March is one of my favorite months of the year, and that’s mostly because of March Madness. (Is it normal to spend the majority of your day obsessing about a team’s chances of reaching the Sweet Sixteen?) March is also Youth Art Month, which emphasizes the importance of the arts in children’s lives and educational experiences—something that I hold very close to my heart.
From the time I could walk, I was enrolled in music classes. It began with Kindermusik, an early childhood arts education program, in California, and I haven’t stopped since then. Nearly ten years ago, I had my first French horn lesson from a woman who is now both one of my most inspiring mentors and one of my closest friends.
With my horn, I have participated in school bands, ensembles, and symphonies. The horn has been my ticket to China to study at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music; a tool to teach others basics in music theory; and, an escape from the stresses of everyday life. Music has been an integral part of my life, and I am grateful for the opportunities I have been afforded throughout the years to continue to grow as a musician.
But too many children in this country never get these same opportunities.
Having an art or music teacher at my school was something I took for granted. Sadly, over 50 percent of America’s public schools do not have a full-time art teacher. A report from the U.S. Department of Education found that over 1.3 million elementary school students never get the chance to attend classes in music, while 4 million elementary school students are deprived of any visual arts instruction.
While the rhetoric around this issue often includes the common refrain about lack of money and perceived lack of importance, the benefits of integrating arts into public education make it clear that we must make funding these programs a priority. Participation in music programs led to higher scores by students on both math and English standardized tests—sometimes boosting scores by nearly 25 percent, according to a report in the Journal of Research in Music Education. Music classes have also been shown to boost graduation rates, reduce the use of alcohol and illegal drugs, and improve interpersonal relationships.
Integrating arts in public schools especially helps low-income and at-risk students. For example, low-income students who attended schools with an arts curriculum were 31 percent more likely to earn a bachelor’s degree than were economically disadvantaged students who lacked exposure to the arts.
And using the “we don’t have enough money” line may soon seem inane when considering the economic value of arts programs. A report from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis found that the economic output for arts education, including “postsecondary fine-arts schools, department of fine arts and performing arts, and academic performing-arts centers,” was $104 billion in 2011 and added $7.6 billion to the nation’s GDP.
In addition to the positive academic, economic, and social benefits of art education, I believe that music and other arts are inherently good, meaning that even if those other great effects did not occur, they’d be worth our time and investment. Art education should not simply be viewed as a means to boost test scores—it’s a way for students to connect to each other, to the world around them, and to themselves.
Thankfully, the White House has taken notice of the benefits of the arts. The President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities launched the Turnaround Arts Initiative, which is designed to assist struggling schools through an integrated arts education. The program brings two types of resources to the participating schools: financial resources and the resources of experts, such as actor Forest Whitaker and cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Eight schools are currently participating. One of the schools—Orchard Gardens in Roxbury, MA—has seen students’ scores on English exams rise from 13 to 43 percent, in addition to other encouraging outcomes.
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has visited schools across the country to see firsthand the impact of an integrated arts education. He tweeted last week: “A student in Boston told me today that playing the French horn makes him want to come to school. Powerful endorsement for #artsed.”
I couldn’t agree more.
Christine Dickason is a junior Public Policy Leadership major from Collierville, TN.
— Christine Dickason
cndickas@go.olemiss.edu
