When people look into high schools on where to send their children, rarely do people consider a school’s art programs, unless their child is already specifically interested. Most people focus on a school’s athletics as a measure of success; a representation of a deeply rooted American problem: athletics are put above art in value.
When budget cuts or layoffs occur in the district, one of the first items placed on the chopping block is the arts, specifically theater, art classes and art teachers. Rarely are athletics cuts, if considered at all. The main reason for this is due to the devaluation of art in American schools as a form of education, and the pedestal that athletics is put on. There is nothing wrong with athletics as a form of activity for students, quite the opposite, it is a very important activity that all people should engage in.
Students learning art in any form has been shown to encourage tolerance, raise grades to encourage tolerance, raise grades with subjects like language arts and math, improve social skills and help kids with emotional regulation, which are very needed and lacking in the modern world. For more personal aspects of it, kids learning art can also reduce stress, help handle constructive criticism, and improve focus, also all needed in today’s society.
Beyond societal perceptions of art, athletics is also seen as a direct pathway to higher education and professional careers, whereas an artistic career is often joked about as being equivalent to being “unemployed.” The disproportionate cutting and disregard for artistic programs in school also unfairly impacts kids from lower-income and marginalized backgrounds. Specifically, kids with disabilities are more likely to enjoy art and henceforth take an art class.
When looking back on my personal educational experience, some of my most profound learning experiences occurred in my art classes. Never being good at art, I got to fail at painting landscapes and have fun whilst doing it, teaching me that failure isn’t the end of the world. I got to paint the country of Ireland where my lineage is from, showing me that I could learn and express parts of myself. I got to experience myself for the first time in school and paint things core to my identity, like dumbbells for the gym, books, my dog and my family, showing that I could tie back personal identity traits back to my educational experience.
Expanding on the notion of art reducing feelings of anxiety and stress, art has been proven across the board to reduce negative mental health symptoms among adolescents—something that is desperately needed in young people right now. While direct links between cuts to art programs and increased mental health issues are hard to prove, the existing research already shows the role art plays in alleviating mental health symptoms. Therefore reducing or removing these programs can be tied to worsening mental health for young people.
As the U.S. goes through a tumultuous time for education, the already lacking artistic structure should be protected. Not only because of the quantitative benefits it has on students, but also because of the unquantifiable benefits. The creativity encouraged, the stress elevated, the impact it has on those with disabilities and the community it can encourage and create. Art shouldn’t be put below sports, it should be put next to it on that very same pedestal.
