Argumentative Essay on Arts Education: Necessity or a Waste of Time?
Introduction
The debate surrounding the value of arts education intensifies when policymakers and administrators grapple with decisions regarding the allocation of time and funding in schools. This enduring discussion has seen many parents argue for the removal of art and music courses from the curriculum, contending that the drawbacks outweigh the benefits. They assert that the time dedicated to these classes could be more wisely spent on core subjects deemed more essential and practical. In contrast, teachers and numerous parents passionately advocate for these programs, defending the significance of arts education through various articles. Their support extends nationwide, emphasizing that arts education fosters creativity and advanced thinking. This essay seeks to illustrate the importance of arts education and its myriad benefits for children and young adults.
The Arguments Against the Necessity of Art Education
“The article “The Arts and Humanities aren’t worth a Dime” by Matt Burriesci, a multiple-time published author and former participant in the PEN/Faulkner Foundation, boldly asserts that the arts taught in schools lack purpose, particularly in the context of schools and young minds. According to Matt, “We cannot measure the value of these disciplines in dollars, so we have decided that they have no value at all, except some token value, like the parsley garnish on a 16-ounce steak. They’re nice, but not really necessary, and certainly not as necessary as STEM”. Matt emphasizes the significance of core classes, particularly math programs while placing a higher value on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) programs in schools due to their potential to lead to careers and contribute to society. He argues that the arts are extracurricular and lack purpose in schools since they don’t lead to real-world jobs and cannot be measured monetarily. This perspective is encapsulated in the article’s title, where Matt boldly states that arts and humanities are worth absolutely nothing” (Roege and Kim, 2013).
The Arguments Supporting the Need for Art Education
A literature review published in Frontiers highlighted numerous studies that establish a connection between aesthetic experiences and holistic enhancements in individuals’ emotional well-being, fostering both physical and psychological health. Allocating time, space, and resources for creative expression among learners has been shown to reduce stress, enhance memory, and foster a greater sense of social connectedness. Instructors can shape their careers around facilitating these experiences for students, spanning diverse settings such as galleries, museums, or events organized by nonprofit and community organizations.
A profound appreciation for art extends its impact to a broader societal level, offering substantial benefits to entire communities. Drawing upon data from the General Social Survey, researchers affiliated with the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Department of Public Administration discovered a correlation between participation in the arts, whether as an audience member or creator, and elevated levels of civic engagement and social tolerance (Roege and Kim, 2013). This research implies that children engaging in activities like drawing, painting, singing, or simply appreciating artistic works can contribute to not only personal happiness and well-being but also the development of better individuals.
In a survey conducted by the nonprofit organization Americans for the Arts, a significant majority of the U.S. public affirmed that the arts constitute an integral component of a well-rounded K-12 education. Moreover, a recent study carried out in Houston public schools uncovered several advantages for students participating in arts education, including:
- Enhanced writing achievement
- Decreased disciplinary infractions
- Heightened student engagement
- Improved college aspirations
- No decline in standardized test scores.
Those who contend that the arts lack monetary value may overlook the fact that artistic endeavors, such as concerts, plays, musicals, and art galleries, generate funds for schools. Furthermore, they may fail to recognize the lucrative potential of pursuing degrees in artistic fields, encompassing music performance, acting, and the sale of art pieces—all of which can lead to high-paying jobs (Roege and Kim, 2013).
The Barriers
However, involvement in the visual and performing arts is frequently relegated to a supplementary role in comparison to other facets of learning. Consequently, there are substantial discrepancies in the availability of art and music classes nationwide. The 2019 findings from the National Assessment of Educational Progress revealed that eighth graders in the Northeast were significantly more likely to report enrollment in a visual arts course than their counterparts in the South. Disparities were also associated with factors such as race, ethnicity, family income, and the location of schools in urban, suburban, town, or rural settings.
Researchers from the Johns Hopkins University School of Education contend that instructional effectiveness improves when educators integrate creative activities and place them at the core of academic development. Across various disciplines, including STEM, there exists an opportunity to reenvision classes with a robust emphasis on activities such as drawing, painting, playing music, and engaging in drama. Encouraging students to harness their imagination can facilitate active engagement with new concepts, uncover connections between ideas, and confer benefits to their social and emotional well-being (“The Importance of Art Education in the Classroom”, 2023).
Conclusion
The essay underscores the significance of art in the classroom, presenting a diverse array of benefits for students. Art lessons serve as a gateway to problem-solving techniques, fostering a fresh perspective on the world and offering access to creative modes of understanding. Students learn how art can serve as a means of expressing their ideas, sparking an interest in crafting increasingly realistic depictions and mastering new artistic techniques. By the time they reach high school, young artists develop critical thinking skills in evaluating their own work and that of their peers, cultivating a distinctive viewpoint and a sense of community with fellow creative individuals. There exist numerous compelling reasons for the continued inclusion of arts education in schools, and they deserve greater recognition for the enriching contributions they make to the lives of our children and our educational institutions.
References
Roege, G. & Kim, Z. (2013). Why we need arts education. Empirical Studies of the Arts, 31. pp. 121-130.
The Importance of Art Education in the Classroom. (2023, November 30). UF. Retrieved January 24 2024. https://arteducationmasters.arts.ufl.edu/articles/importance-of-art-education/
Our company offers 100% authentic work, composed in accordance with your instructions. High quality custom essay or term papers are written by native English speaking writers with 3 years + of relevant experience. You receive 24/7 personal assistance and customer support. Also, we provide free unlimited revisions if your paper does not meet your requirements.
We approach deadlines honestly and realistically. How long it will take us to write your essay depends on the writer level of your choice, urgency level of your essay and your instructions. Our experience is that we can complete the majority of orders in 24 hours. But we suggest you make your order as soon as you can to allow us additional time in case we needed to do additional research. If we experience delays in meeting your deadline or if we need additional time, we will get in touch with you to discuss the order. Rest assured that we will do everything in our power to complete your order in time.
Once you have placed your order, you can track its progress. We will email you the completed paper in the MS Word format.
Our writer team is made up of full-time and part-time writers (many of whom work in academia) who go through a tough screening process before joining our team. Our Quality Assurance Department supervises and evaluates their performance to provide you with quality writing services.
Our team consists of over seven hundred researchers, editors and writers. Most of our employees hold graduate degrees in their fields and take interest in taking on challenging tasks. Our employees self-select for the assignments: they pick an assignment of interest, and we allocate the assignment to whoever of them is best equipped to fulfill it. We therefore guarantee that your order goes to the person having both the desire and professional qualifications to do the work.
After the order is placed and a writer assigned, you and your writer can communicate by email round-the-clock. Our average response time is one hour for regular orders (3 to 5 days) and half an hour for expedited orders (9-24 hours).
Yes, we can. There are a number of professional researchers on our team skilled in a great variety of scientific areas. We have the capacity to deliver top-level academic writing. Years of research experience enable our professionals to create outstanding texts of any difficulty level, including Master’s and PhD.
When you order term paper, custom essay, research paper, or book report from OwnEssays, your standard page will contain approximately 285 words of text, written in 12 point Arial font, double-spaced, 1-inch margins on all sides.
We offer our customers a plagiarism-free guarantee. If you find signs of plagiarism in your term paper, custom essay, research paper, or book report, we will issue a complete refund, no questions asked. You may be 100% confident that your work is written from scratch by your writer. We use sophisticated scanning and plagiarism detection software similar to that designed by Turnitin.com. This plagiarism detection software gives you peace of mind, while ensuring the highest quality book report, term paper, research paper, or custom essay.
We aim to meet or exceed our clients’ expectations through understanding their needs. Most of our writers either work or have worked in academia and have necessary knowledge and real-world experience. If our work is not to your satisfaction and if there is nothing we can do to improve it, we will refund your money.
Our support team works round-the-clock to help you make any amendments. In the unlikely case of our failure to precisely fulfill your instructions, we will revise the work free of charge upon your request. We will send you the revised work within three days of your request.
The confidentiality and security of our clients are on top of our priority list. We guarantee complete privacy of your information. Your personal information will never be disclosed to anyone under any circumstances.
All of our payments are processed by 2Checkout.com – a leader in security business processing. We do not have access to your credit card information and will never, under any circumstances, share the details available to OwnEssays (your name and email) with any third party. OwnEssays does not store your credit card data.
We offer the following savings to our returning customers on all subsequent orders: 30-45 pages: you save 5% 46-90 pages: you save 10% 91 pages+: you save 15%
We guarantee 100% satisfaction. In the unlikely case of our failure to precisely fulfill your instructions, we will revise the work free of charge upon your request, which you have to submit within 15 days. If the revised paper still does not meet your requirements, you can request a refund in writing within three days of your order’s completion. As a matter of fact, we have the highest rate of client satisfaction in the industry.
We are an officially registered business entity under US law. Our headquarters are located in Dallas, TX. We have years of successful experience operating in the industry.