How can the arts be a more integral part of school education?

Question

With school education becoming more and more geared to providing successful career opportunities in an increasingly competitive world, arts such as music, dance, painting and theatre seem to be disappearing from school curriculum and syllabi. What can we do to cure this deficiency?

YAHOO! ANSWERS staff notice: This is really Shubha Mudgal, the classical singer and performer.

Answer 1

As a professional painter and part time studio art college instructor, I find that the arts are incredibly important to opening the mind to all kinds of subjects, not just art. We don't value intuitive knowledge in our culture. It is this intuitive intelligence that helps scientists, inventors, engineers, researchers, theorists, philosophers, mathmeticians, artists and doctors make very important decisions and finds in their fields. In this way, art and the processes that are learned in all art forms touch all professions. Art in all forms helps open us up to those intuitive processes. I think that the arts are some of the most important aspects of education.
To cure this deficiency in our education system we simply need to offer more classes, opportunities for students to participate in the arts, and allow students to bring these arts out into the community. But we can't do this when schools are constantly cutting funding to the arts. I believe that the arts should be more integrated into an overall liberal arts curriculum from Kindergarten thru college. To do this we need a commitment from school districts, politicians, parents and educators to do this. We need an allocation of some of the tax dollars that go to education to fund art education. I also think a public relations campaign on a national level that spells out the benefits of arts in our education system would help get the public behind it. It would have to be on the level of how it is not only beneficial in and of itself, but how art touches all of our lives. How it is important not only for personal expression but for human communication. And, how learning and practicing an art form is great for learning other subjects and making break throughs in those professions. Afterall, Einstein played the violin beautifully.

Answer 2

Apples and oranges. If you want your children to stay home and play a horn, that is fine. I think the arts are very well intergrated into public schools. I was required to take art every year until my graduation and I had the choice of band, visual arts, pottery, photography. Arts was very much a part of all of my schools' curriculum. I personally thought playing a radio dejay in tech ed was the coolest thing i could ever do. I think kids in America today are give substanstial opportunities that educate them on a more than generous amount of career paths they could take. I think our education system is lacking in more than one curriculum. Your passion should definitely be something you focus on; however; as the saying goes "why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free" If americans and other leaders feel we need people to focus elsewhere we should. If music, or art, or something else you enjoy isn't in school as much as you would like it to be, you should attend meetings and try and have your ideas heard. We should all work together so that EVERYones needs are being met! Everyone is just going to have to accept each others needs and with such diversity in the world i don't know why it should be a problem. I also believe majority of responsibility lies with the parents. Opportunities are abounding and everyone should have the freedom to persue the opportunities presented them. I think it happens naturally. And if schools make up for some things with others that is ok, but i have to tell you, career class was not something helpful for me. If anything should change, for me, that would be it.

Answer 3

Extracurricular Activities like Music, Dance, Painting etc were not a part of school curriculum, or at least in my school. However, teachers asked for the boys or the girls who knew music and dance before every festival, be it the annual day or independence day. It was only then that we came to know the hidden talents. I didn't realize then, but boy, those skills are necessary.
A successful career today is not shaped by education alone. A person needs to be well rounded if he or she has to succeed in the modern world. We have established India as a knowledge powerhouse with talents in sciences and technology, which is amply evident in the services sector. However, if the country is to succeed, it will have to move onto the next level which is create new businesses. A good business person at the global level will not only require a good education, but will have to be a well rounded personality. I feel that maybe i came from a school where the practise of having arts as part of curriculum was not there, but if in other schools, they were part of the curriculum and are being removed now, this is definitely a step in the wrong direction. In schools like mine, where arts were not part of curriculum, they should be introduced. Removing these from the curriculum and adding a few other courses may create competitive individuals, but they would only end up competing within the country.

Answer 4

I like your question very much.

I want to consider well what I will answer before proceeding further. So you asked, madame, this question:" How can the arts be a more integral part of school education?
With school education becoming more and more geared to providing successful career opportunities in an increasingly competitive world, arts such as music, dance, painting and theatre seem to be disappearing from school curriculum and syllabi. What can we do to cure this deficiency?"

In the United States, the arts have suffered very much in the public school systems and also by what I consider to be less funding than we are capable of, because our society has become so very materialistic as opposed to spiritual, militaristic as opposed to humanistic, goal oriented as opposed to "living in the moment."

We have become stingy when it comes to supporting the arts, not only the fine arts but the performing arts, even crafts and manual arts such as blacksmithing and other metal smithing, textiles manufacturing, and other manufacturing. We have moved from industry to a service economy, indenturing our skills and knowledge to the point we no longer have a good hold on our own means of production. We have become whores of the world, serving global economies in any aspect from security to geology to banking. Yet we starve our own souls our own minds, our own hearts.

Answer 5

Thanks Ma'm for raising your voice on this topic.

I have a suggestion here. I would think, it's always better with the art (theatre, music, dance) groups themselves approach the school management and let them know how they can help.

Instead of saying what schools can do on this. I would suggest, the art groups approach the schools themselves and let the school management know what they can do to help this art live longer and healthy. I understand they may feel that this may not be their responsibility but. And not to forget, the children again would do the same when they grow up. Social Awareness, I would say. And, this is the real salute to the artists.

No offences meant to anyone.

Nowadays, School Management is only interested in money spinning careers. It's a well known fact. Again, there can be few exceptional schools.
But, since we have some professional art performing groups. Why can't they approach the people there and try making a difference. I am sure, schools and parents are open to this and would embrace the ideas flown in.

Deficiency? Can I then also that, even the artists (not everyone) of today are more involved or interested in making their own money and they lack social awareness.

I feel, majority of the nation knows what is good and what is bad. But, the one who does good and makes others do good really makes the difference. Lets think on these notes.

Thanks for reading this.

I really don't know how much difference my talk makes. But, this is what I felt.

Answer 6

"A culture is as great as its dreams, and its dreams are created by the Artist" -- L. Ron Hubbard

Some people do not understand art and how important this is to the survival of mankind. When these people include our VERY own leaders, who rather spend our tax money on Nuclear weapons, we have an Art decline.

We have to get into the correct education committees for each individual country, and get them to undestand that Art is NOT just an "Airy fairy thing" and what Art means to the world.
If we did this, and Art was given the correct place that it deserves we WILL have achieved a better society for the betterment of mankind.

"Art is the quality of Communication" if all countries were IN communication with each other, and had a high quality of communication, there would be no war. Increase the Art EQUALS decrease of conflict and increase of UNDERSTANDING.

When you take away all the bad things of man, anything that is not native to him, you are left with Art.

Art is the food of the soul, the stuff man really needs.
The body needs food, the spirit NEEDS art.

"The only reason you are alive today is because you have a hope that something will turn up that's aesthetic, interesting,, pretty, entertaining and so on. You will hold that hope sodidly and you'll go through anything to obtain it".

People do NOT want nuclear weapons, they dont want to be getting taxed to death to satisfy the bloodthirsty politicians and media of the world, people want GOOD news, people want ART! beauty!! Aesthetics!!! a good performace, a well cooked delicious meal, love, understanding, theatre, dance performance a song that gets to your heart. That is what we want, that is what SHOULD be taught in schools and I dont think ANY student will object as long as it is self determined and the student can pick what ARTS he or she is interested in.
We have not seen a lot of Rembrandts or Michael Angelos around, and I dont think it is because they dont exist, I think it is because they are being distructed.

If you achieve this goal of getting it to be an integral part of schools and we concurrently rehabilitate any failed artists, we will begin a new Reinassance on Earth.

Answer 7

" No Child Left Behind" is a very imporntant program, but it needs MUCH refining. There is really no more room for any artistic instruction or expression in any public school. This is because of state mandates upon schools to raise test levels (which I do not disagree with). Now, administration officials are under so much pressure to" test well or lose funding", that there are not enough hours in the school day for the arts. Somehow we must solve this problem within the school system or without. Local agencies such as Boys' and Girls' clubs are one way to start, but after school programs are not really doing much more than" color and draw until mom comes to pick you up". We need a hero in the arts. We need our government to realize the parallel between the arts an subjects such as math and reading. W e have to have it placed BACK into the school setting or we will have a generation of adults who have little understanding for or appreciation of anything artistic. Shame on all of us.

Answer 8

Until there are budget increases for the arts in public schools, the previous budget cuts will continue to hamstring programs available to the average student who just may have extraordinary talent.

In the future, when we become a culture of artless, career-oriented automatons, eventually someone will stop in their tracks, humming a long-forgotten tune, and remember the music and art they were introduced to by their parents as a child. The person will ponder where all of the wonder in life went. This will be repeated over and over amongst the population. Perhaps they will reminisce about a simpler, happier life full of reality and emotion. Perhaps this will happen to enough people so that they will be inspired to take action and art will live again. But perhaps not. This can only happen on a large scale through people exposing their children to the arts outside of the public education system.

Answer 9

Special slot of marks can be allotted rating the child's participation and performance in arts.Number of schools can come together to organise a teaching system only for various art forms in this way a student can avail a variety of courses and inclusion of such activities in the curriculum can be made more affordable both for the schools and the students.
Otherwise schools can have tie ups with various institutions that teach arts such as music,dance,painting and theatre ,they may get their students to do a certificate course in at least one of these arts as part of the syllabus.
growth in the education in art forms is very much dependant upon the attitude of the education board , the schools,the parents and the students.Hence, their should be awareness among these parties about the importance of arts in the over-all development of the child and they must first be convinced about this.

Answer 10

As School education becoming more and more geared to providing successful career opportunities in an increasingly competitive world, arts such as music, dance, painting and theatre seem to be disappearing from school curriculum and syllabi, the new generation becomes more like machine than human. Arts keep the soft heart of people, but as they go away from them, the humanity also goes away. So it is a need that it should be an integral part of the school education. Our education system has many defects and it goes to such an extend that denies its own purpose. In Japan, physical training is More important than academic learning. So we need to adopt such strict norms to keep arts, physical training and value education in the syllabi. Otherwise we will be upbringing more machines than generations. Our new generations need to be more close to nature and human values without forgetting our rich tradition, culture and history. So arts should be a part of our education and generation moulding system more like air, water and food more than just a subject, options can be given certainly. They should enjoy the beauty of natural vocal and instrumental music, hand paintings and drawings, hand carved sculptures, physical dances than computer designed and graphically enriched images, moulded & drilled objects and cartoons.

Answer 11

That is a great and an important question. But remember, schools are so different all across the country. (I am speaking of the USA because that's where I live.) Many schools, especially private, or Church schools support the arts.
I believe a good place to begin is with the parents. If they appreciate the arts and music, etc. and encourage the child to do so as well, they will find opportunities to further their education in that regard. Schools are competitive. If one school has a great program for the Arts, soon it will catch on with the next.
Also, the community should work closely with the school board to promote the arts.