Art in the Schools

As a result of NCLB and the states' inability to focus on more than one thing at a time, most art instruction in schools has been cut. Of course, art instruction was declining prior to NCLB, if I remember correctly. Joanne Jacobs notes a study which says that art doesn't improve math or reading skills (which is why it was cut). But at the same time, art is important, if only for art's sake.

Some studies have found students who take art are above-average students. Winner and Hetland see a chicken-egg problem: “academically strong schools tend to have strong arts programs” and “families who value academic achievement also value achievement in the arts.”

I don't know about the chicken and egg argument, but art is important if for no other reason than it provides a creative outlet for students.

There is much great art in the world and it would be a shame if students did understand art, didn't try to create art and didn't enjoy art. I will admit that if you put be in front of two paintings by famous artists, unless I know the history of the pieces, I couldn't tell which belonged to which artist, but I can nonetheless appreciate the art itself.

Could our obsessive focus on math and reading be costing us a generation of artists who might otherwise be on the level of Picasso, Pollack or even Warhol?