Research+Paper


 * January 7 Introduction ** (50 -100 words)

ARt education is one of the most controversial subjects in today's schools. The reason for this is because it is a new way of learning. And like any new idea there is opposition. This is simply because many people are not informed of the benefits of art education. Many people still view the arts as a simple elective course. More and more studies are proving this to no longer to be true. Art education has recently been shown to create more effective learners, improve discipline issues and improve test scores.

**January 13 First supporting idea ** (150-500 words) Creates better learners. The skills that are developed in arts and music education transfer to other subjects. It has been proven in various studies that music education helps students in math. But despite these obvious benefits many San Diego schools still do not have music education programs. There are schools that have learned from our mistakes. Many cities such as Seattle have thriving art programs in there schools. One school in particular in Seattle has used art education to there advantage. This school is the Green Lake elementary school. Their main goal is to create students with a positive atittude towards learning by using a balanced cirriculum or arts and traditional education. This unique system has created a school envioronment that supports students who may not have been succesful at other schools. The school's principal Harvey Deutsch noted that " students who might not have otherwise been successful are flourishing. Discipline problems have nearly disappeared, and academic achievement is constantly rising as a result of the rich arts program."

It has been proven that learning is not a static thing. Learning continues throughout your whole life regarless of age. And yet schools are often treated as a dumping zone for information. Students in many schools are taught to absorb not learn. But recently it has been becoming more popular for schools to use the arts to teach students to learn. It has been proven that arts programs create more efficient learners. It shows them to how to think go beyond just absorbing into the world of critical thinking. Arts education creates learners that go beyond absorbing. It allows someone to interpret something and have it emerge as something else. Such as a taking a painting and being inspired to create a piece of music. It is this abillity to go beyond just absorbing that allows the brain to function at its maximum capacity.

And although arts create better learners it does help with basic Memorization. There is a reason students are taught to sing the alphabet. Its because when you are taught something you learn it best using multiple different actions. An example of this is learning conjugation in a foriegn language. Begin taught this through reading writing and speaking improves memoriztion of it. Adding in other ways of learning such as drawing or singing would only improve the memorization. Its the variety of memorization techniques that create better learners. If the San Diego schools could learn to use art education in their cirriculum we could improve test scores. This idea could go to the national level as well. The United states has been trying to improve test scores to keep up with countries such as japan. We could do this with the utilization of the arts and music.

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__ [] __ **January 18 Second supporting idea ** (150-500 words) Art and music offer more than just intelligence improvement. The arts also improve intrapersonal skills and create more balanced citizens. It is these skills that help us prepare for employment. Our society is based largely on the progress of advancing through life from childhood to adulthood. One of the ways this is marked is by a person having a continuing job. Arts education helps create people that are better for these jobs by creating more balanced emotionally healthy people.

Consider what skills are considered useful in the workplace; reliablility, self management, working well with others. All of these skills are promoted by a basic art education. A class such as drama or orchestra provides children to llearn good intrapersonal skills but also keeps them engaged. A new type of worker is being required by employers. They need skills that only managers and higher level employees used to have. These skills are taught through a program that is rich with arts education.

Another beneift of the arts is promoting self esteem. A child whose strengths are recongnized will feel better about his or herself. They do work that is personally satisfying and publically acknoledged. The arts give the opportunity for a child to discover something they are good at. If the program is broad and enough and covers enough topics every child involved will find something they are good at. Perhaps a child who is not a musician can find their strength in sculping or acting.

The arts help remove discrimination. The arts cut across all ethnicities and learning levels. They can provide a universal language between people. It is this language that allows children to appreciate things from every part of the world. Every culture offers a new aspect and a new way to interpret something. The arts can create more culturally aware people.

The arts can provide therapy for children with behavioral issues. The arts can often be used for therapy to get children who originally didn't do well in school because of a learning disorder. Children like this are often treated differently. Art therapy could be a way to solve this. Art therapy is a constantly expanding field that is often used to help children with behavioral issues. Using basic art therapy in school could help improve behavior in the entire class. It could eliminate the problems with behavior that many teachers expierince.

**January 21 Third supporting idea ** (150-500 words)

More specifically than just art education, recent studies have shown that music education has a direct impact on academic achievements.In the 1960's There was a study consisting of various countries about music education. In this study they had various schools have a strong music program from elementary school through High School. The academics in these schools rapadily improved and all of the children became musically talented. The countries with these programs are some of the top performing countries in the world, including Japan and Hungary.

Another report shows that in the United States the highest performing schools have strong art programs. These schools spend 20-30% of their day in the arts with a specific emphasis on music. One of these schools is the Davidson School in Augusta, Georgia. It Started its art program in 1981 and has since become the best academically performing school in the country.

One possible reason for why music helps learning has been discovered by Dr. Paul Maclean. He theorizes that the brain is split into three parts. The first part is the reticular formation. This part of the brain is the smallest and works with basic sensory input. The next section of the brain is the Limbic system which works with emotions and memories. The third part of the brain is the crebral cortex, this part of the brain works with higher level thinking. The Limbic System is emensely powerful because it deals with emotion and has the abillity to take over the brain and change how it learns. When a person is joyful this part of the brain can promote higher learning ability, But when a person is sad or angry it can downshift the brain into more primal thinking. Dr. Maclean believes that when a person learns music or learns through music they become happier and are more open to learning. **January 25 Conclusion ** (50-100 words)

Art education is not just an enjoyable activity. It has been proven through various studies to create better students. And yet we still continue to lack funding for it. The schools still do not have enough money to have a strong art program. The school board is instead using the money they could be spending on art education to try and figure out how to create better learners even though the answer has been infront of them all along. This just comes from a lack of knowledge about art education. Once people learn about art education they will realize the obvious benefits it has. People will realize that it will prepare for the next generation by creating thinkers who don't just absorb. It will instead create problem solvers who can fix our current problems.