School budgets have been continually reduced ever since the Great Recession began in 2008. States have made deep cuts to school budgets in order to balance their finances, school art programs being some of the most affected. The arts are an extremely vital part of our society and education system. Arts education should be prioritized in schools because when budget cuts interfere with this enriching curriculum, students are neglected and lose important life skills.
It is obvious that the arts are commonly the first programs affected by budget cuts and are rarely ever restored, and the arts are most commonly unavailable for low-income students. But, we need these programs because they improve student performance, increase graduation rates, are …show more content…
The No Child Left Behind Act, enacted by President George W. Bush, places more attention on core subjects with standardized tests, and therefore decreases the amount of attention given to the arts. Like the No Child Left Behind Act, the Common Core Standards, implemented in 46 states, emphasize standardized test subjects, excluding the arts in its main focus. Both, NCLB and CCS encourage skill development for students, preparing them for college educations and successful careers (Metla). Neither of these plans have overall negative effects, but requiring standardized tests to regulate skills learned in the classroom takes a great deal of focus off of the arts. Leaving students bereft of the arts, closes doors of opportunity and reduces the number of available career tracks for …show more content…
Without financial support for the arts, parents and students are left to struggle with the problem and left with either no arts program or an arts program that is subpar. Students are the losers academically and creatively, while often those same schools ' athletic programs flourish. A student who is not athletically inclined and is struggling academically, may be led to greater successes with just the right arts experience or class, but without it, may never reach their full potential. Arts education must again be given a high priority in our education system if we wish to provide our society with high-achieving and the best prepared
It is obvious that the arts are commonly the first programs affected by budget cuts and are rarely ever restored, and the arts are most commonly unavailable for low-income students. But, we need these programs because they improve student performance, increase graduation rates, are …show more content…
The No Child Left Behind Act, enacted by President George W. Bush, places more attention on core subjects with standardized tests, and therefore decreases the amount of attention given to the arts. Like the No Child Left Behind Act, the Common Core Standards, implemented in 46 states, emphasize standardized test subjects, excluding the arts in its main focus. Both, NCLB and CCS encourage skill development for students, preparing them for college educations and successful careers (Metla). Neither of these plans have overall negative effects, but requiring standardized tests to regulate skills learned in the classroom takes a great deal of focus off of the arts. Leaving students bereft of the arts, closes doors of opportunity and reduces the number of available career tracks for …show more content…
Without financial support for the arts, parents and students are left to struggle with the problem and left with either no arts program or an arts program that is subpar. Students are the losers academically and creatively, while often those same schools ' athletic programs flourish. A student who is not athletically inclined and is struggling academically, may be led to greater successes with just the right arts experience or class, but without it, may never reach their full potential. Arts education must again be given a high priority in our education system if we wish to provide our society with high-achieving and the best prepared