If the Congress, state and local municipalities get their way and cut funding to art and music programs, there will be no need for paintbrushes, fingerpaints, or musical instruments in the 2010-11 school year.
Changes, and cuts in funding for extracurricular and co-curricular activities, including music and arts programs, mean the death of our children’s music and arts educations, and it is happening right now across the country. The smaller municipalities are the first to make such cuts, according to the Leader Herald of Gloversville/Johnstown, New York, a region in the impoverished Mohawk Valley, “in the short-term, several districts are considering reducing full-day kindergarten to half-day programs. Elementary art and music instruction is on the chopping block in many districts, including Gloversville, Amsterdam and Fonda-Fultonville.”
According http://www.alltheartsforallthekids.org/, studies demonstrate that participating in arts programs can help children read and write better, be more focused in class, raise test scores, develop higher self-esteem, and solve problems more creatively.
ezinearticles.Com states, it’s no secret that art and music programs are under attack at most schools because of the recent cutbacks due to the economy. However a recent report has concluded that learning the arts nurtures the development of social, personal, and cognitive skills. As most of us already know these three skills are the foundations of our survival. Programs which are based around the arts are shown to improve academic achievement and decrease the tendency towards delinquent activities.
Art programs involve communication, interpretation and understanding of complex symbols similar to mathematics and foreign languages. Learning these skills helps to develop high order analytical skills as well as skills of evaluation and synthesis. Many art programs make the child regularly use different skills in turn making them very dynamic and versatile. This helps children form positive attitudes about themselves and others while building self-esteem.
Art programs also offer some extra perks like development of imagination, judgment and philosophy. As opposed to the 45 minute duration of typical classroom settings at school, the extra time allotted in after school activities gives your child more time to get involved. This gives the latent capabilities of your child more time to shine. This in turn allows your child to learn to set higher standards of achievement. They begin to understand how to focus for longer periods of time which results in the road to excellence.
If your child seems to be a little withdrawn, theater, speech or drama lessons are an excellent outlet for hidden emotions. This helps your child to verbalize emotions and express thoughts and feelings that they normally might suppress. This is one of the major reasons why so many art based are such a popular activity. Let Federal, state and local officials know we value art and music education in our schools.
