Should Schools Offer Art Education in the Classroom?
Each student in America receives instruction in language arts, mathematics, and forms of science and social studies. Beyond the general education classroom with this core curriculum, some schools offer education in fine and performing arts.
Unfortunately, the value of art education is sometimes overlooked. Parents and schools don’t always recognize art and music as classes that provide skills and understanding that are just as impactful as those of language arts and math. However, art provides a healthy creative outlet for students, cross-curricular engagement and translatable life skills.
In the art classroom at Evans Elementary, Jessica Beilharz prepares for her day of teaching students in kindergarten up to fifth grade. Beilharz has taught art for seven years, including teaching an afterschool art program prior to moving to Colorado Springs to teach art to elementary students in District 49.
She believes that we all have a basic human desire to create, and a human desire to leave something as a legacy. For Bielharz, “Art education nurtures and satisfies this impulse. Personally, art makes me feel whole, makes me proud of myself, and makes me feel like I have a way to contribute to my community. Art creates joy in my life and makes it worth living.”
Value in the Classroom
The beliefs of Stanford professor Elliot Eisner resonate with Beilharz, as his focus was art and education. He once stated, “The arts are fundamental resources through which the world is viewed, meaning is created, and the mind developed.”
In her classroom, Beilharz helps her students to develop critical thinking and look at the world from varying viewpoints. This helps her classes to be able to translate these crucial, foundational skills to their other classes as well as their lives outside of school.
Beyond gaining valuable perspectives, the students in her classroom can safely experience failure. She teaches them that failure is crucial to the learning process and that it is normal and acceptable to make mistakes.
Reflecting Eisner’s ideals, Beilharz explains, “There are many valuable takeaways possible from participating in creative arts, not just visual art. Honestly, with art, I believe that you get what you put into it. In addition to skill building, mental and visual planning and organization skills, and growing knowledge of art history and impact, those who participate in visual art also gain a sense of accomplishment for the hard work it takes to create something.”
“Art is a challenging and fulfilling process that requires so much thought, energy, time, planning, and emotion. Students of visual art experience exposure to new ideas, materials and tools, and a variety of perspectives. Not only is art a method for creating, but also a method of problem-solving and communicating- expressing thoughts, emotions, stories, cultural traditions, political views, and more.”
Value of Art Education in Society
While Beilharz feels supported by coworkers, she explains that she sometimes feels forgotten or undervalued by parents and the general public. While many teachers have felt this, especially after the pandemic, it is important for those in our community to recognize and appreciate the efforts, passions, and importance of fine and performing arts teachers like Beilharz.
“The way we should be looking at including art is this: When we exercise the body, we don’t focus on one group of muscles entirely. It’s about developing, stretching and strengthening all muscle groups and joints to create a strong, healthy body. The goal of our education system should be to raise and create people that are ready to be part of our society- individuals that can think and solve problems. Everything is connected, and all pieces of our system are important in creating an environment that is raising the future,” she says.
“Removing the arts from education removes the arts from society; the impact isn’t in classrooms, it’s across the nation; in marketing, in product design and engineering, in the architecture of our homes and workplaces, in the games, books and movies that entertain us.”
Several schools across the nation have made the choice to remove art classes from their schools due to budget cuts in the past few years. Beilharz notes that if art education continues to be stripped from schools, there would likely be a rise in unwanted student behavior and a decrease in student attendance and engagement.
Value of Individual Students
Colorado Springs has many schools that focus on art education such as the CIVA charter school in District 11, as well as multiple districts that value their art curriculum and correlated programs. Students in Colorado Springs are given the ability to enhance their talents and broaden their worldviews. In Beilharz’s classroom, the students she sees each year are receiving heartfelt instruction.
“Not only does art provide a creative outlet for stress, excitement, or personal experiences students are working through, but also if my students are planning and creating their own artwork the benefits they gain beyond the art classroom include research and observational skills, planning and organizational skills, envisioning to create, exploring new opportunities, and engaging in a challenging problem and persisting through to the rewarding portion or solution,” she explains.
“I attempt to expose my students to as many new ideas, materials and tools that I can, as well as help my students build their basic skills and confidence in themselves; confidence in their ability to create something and express themselves. I want my students to believe that they are more than their math or literacy scores and that they are enough, just as they are. Ultimately, I hope that my students’ biggest takeaway is that they are capable young people.”
