Art education within the UK schooling system is in danger. The budgets and time available for art education are under high pressure and more importance is placed on ‘core’ subjects such as Maths and English, as these are the main indicators of the school level and how well it is succeeding in comparison to other schools. The lack of time and money dedicated to art education has led to a dramatic fall in students who are actively choosing to develop their education of art.
For me, art has played a heavy part in my education from playgroup to university. My parents have actively encouraged me to always take a creative route and this started from when they choose one of the more creative playgroups in our area. Currently, I’m studying Publishing Media which allows me to explore different ideas creatively. I believe that my art education has really shaped me as a person and here are five reasons why I believe art education in schools is so important:
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The development of imagination Having an outlet to transform your ideas of the world and to explore your inner thoughts through an art medium helps to develop and nurture your imagination. Art allows you to have an outlet to explore and build on your imaginative thoughts which not only helps creatively but in my opinion makes it easier to be compassionate and to understand new cultures.
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Expression Building on the development of imagination, it’s an outlet for expression which allows the students to understand their feelings and concerns. Being in school and growing up can be a confusing time so having an outlet for this can be highly beneficial.
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Building an identity Art-based subjects can encourage students to build confidence and as a result, will develop an individual identity.
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Health & Wellbeing Creativity can help with the health and wellbeing of students. Many students invited for a study completed by the University of Nottingham said that they feel that art lessons are a mean of releasing from the pressure of studying for their other classes and use the art lessons as a type of rest bite. I for one really struggled throughout secondary school and I loved art so having these lessons not only provided an escape.
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Development of critical thinking and cultural awareness The act of teaching art also has the benefit of building on cultural awareness and critical thinking. The ability to interpret the world can be strengthened through the means of looking at art from different cultures, socioeconomic levels and also current events. The impact of this is the development of empathy, a skill that is essential for all walks of life regardless of the student wants to go onto having an art-based career.
The list of benefits for teaching art-based subjects could on and on but above are five I feel most crucial due to the impact that they have on the students and the impact they had on me.
Let’s group together and save the arts!