The Importance of the Arts in PreK-12 Education 

Arts' Impact on Behavior

This is illustrated in a research study that Becker (2022) created, which compared the behavior of two identical groups of students within the same school; one with access to art education and one without. These findings found that the students more heavily exposed to art education had a 21% decrease in behavioral issues, including physical altercations and outbursts in the classroom (Becker, 2022). Another study by the National Endowment for the Arts (2012) found high school students with strong access to art education saw an average increase in their GPA by half a point (National Endowment of Arts, 2012). In addition, the National Endowment for the Arts (2012) showed the importance of art education by demonstrating a connection between arts in schools and higher civic engagements; this study notes that students in low-income communities are almost 2 times more likely to volunteer, also more likely to vote, go on to college, participate in school clubs, and so much more.

Brain Break

Take a moment to draw how you feel! This site helps bring your scribbles to life with the help of AI, so there's no need to aim for perfection. As you draw think of how this could help you and your students express emotions differently than words. 

Developing Social Skills

Specialized classes like art, music, and theater allow students to express their emotions in ways other than verbal communication, promoting constructive outlets for self-expression (Speik, 2024). Art classes promote emotional regulation and intelligence that will be carried over into other academic areas and students' everyday lives. One way students can practice this in the classrooms is by creating two pictures of themselves one when they are angry and another when they are happy; allowing them to illustrate things that may make them happy or angry and helping them understand and portray expression and cues (Kaiser, 2023). Art education teaches students emotional regulation techniques in art classes and allows them to express themselves, making it an effective tactic to decrease behavioral and academic challenges in schools (Elliot et al., 2017).

Conclusion

Art education is not merely an optional creative class but a crucial component of a student's day. These classes are imperative for teaching children emotional intelligence, and social skills, and quelling behavioral and academic regulation strategies that extend beyond the classroom settings (National Endowment for the Arts, 2012). While schools continue to prioritize STEM classes and defund arts, the statistics supporting arts education are undeniable (Becker, 2022). Ensuring continued access to art education will benefit the students, the teachers, and the broader community. By ensuring that we continue to create a school environment full of art we can help cultivate a more emotionally aware, socially engaged, behaviorally and academically successful generation.

Get Involved!

There are many ways you can get involved and help save art programs in the state and nationwide! You can start by signing some petitions that I have linked below. Some other ways you can make an impact are attending your local school board meetings and voicing your support for the arts; you can also call your local or state representative, volunteer for afterschool art programs, share some of these statistics with fellow teachers, and help raise awareness. 

https://vaforarts.org/sign-our-petition-restore-funding-for-the-arts/

https://nafme.org/advocacy/grassroots-action-center/

https://www.change.org/p/educational-decision-makers-reimagining-our-education-ensure-equitable-access-to-music-and-arts-education

https://sign.moveon.org/petitions/support-arts-education

References

Becker, C. (2022, October 7). Arts in the classroom improves student behavior and boosts creative learning,new study says. CultureMap Houston. https://houston.culturemap.com/news/arts/08-23-11-arts-in-classroom-boosts-for-creative-learning

Edu, Y. (2020, June 3). Reimagining our education: Ensure equitable access to music and arts education for all. Change.org. https://www.change.org/p/educational-decision-makers-reimagining-our-education-ensure-equitable-access-to-music-and-arts-education

Elliott, A. N. (2017). A discussion of art therapy approaches used in classroom activities to 

help students with emotional and behavioral issues. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses.

Farrington, C. A., Maurer, J., Aska McBride, M. R., Nagaoka, J., Puller, J. S., Shewfelt, S., Weiss, E. M., Wright, L., & Montessori School of Englewood. (2019). Arts education and social-emotional learning outcome among k–12 students: Developing a Theory of Action. Montessori School of Englewood. https://consortium.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/2019-05/Arts%20Education%20and%20Social-Emotional-June2019-Consortium%20and%20Ingenuity.pdf

Google. (n.d.). AutoDraw: Draw a doodle and let the AI finish it. Google.  https://sites.google.com/d/1YotUwff_tnvI-WY7cJZd2LT--M- T2hxD/p/1OaZ7VTukc55UHc0k9UUQWK44qu2M9nxm/edit

Grassroots Action Center - NAFME. (n.d.). NAfME. https://nafme.org/advocacy/grassroots-action-center/

Kaiser, E. (2023, August 30). 5 Art activities for Social Emotional Learning — Better Kids. Better Kids. https://betterkids.education/blog/5-art-activities-for-social-emotional-learning

National Endowment for the Arts. (2012). The arts and achievement in at-risk youth: findings from four longitudinal studies. In Research Report #55. https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/Arts-At-Risk-Youth.pdf

Sign our petition: Restore Funding for the Arts! | Virginians for the Arts. (n.d.). https://vaforarts.org/sign-our-petition-restore-funding-for-the-arts/

Speik, D. (2024, February 2). Cultivating emotional intelligence through art education. Fairmont Schools. 

https://www.fairmontschools.com/blog/cultivating-emotional-intelligence-through-art-education/

Support arts education. (n.d.). MoveOn. https://sign.moveon.org/petitions/support-arts-education

How I used AI

 I used ChatGPT to help me condense my paper to fit this new format and criteria for the lesson, it also created my image. Lastly, Chat GPT helped me come up with using auto-draw as a relevant application of my topic to make it more interactive and appealing. Auto-draw is also an AI tool that I am using to help try and demonstrate my lesson and how arts are important. AI helped me take the words and information I already had to fit this lesson and helped make it better and flow well after I constructed it. It also helped me make it more interesting for my viewers and introduced me to new AI tools I never would have known about that could be useful in the future for teaching.