Walking into high school as a freshman can be hard, but walking in without a passion for sports can be even harder. This was the situation I was in until I discovered the arts. As a freshman in high school, I was shy and timid; I didn’t talk to many people outside of my friend group. Until I got involved with speech and theatre, I wasn’t myself when I was around people I didn’t know. I was involved in all art programs offered at Okoboji High School over my four years, eventually becoming the president of the Thespian Society my senior year.
There were sports at my school as well, basketball and football getting the most funding. The art programs, however, got the least amount of funding no matter how well we performed in theatre productions …show more content…
The skills that the fine arts give people are unattainable through anything else. Through the arts, young people can find out who they truly are and what they’re passionate about. “The arts enhance the process of learning. The systems they nourish…are, in fact, the driving forces behind all other learning” (Jensen 2). By taking away the arts, schools are taking away the opportunity of a deeper education. Although schools start cutting fine art programs at an elementary level, the effects can lead long into the high school age (Dickson). There are many “take-home” effects that the arts have, outlined by Fiske, “The arts reach students not ordinarily reached…, students connect to each other better, arts proved challenges for student at all levels…”. This list continues with other educational and social benefits that the arts bring. Perhaps, the most shocking of all is that “Students learn to become sustained, self-directed learners, not a repository of facts from direct instruction for the next high-stakes test” (Jensen 3). When schools look at what programs can be cut, they look at the ones that will have little to no effect on students. By taking away the arts, they are also taking away educational and social skills that they need to function in …show more content…
By this I am not saying that sciences and math do not evoke this sort of motivation, but children start at a young age by being motivated by things that are seen as play. Intrinsic motivation is the motivation that comes from one’s self; there is no reward other than the accomplishment one feels when a deed is done (Schwartz 80). The arts enabling cognitive and critical thinking within a student can lead to passion for the arts being used in different areas of study (Sousa). For example, a student may love music and singing which can then be transferred into a love of math. The counting and rhythm that a student uses when reading music can be helpful when solving equations in an area of
There were sports at my school as well, basketball and football getting the most funding. The art programs, however, got the least amount of funding no matter how well we performed in theatre productions …show more content…
The skills that the fine arts give people are unattainable through anything else. Through the arts, young people can find out who they truly are and what they’re passionate about. “The arts enhance the process of learning. The systems they nourish…are, in fact, the driving forces behind all other learning” (Jensen 2). By taking away the arts, schools are taking away the opportunity of a deeper education. Although schools start cutting fine art programs at an elementary level, the effects can lead long into the high school age (Dickson). There are many “take-home” effects that the arts have, outlined by Fiske, “The arts reach students not ordinarily reached…, students connect to each other better, arts proved challenges for student at all levels…”. This list continues with other educational and social benefits that the arts bring. Perhaps, the most shocking of all is that “Students learn to become sustained, self-directed learners, not a repository of facts from direct instruction for the next high-stakes test” (Jensen 3). When schools look at what programs can be cut, they look at the ones that will have little to no effect on students. By taking away the arts, they are also taking away educational and social skills that they need to function in …show more content…
By this I am not saying that sciences and math do not evoke this sort of motivation, but children start at a young age by being motivated by things that are seen as play. Intrinsic motivation is the motivation that comes from one’s self; there is no reward other than the accomplishment one feels when a deed is done (Schwartz 80). The arts enabling cognitive and critical thinking within a student can lead to passion for the arts being used in different areas of study (Sousa). For example, a student may love music and singing which can then be transferred into a love of math. The counting and rhythm that a student uses when reading music can be helpful when solving equations in an area of