“Confidence, like art, never comes from having all the answers; it comes from being open to all the questions.”
– Earl Stevens
I firmly believe that quality Arts Education is a vital part of a child's education. Learning how to ask – and respond to – complex questions develops critical thinking.
And many others share this belief. In “Quality, Equity and Access,” The California Alliance for Arts Education states:
“The arts provide experiences in which students are encouraged to ask complex questions and experiment without a predetermined result. A curriculum without the arts impoverishes our students as human beings, citizens, thinkers, and workers in any field, and narrows the function of education to the development of those skills that can be measured on standardized tests.”
The landmark research document on this subject is “Champions of Change: The Impact of the Arts on Learning.” This 1999 report – click here to access the full report – was made possible through the GE Fund / MacArthur Foundation. The major findings:
1) Students with high levels of arts participation outperform their peers with little or no arts participation.
2) Sustained involvement in particular art forms – music and theater – is highly correlated with success in mathematics and reading.
3) The arts have a measurable impact on students in high-poverty and urban settings.
4) Engagement in the arts nurtures the development of cognitive, social and personal competencies.
5) Arts experiences enhance critical thinking abilities and outcomes.
6) The arts enable educators to reach students in effective ways.
Support our children. Support the arts!
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