Education and Creativity
Middle and High school years are the most important years in a child’s
life. It is when a child changes into an adolescent; an adolescent to an adult.
During this time, people figure out more about themselves than they ever will.
Who they are, who they want to be, and what they want to do are just a few
examples. Education remains important, but creativity stands as one of the most
essential traits of a person during these changes. According to Thomas
Friedman, a New York Times columnist, “It’s not that I don’t think math
and science are important. They still are. But more than ever our ability to
integrate art, science, music, and literature with the hard sciences” (Why
Education Needs The Arts 2). Creativity and education need to be combined.
Entering my sixth grade year, I wanted to be involved in something
creative. So, I decided to join the band program. While in the music program, I
was able to express myself in a creative way. If I was stressed out, I would
not play very well. However, when I was in a good, relaxed mood I was able to
play exceedingly well. I placed second chair in my section and met my two best
friends whom I sat in between. Creativity gave me many friends and memories to
enjoy and cherish.
The fine arts stand as one of the best ways to show creativity. “However,
when a school’s budget is cut short the non-tested subjects are the first to
go” (6), cited by Tina Beveridge, an undergraduate research assistant at the
University of California in San Diego. Unfortunately, the fine arts are
considered as “non-tested”. Music, art, and dance all have their own tests and
skills to master. Julia Cameron, an American artist and composer, states that
“serious art is born from serious play” in her book, The Artist's Way: A
spiritual path to higher creativity on page 112. A great deal of people
think that sports are more important. The arts can compete and lead to future
careers just like sports. The arts also take a large amount of time,
commitment, and endurance. Some people think that the arts are a waste of time
when they are really misunderstood and have their own techniques and skills to
master.
The arts, something America lives off of. Sophie Yuen Mason and Mike
Conolly, authors of Why Education Needs The Arts, state that “an
education that shortchanges the arts will make the United States competitively
weaker in a global economy, and so on, an education that fails to nurture young
people's creative instincts will leave them less human” (Why Education Needs
The Arts 23). Popstars, rockstars--where do you think they got their
inspiration? Dancers and artists? The arts--something a majority of us
experience every day. The arts are important. We can pour our hearts out in
lyrics, or we can dance to a good beat. Art can help people relax, or it can
reveal our deepest emotions and insecurities. The arts live as a way for people
to escape. Think of it this way: Would you rather a loved one self-harmed or
grab a guitar? Steal or draw a portrait? Deal drugs or break out their moves?
The arts remain a good way to distract yourself and break bad habits. When
someone gets involved in the arts, what they do lives as their own; a project
they can call theirs and be proud of.
One of the most popular and well known types of the fine arts--music.
Music ranges from smooth classical to upbeat hip-hop. The type of music we
listen to shows our personality and our current emotions. Playing an instrument,
singing, or simply listening to a song are all ways we express ourselves
through music. “As budgets are cut nationwide, the funding for non-tested
subjects are affected first...” (Beveridge 6). “Non-tested subjects” are
defined in Beveridge's article as a subject that does not force tests to be
taken. This is not true about music. Administrators wish to add tests to the
music programs that have nothing to do with the subject. Music has its own
skills to master and, believe it or not, is tested daily. Students are tested
on their ability to play a piece of music. Music teaches great leadership and
teamwork skills; skills that are hard to learn in a classroom. You cannot
depend on one person. Music programs such as band, chorus, and orchestra coexist
as a group effort. In music programs, you are considered a family. It is much
easier to work together with your “family” than with a classroom full of
students you know very little about. By getting rid of the music program, you
are not allowing kids to learn important skills needed in the future and are
limiting their creative abilities.
Dance. Something as simple as moving your head to beat or tapping your
foot. Dance exists as a way to relieve stress. “A dance program enables a
school to fulfill its mission to teach student to become global citizens” (Why
Education Needs The Arts 1). America remains huge on making sure our youth
can compete with the world. Dance is just the entity we need. Look back at our
history and ancestry. Every country has its own types of dances. For example,
Myrtle Beach, SC came up with the 'Shag' which is why its nickname is 'The City
Of Shag'. The Salsa, Meringue, and the Waltz: All worldwide
famous dances that, as high schoolers, we remain forced to learn at least one
of them. There are also other types of dancing styles such as ballet and
street-dancing. The two are majorly different, but share one factor in common.
They both exist as types of dance. Students at Saigon South International
School show their view point on dance. “I leave my trouble behind' [dance]
relaxes and refreshes me.” “It helps me be disciplined in other areas as well.”
“Dance is the most communicative and expressive way to show our inner side. It
is like looking at a mirror in your own mind.” So dance not only helps you
emotionally, but it helps you physically and academically. Cutting dance
programs out of public schools, according to the statements above, would not
only stress kids out even more, but they would not be as disciplined and
focused as they could be. With dancing you have to be patient. It’s not
something you can learn overnight. With dance you have to think mathematically,
and logically. You have to count your steps in a routine to make sure you get
it just right. As Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu once wrote, “He who knows others
is learned; he who knows himself is wise” (Mason and Conolly 17). You have to
know your own limits and when to stop. Critical thinking, personal
resonsibility, social responsibility, and communication all majorly impact how
well your performance stands. Dance exists just as much as any other subject
and sport. Think about it, even professional football players take ballet to
learn better footing and balance techniques for when they are competing.
Art has withstood the challenges of time and continues to flourish today.
The pyramids of Egypt, the leaning tower of Pisa, the great Sphinx, the Eiffle
Tower, and the White House are all used as important portraits and drawings.
Art goes as far back as cavemen drawing pictures in caves. Art remains as the
oldest type of fine art out there. By taking art away from us, we are losing
our chance to stay in touch with our history and heritage. Someone had to draw
out a plan for all of the wonders of the world. Someone, somewhere had to draw
out the design. However, very few people can match the Greeks use of art: drama
and sculpture. “Greek sculptors were the first to make their works of are
realistic and lifelike” (Hazon 8). Greek art and designs have immigrated to
America and are used in the White House and the Lincoln Memorial. Both of which
are modeled after the Parthenon in Greece. Every person has their own unique
way of expressing ourselves through art. Some people could draw graphic images
while other just use bubbly words. For all anyone knows, that kid that doodles
on the corner of their paper could end up as a world famous artist. But, they
would not get the chance to show others there work if the art program was cut
out of public schools. That kid just lost their chance to find a career that
they were comfortable with. Admit it; we all know that not everybody works well
with others. Being an artist is mostly a solitary career. The shy kid sitting
next to you could end up with their portraits in famous museums, art galleries,
and anywhere else. If students are not given the chance to show what they can
do, their talent will stay hidden. The secret talent will stay a secret instead
of being brought forth to the light. Would you really want to deny someone the
chance to show who they really are and what they can do?
As Albert Einstein once said, “All religions, arts, and sciences are
branches of the same tress.” Instead of
viewing the arts as an extracurricular activity, view it as an academic class.
They both teach important skills that are needed later on in life. Just because
the arts are “non-tested” does not mean that they should be kicked out of
schools. Fundraisers are an excellent way to earn money to save the arts. To a
great deal of people, the arts may not matter, but think of it this way: Would
you want to deny your child happiness if the arts are what made them happy?
When schools threaten to cut the arts, the community does very little but turns
the other way. Do you think that you would turn the other way if the government
were to crash? What about the economy? No, you would fight and try to build it
back up. The arts can be viewed the same way. By simply raising awareness in
your community that the arts are important, you could save a child's life. Yes,
you heard me right, a child's life. Charles Darwin felt that because he was
focusing too much on math and science and ignoring the arts, he was not able to
enjoy things that once brought him happiness. “My mind seems to have become a
machine for grinding general laws out of large collections of fact” Darwin
confessed (Why Education Needs The Arts
11). By ignoring the arts, he practically turned into a human computer.
Storing information and ready to spit out at any moment. You can not live your
life as a machine. “The loss of these tastes is a loss of happiness, and may
possible be injurious to the intellect, and more probably to the moral character,
by enfeebling the emotional part of our nature. (Mason and Conolly 22). Our
moral character and our emotions make up who we are. Without the arts, we are
slowly dying inside. Our personalities and our ability to sympathize and
empathize with someone are fading away. Would you rather be your true self and
have nothing being able to change you, or a heartless, emotionless robot
capable of only thinking inside the box? And as my father once told me,
"Anything that you do can be considered an art. So if you take away the
arts everything would be considered a lost art" (Michael Snow).
Works
Cited
"Arts
Quotes." BrainyQuote. Xplore, n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/arts.html>.
Beveridge,
Tina. "No Child Left Behind and Fine Arts Classes." Arts Education
Policy Review.
Heldref
Publications, n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2012.
<http://content.ebscohost.com/pdf23_24/pdf/2010/AEP/01Mar10/44867926.pdf?T=P&P=AN&K=44867
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XS&ContentCustomer=dGJyMPGvt1CvqrZMuePfgeyx5osA
>.
Mason,
Sophie Yuen, and Mike Connolly. "Why Education Needs The Arts." Principal
Leadership 10.3 (2009): 30-34. ERIC.
Web. 27 Sept. 2012.
Social
Studies School, Service. "CHAPTER 11: Art And Architecture." Everyday
Life: Ancient
Times. 82-89. US: Social Studies
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18 Sept. 2012.
