to higher levels of
student involvement and educational achievement among students taking advanced
arts courses.
Fortunately, most Americans recognize the importance of
this early engagement in the arts. A Harris Poll found that 90 percent of
respondents considered the arts vital to a well-rounded education for all
students.
Parents seem to recognize that the arts provide a
heightened appreciation of beauty and cross-cultural understandings, and that
the arts seem to enhance creativity, thinking skills, and discipline. Many
young people find great joy in artistic expression. For some, it is an outlet
and a source of inspiration. It helps them keep connected to their teachers and
their schools.
The benefits of arts education can translate into real
advantages, including closing the achievement gaps between groups of students,
keeping young people in school who otherwise might dropout, and preparing
students for the demands of college and an ever-changing workforce. If we had a
magic pill that would do all that we would be dispensing it widely.
In declaring March Arts Education Month, the state board
of education stated that arts education is an essential part of basic education
for all students, K-12, to provide for balanced learning and to develop the
full potential of their minds.
Throughout the western world, arts education is an
integral part of a child’s education. Arts education is essential. On behalf of
all the children we represent and serve, we should support arts education with
all our efforts and resources. Otherwise we will have drained from our schools
the humanity, the creativity, the discipline, and the joy that arts can provide
to all our children.
