Why Art Is Important

  In many school systems there is a debate about whether art is to be cut from the school to give children time to learn about other subjects more. Since I am going into art education, I believe art plays a very important role in a students life and should remain in schools. After doing some research this article proves some very good points about the same topic and is aimed towards parents, but is a good read for anyone. (Read it HERE)
  Children nowadays are growing up differently than we did when we were young. When I was younger, if I had free time, especially in the summer, my parents would tell me to go play outside with friends and to go make something. For me I normally would go make artwork and experiment with all the materials I had, but children now choose differently. For this new generation technology is always at their fingertips; its everywhere! For them it is easy to pick up a controller, cell phone/laptop or to watch TV. These children aren't experimenting with new things and using their creativity with their hands. They then enter classrooms, art for example, and have very little experience with it. As an art teacher we have to make them more interested in the arts and find ways to use different technologies as well as using the old tools that are normally used to create art.
  This article speaks about how children in art classes get to use the creative part of their brain in art class and create something different from the cooker cutter things they do in other classes. They are encouraged in art classes to be unique from their fellow classmates and to think outside of the box. Comparing this to classes such as math where there is only one answer students get into the rhythm of thinking in a straight line and getting to a finishing point. It is important for them to get a class where there are encouraged to do the complete opposite and are praised for it.
  Art is often argued to be hard to test students in and because of that there is no way of telling if all the students are learning the correct information which will help them in their futures. However, through art class students are learning to channel all their emotions; the good, bad and sad, into their artwork and create something which is a master piece. If students can at least take that much away from their art classes, they can know how to channel all those emotions in their future if they start to have problems. Art can help bring them back to a peaceful state if not teach them more.
  There are so many possibilities to go with art, and each person can take them with them as they grow.