Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Should Fine Arts Programs Be Offered in Schools?
10088124
Coms 369 L02
“If you’re not prepared to be
wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.” Ken Robinson, an author,
speaker and professor, made this point in a speech commenting on the
importance of Fine Arts programs in school systems. He makes the point that as
children we are born creative, however it is the academic system that forces us
to grow out of creativity; and I agree with him.
Living in a world where being
wrong is a burden and making mistakes should be punished has a huge impact on
kids. They need room to express their ideas especially when developing because
that is how new inventions, different works, and even motions that change the
world are originated. If Alexander Graham Bell hadn’t had room to think on his
ideas, we would not have the one invention that we hold to such value today,
which is the telephone. This holds true to children in school: if they do not
have the support and the time to imagine and create, new ideas and passions
would be very rare and progress would be harder to achieve.
As the economy fluctuates, the
debate of whether fine arts programs (including art, music, drama and dance)
should be offered in schools, becomes a heated discussion. On the one hand,
people are against fine arts programs because they believe that there is not a
big enough job market for it and will even argue that children are not
developing useful skills for living in the world today. These people believe
that it is a waste of money to invest in such programs and that the government
should be funding the maths and sciences more. On the other hand, some people
believe that fine arts programs carry such importance in growing up and
expressing one’s passions. That in our free society we have the right to do
what we want with our lives and to stop funding this is taking away a right.
I believe that without fine arts,
society would be lost and unable to progress. I believe that art has allowed us
to connect with other cultures whether it is through music, writing or acting.
Art is something to bond over and growing up without it would affect everyone. This
issue affects myself personally: As a child I was very shy to the point that speaking
to other people was hard for me because I was afraid of being judged. Friends
were hard to make because of this and all I really had was my family and my
passion for singing. It was not until junior high school that I was able to
join my first drama class in an attempt to do what I like to do and try and meet
people like me. After a year of drama, my family, my friends and even I noticed
a huge difference in the way I talked to people and my attitude towards myself.
I carried on with these classes throughout high school and I continued to grow
as a person. Not only that, but it is where I discovered how passionate I
really was for the fine arts and I knew I wanted to pursue it in my career
path. Now, I am an eighteen-year-old Drama and Communications major and the
last thing most people would describe me as is shy. If drama had not been
offered at my school I don’t know where I would be now but I can assure you, I
would not be in my chosen career. I understand the reluctance of people to
support the arts due to the job market and my parents made it clear to me that
I would always need something to fall back on as a career. As an artist I can
assure you though, that we know it’s tough. We know that you have to work a lot
harder to do what you love than it would be to go to university and instantly become a
doctor or an engineer, but most of us are prepared to meet that challenge.
But why should everyone suffer from
a few people thinking that art isn’t worth having? Even the most logical
thinkers need creativity in their lives, they need to grow to be able to
express their ideas, and nurture their right brain. And perhaps these people
aren’t thinking far enough ahead. Without writers we have no books, no
newspapers; Without musicians we have no music, no instrument; Without visual
artists we have no architecture, no websites; and without actors and dancers we
have no entertainment, no passion. Without the arts culture is hard to maintain
and diversify, society will not progress and people will be more reluctant to
express themselves.
Out of these people against fine arts, I bet there is not one that can say they have never enjoyed a movie, played a video game or read a good book. It is safe to say that what these people do not realize, is taking away these programs is taking away a lifestyle and taking away the opportunity for kids to grow up with imagination. If you’re not going to support the arts for yourselves, do
it for the shy kids, the awkward kids, do it for world changing ideas, and do
it for progress.
And please, keep supporting fine arts programs in schools.
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]