It’s Cool to be in the Band…The
Importance of the Arts
By Kyra De Blaker
In our youth it was easy to see the role of music education. Music
education held its own spot in a classroom a bit further down the school
corridor-just out of ear’s reach. In this room a collection of students
would gather to practice for a brief time on an instrument, often selected
by their instructor, before heading back to class and the day’s
instruction.
However, the trend is changing. Now more than ever schools are
increasing their students’ education in the arts as studies continue to
reveal the value of humanities education in schools. But it isn’t as
simple as hiring a well-renowned artist and classical composer to teach
our children. Parents and schools continue to fight the budget, a one-word
evil that prohibits much of the activities encouraged by the reports put
forth on behalf of music and art education. The following facts and
figures support what most educators already know: an education in the arts
benefits our children. So make room in the budget.
Increased Productivity and Mental Well-Being
Music Education benefits children of all ages in a variety of areas.
The American Music Conference (AMC), building credibility for music and
music education, highlights many areas in which students exposed to music
education excel. According to the AMC, “Over the last decade, a series of
new scientific studies have demonstrated a link between active music
making-not just passive listening, but actually taking part-and increased
brainpower. Young children who make music show improved spatial-temporal
reasoning, which is the foundation of later success in math and science.”
Further, “students actually get better grades than students who don’t take
music.”
Music benefits students socially as well. The AMC reports that, “older
students who make music show reduced levels of anxiety, depression and
loneliness. Among younger people, those who make music together are less
likely to use drugs or get in other kinds of trouble.”
Facts about the value of music education:
Scientific studies show that active music making (NOT passive music
listening) correlates with:
Increased spatial-temporal reasoning and better math scores
Better reading ability
Lower incidence of drug use and antisocial behavior
Increased wellness (courtesy of AMC)
Brush Strokes, Ballet Shoes, Bass Players and Better Learners: The arts
are essential for success.
Studies in humanities education have revealed numerous findings touting
the benefits of studies of the arts in schools. Below are a few key items
reported by the National Art Education Association (NAEA).
Not only are the arts fun for kids, they help keep kids in school
and working to learn.
Not only do the arts require self-discipline, creativity, and
confidence to succeed, but these and other important habits stay with
students and help them succeed in other areas of school, life and work.
Not only do the arts represent many ways of experiencing and
understanding the world, but they actually help develop the many types
of intelligences that all people possess and use all the time.
Not only do the arts remove boundaries and allow students to explore
aspects of life around them in new ways, but connecting the arts with
other disciplines like math, reading and writing, or science often helps
students learn about, comprehend, and value those disciplines as well.
In short, the arts are as much a part of a child’s development and
success as they are a part of a successful and enlightened society.
From kindergarten tikes to high school seniors, music and art education
is reaching new heights in terms of importance and value. Schools are
recognizing the studies that suggest children balanced with traditional
and humanities (including music, art and dance to name a few) education
are at an advantage educationally and emotionally now and in the future.
Educating our children in the arts is helping to build better students and
great people.
Kyra De Blaker is the contributing editor for Curious Parents.
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