Why is it important for every child to have arts education at their school?

Research consistently shows that academic performance and test scores increase when

young people are exposed to the arts. High achievers tend to have exposure to and engagement with the arts.

Historically, the arts were regarded as the epitome of education and culture. In more

recent years, in an effort towards more standardization and testing, the arts were relegated

to an add-on activity, or entirely absent from the curriculum. The “Back to Basics”

movement erroneously discarded the arts as non-essential, and efforts to improve education

fell short.

While studies over decades have proven that the arts tend to augment achievement, Arts

for Learning has demonstrated for over 50 years that it is because of the nature of the

arts that achievement is boosted. The arts are more than a nice activity or addition. The arts

reflect culture, and advance Culture. They provide opportunities for individual achievement,

creativity, freedom to innovate and distinguish oneself, as well as opportunities for collaboration and community. Understanding the process of mastery, and the human tendency for creating must be available for everyone’s education.

To be truly educated, one must be acquainted with the arts. Arts for Learning’s programming

connects the arts to academic subjects across the curriculum.