THE ARTS ARE IMPORTANT!
When I was a child every one I knew had a piano at home and took piano lessons. Every school had a glee club and band or orchestra conducted by the Music Teacher and we all were taught how to draw and paint by the Art Teacher. We’re in a back-to-basics era and schools generally lack money for additional programs. But the arts are important to the developing brain and, indeed, are part of what makes us human. Every culture ever studied has left evidence of art.
Newborns respond to music, young children grasp a crayon and make "art," children respond to the rhythms of a drum or a poem read with expression. Most parents today know this and provide art materials for their young children to use, make music available for their kids via CD’s or a piano, and decorate the walls with child-appropriate art.
Preschools use art both to teach young children and to provide enjoyment. So far, so good. But when many children start elementary school there is little or no arts education and, if there is any, it is not integrated into the curriculum.
Some school districts, recognizing the importance of the arts to child learning, are bringing the arts back… Opening Minds Through the Arts (OMA) is a nationally recognized research-based program that integrates the arts into teaching reading, writing, math and science in public elementary and middle schools in the Tucson Unified School District. OMA uses instrumental music, opera, dance, theater and visual arts to help teach reading, writing, math and science to children in kindergarten through 8th grade. Each OMA school has an Arts Integration Specialist and a team of artists who work alongside classroom teachers, adapting each lesson to support teaching of core skills and knowledge. In addition, children learn to play the recorder, violin, a wind instrument and keyboard.
Frills? Heck, no! An independent education research agency has documented significant, positive, and robust data on OMA students’ academic achievement and teacher effectiveness. Children also develop greater self-discipline, self-confidence, concentration, and respect for peers and teachers. (For more information go to www.OMAproject.org)
Parents: Arts education is important! In addition to furnishing crayons to your toddlers so they can start art at home, check out what is being done in your school district. Get together with other parents. Become active in lobbying for arts education. The arts, integrated into the curriculum, can help your children learn!