What Happens
When Kids Have the Arts
Studies demonstrate that participating in arts programs
can help children read and write better, be more focused in class,
raise test scores, develop higher self-esteem, and solve problems
more creatively.
- Continuing a trend noted in studies in 1998
and 1999, students of the arts, in all categories and disciplines,
outperformed their non-arts peers on the SAT in 2000. (The
College Board 2000 College-Bound Seniors: A Profile of SAT
Program Test-Takers, 2001)
- Arts programs can help high risk children
get better grades and have a better attitude about learning.
In just one year in the "Different Ways of Knowing" program,
high-risk elementary students gained 8 percentile points on
standardized language arts tests.
- Arts programs can accelerate a student's progress
in reading. In the New York City "Learning to Read Through
the Arts" program, students improved an average of one
to two months in reading skills for every month they participated.
- Creativity and critical thinking skills are
developed through the arts. The National Center for Gifted
and Talented (University of Connecticut) found that students
involved in the arts were more motivated to learn than those
not involved in the arts. They also exhibited more imaginative,
flexible, and critical thinking skills.
- Arts programs are the best developer of creativity
– a vital skill for problem solving and innovative thinking.
After participating in an arts curriculum for one year, children
in two Ohio school districts tested four times higher in creativity
than children who were not enrolled in the program. It is believed
that creative thinking skills learned early in a child‚s development
will last a lifetime.
The arts inspire children to:
- develop concentration skills
- improve high-level communication and interpersonal
skills
- think creatively
- work flexibly across disciplinary boundaries
- understand the multicultural dimensions of
our world
- discover the joy of learning
Why It's Essential for Business
to Care
“After a long business career, I have become increasingly
concerned that the basic problem gripping the American workplace
is not interest rates or inflation; those come and go with the
business cycle. More deeply rooted is the crisis of creativity.
Ideas are what built American business and it is the arts that
build ideas and nurture a place in the mind for them to grow.
Arts education programs can help repair weaknesses in American
education and better prepare workers for the twenty-first century.”
–Richard Gurin, President and CEO,
Binney & Smith, Inc.
“Today's students need arts education now more
than ever. Yes, they need the basics. But today there are two
sets of basics. The first - reading, writing, and math - is simply
a prerequisite for a second, more complex, equally vital collection
of higher-level skills required to function in today‚s world.
These basics include the ability to allocate resources; to work
successfully with others; to find, analyze and communicate information;
to operate increasingly complex systems of seemingly unrelated
parts; and finally, to use technology. The arts provide an unparalleled
opportunity to teach these higher-level basics that are increasingly
critical, not only to tomorrow‚s work force, but also today's.”
–Paul W. Chellgren, President and CEO, Ashland
Inc.
"Those at home with the nuances and ambiguities
of art forms are far more likely to persist in the quest to resolve
ambiguity in the practical world.”
–William F. Kieschnick, Former ARCO President
and CEO.
Arts related industries are key to the vitality
of California‚s economy and a significant source of future employment
in the 21st century. There will be approximately $314 billion
in jobs available in the nonprofit and commercial arts in the
United States alone - jobs our children may be unqualified for
if the arts are not an integral component of the school curriculum!
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