Arts in Education - Essay Example

This is an abstract of a summary of an article “Arts in Education” written by Nick Rabkin and Robin Redmond in 2006 in the journal Educational Leadership. Arts-integrated schools have proven their scientific basis in cognitive learning. Traditional schools are following the usual running around the rut routine. Students in conventional schools remain oblivious to boring syllabi. Arts-integrated schools with low-income and struggling students go for participatory learning activities. They experience their syllabus. Students in arts-integrated schools learn through varied artistic dynamics carefully planned and paired with their syllabus and diversified subjects. These experiences evolve from the partnership between teachers, artists, educationists, and students. This results in a lively and intense educational process of learning through doing. Arts-integrated schools are highly productive and very suitable for low-income struggling students as well. Their results are better. Their students are more attentive, creative, and self-critical. Hence, it would be better if the current budgetary allocation for arts-integrated schools is increased according to requirements.

Arts in Education

This is an abstract of a summary of an article “Arts in Education” written by Nick Rabkin and Robin Redmond in 2006 in the journal Educational Leadership. This article states that the arts are proving to be a very effective instrument of education and shaping of human mind in modern arts-integrated schools. Recent developments in science have shown this through standardized tests, observation, and generalization based on objective data. The standardized test scores of low-income struggling students in 23 arts-integrated schools in Chicago rose as much as two times faster than the scores of youth in traditional schools (Rabkin and Redmond, 2006).

It seems, the paring of subjects and syllabi with arts such as writing with sketching and painting while reading with looking at arts is working its wonders. Interestingly, a pairing between music and maths is also there. It involves listening to a melody, following the notes on a musical staff, counting the number of times each musical note occurs, and then putting the results in a graph. Students in arts-integrated schools are, therefore, generally focused, attentive, and full of excitement for their studies. Their classrooms buzz with intensity.

Scientists have found that this is happening because the human mind and body form one single cognitive and fully integrated system. The human mind and body represent abstract thought through metaphors that human beings associate with experience and emotions. Thoughts, as such, occur well below the level of conscious control and awareness. Even logical thinking emerges quietly from this thought process. This is the power of arts – moving from conscious experiments to the inner depths of the human mind.

The scientifically proven power of arts is generally missing in traditional schools. There is little evidence of learning intensity when these schools are observed. Their hallways are replete with posters and notices anent rules of the school. Dominant education policy is evident in the corridors and classrooms. These schools assume that high standards and grades are possible through strict academic regimentation only. Students in traditional schools also appear persistently drooping in their seats with utter boredom towards their studies. They always feel like running away from the school premises.

Arts integrated schools are also drawing their strength from involving wider participation of civil society and artists, especially, since the launching of such institutions in the United States in 1990. A significant relationship is developed between teachers, artists in different areas of arts, low-income students, and prescribed syllabi. Community resources are also properly and meaningfully utilized. Arts integrated system within the nationally prescribed syllabi also helps students raise funds for the school for furthering the cause of their purposeful education. Even private philanthropists also find it more interesting to extend their support to such schools instead of district schools.

These arts-integrated schools, however, need much more attention in the federal education budgetary provisions for their longer-lasting sustenance. This is ever more necessary because these schools are successfully focusing on ‘learning by doing’ with the help of artists. These artists also need to be compensated well. The current federal education budget provides only $35 million out of a total of $70 billion federal education budget for arts-integrated schools. In view of the highly meaningful and widely successful contribution of arts-integrated schools to society and the community, the present budget allocation is clearly much less than required. Due consideration is needed from the federal government in this direction.

Personal Opinion and Analysis of “Arts in Education”

This article is, indeed, an eye-opener for me. It has drawn me highly towards the arts-integrated schools, especially in favor of them. I could never earlier grasp this reality of our education system in the United States. On the one hand, Rabkin and Redmond bring forth the importance and meaningful work of the arts-integrated schools while, on the other hand, they also highlight the inherent non-committal attitude of the federal budgetary policymakers.

This is such a masterly piece on education in general and arts-integrated education in particular that it enlightens me about so many aspects of education in our country today. It defines education; explains the nature of arts-integrated education; shows what is conventional education; scientifically proves its argument; puts forward scientific data and studies; points out weaknesses of present-day educational policy and so much more.

I find the efforts of the authors of this peace to be highly commendable. I could not have written it in a better way. They have traversed and covered such vast areas of the field of education in such a short write-up that they deserve great and heartfelt appreciation. I agree with every word they have put in this article. Arts-integrated education is clearly necessary, especially, for low-income struggling students. This educational orientation is a must for all other communities of students as well. It is so creative and full of life. The future of education lies in the arts-integrated system only.