Over recent years, art subjects have overly been deprioritized in most schools. It is considered more of a luxury than a necessity. This led to many schools cutting it out from their curriculum to create more room and resource for science and math related subjects. However recent studies on how students learn show that art classes are essential in boosting students’ brain functioning. Skills developed through art also play a major role in students’ education and development.
If you are wondering how does art help students? Below are some of the benefits of teaching art classes in schools.
- Foster creativity
According to Sir Kenneth Robinson, a TED speaker, and creativity expert, creativity plays an integral part in preparing students for future carriers. Students will be required to create picture stories, compose and recite poems, learn and master the art of playing musical instruments from scratch and many more. They get more creative in expressing themselves through art than in other subjects.
The acquired creativity skills are vital in professional career. Moreover, if you need writing helps you can ask yourself: “Can someone write my thesis for me?” and find different research strategies, work schedules, and writing techniques. You cannot deny the direct link between drawing and geometric measurements and shapes learned in math classes. Students also learn how to be creative in solving challenging situations in life. They learn to visualize solutions to their problems before implementing them to guarantee their success.
- Development of motor skills
Teaching art subjects to kindergarten students helps them to develop motor skills. At this stage in life, your child’s hands, wrist and finger muscles are not fully developed. This makes it difficult for them to learn how to write and also perform other critical tasks. But through physical exercises associated with art, learning how to write becomes quite easy.
As they tear, roll, squeeze and crunch papers, kids gain more control of their hands. These exercises also help to strengthen their muscles and make them more flexible to accomplish most tasks in schools. A report carried out in 2010 showed that art students were more proficient in essay writing and math and performed better on other standardized tests.
- Brain development
For a long time now, scientists have been fascinated by the impressive impact of arts in brain functioning. The neuroimaging technology has facilitated more research on how students’ experience in arts relates to their biological predisposition towards individual interests and overall brain development. It has emerged that art helps to boost the visual, auditory and motor systems.
But why is art important in brain development? Well, children are born with approximately 100 billion neurons. Only a quarter of these neurons have synapses established between them. The rest of the connections are bound to be created during their early development age until adolescent.
Unfortunately, underutilized neurons get pruned out, and this results to slowed brain development. The good news is involving students in art help to utilize these connections thus resulting in stronger synaptic connections that hold the key to their personality and mental growth.
- Builds confidence and social skills
As parents and teachers, we aim to adequately prepare kids to face the ups and downs of life. You help to boost their self-esteem by praising their accomplishments and giving them compliments. But did you know that art-related activities are more effective in building confidence in students? Well, excelling in other subjects also helps to boost student’s confidence, but there is a special feeling upon accomplishing practical tasks in art related classes.
So what does art teach us that help to boost confidence? Art allows students to get out of their comfort zones and test their limits. It helps them realize their strengths and weakness and helps them to build on those weaknesses. The confidence acquired through performing on stage is reflected in their life as they grow. They become more risk takers and reduce their fear of taking up challenges.
- Alternative career option
Not all students are successful when it comes to theoretical learning. Some students are more talented in physical activities such as drawing and music. Although most people discourage art careers basing it as unsustainable and risky, we cannot ignore the fact that some students feel declined to take up unconventional and individualistic career options.
For this reason, teaching art subjects will help to build enthusiasm at an early age so that by the time students complete high school they will have established what they want to be in the future. Yes, art has its challenges, but it’s also among the top paying careers for the talented students. We all know of renowned graphic artists, musicians, and dancers than earn more than professors.
We cannot deny that art plays a vital role in a student’s life. From the enhanced growth of cognitive and psychomotor pathways to the development of social skills that enable them to take charge without limits, art has proved to be an integral part of any well-rounded school curriculum.
