Bergen 1

Paige Bergen
Mrs. DeBock
English 4 H
17 March 2016
Essential Question: How are sports programs favored over art programs in high schools?
Working Thesis: Sports receive more funding and promotion from schools than art programs.
Refined Thesis: Schools help provide sports team with uniforms, equipment, and a field or gym
to practice and compete on; art programs are left on their own to raise money and get supplies.
Annotated Bibliography
Coble, Garrett. "Fine Arts Just as Important as Sports." The Grand Island Independent. N.p., 27
Mar. 2011. Web. 14 Mar. 2016.
What makes this article stand out is the fact that the author is considered a jock but
advocates for the arts over sports. Coble has taken notice of the decline of arts in his community.
He claims that the passion one has for sports or arts is the same and thus should be treated the
same. The population of the Grand Island area as a whole has rallied in support of the arts. The
stereotypes that high school cliques cannot mesh does not exist in the community. This article
will support my thesis because it supports the idea that arts are just as important as sports.

Fang, Marina. "Public Schools Slash Arts Education And Turn To Private Funding."
ThinkProgress RSS. Center for American Progress Action Fund. 05 Aug. 2013.
Web. 14 Mar. 2016.
Funding for the arts at both the federal and the state levels are being cut. The reason is
that arts are believed to be less important as reading, math, and science. Thousands of art
teachers get laid off and programs get cut from curricula. Schools are having to turn to private

Bergen 2
funding from patrons of the arts. Finding these supports who would be willing to donate
thousands of dollars is not an easy task. Some schools rely on the combined efforts of private and
public funding. By mandating art programs, the government can help insure that schools are not
deprived of art education. This article supports the thesis because it shows how severe the
situation is for art education.

Gerdy, John. "Football or Music? What's the Best K-12 Investment?"Education Week. Editorial
Projects in Education, 23 June 2015. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.
The articles focus is about the challenge of funding school programs and
deciding which ones are more important. It is a struggle to evaluate whether sport or arts will
produce better citizen that will contribute to society. The author sides with the idea that art
creates connectivity and creativity which is needed in all American industries. Both art and
sports builds character and community but art focuses more on progress and learning where as
sports focus on winning. This article supports the thesis by backing the idea that art deserves
more funding and has more positive effects than sports.

Heymont, George. "More Funding for School Arts Programs, Less for Sports." The Huffington
Post. The Huffington Post, 11 Oct. 2010. Web. 08 Mar. 2016.
The author discusses the different environments of sports and art events. Violence and
competition are encouraged at sporting events and are fueled by the tradition of consuming
alcohol. Cultural events such as the opera, theatre, and art galleries are civilized events that
stimulate beauty and expression and do not foster the idea of heavy drinking. The arts produce
motivated citizens while sports produce injuries and violence. Heymount is a strong believer in
arts becoming a larger priority in education, which will make his article support the thesis.

Bergen 3

Kohl, Herbert R., and Tom Oppenheim. The Muses Go to School: Inspiring Stories about the
Importance of Arts in Education. New York: New, 2012. Print.
One theme among the collaborative stories is the lack of funding that arts receive.
Different artists such as Bill Jones and Gary Stager talk about the hard work they had to put forth
in order to get where they wanted to be. Often things did not come easy because of the money
problems. The book is about how arts is a source for social change and overcoming the obstacles
unfortunately comes with pursuing the fine arts. This supports the thesis because it shows actual
benefits and rewards that comes with the arts and how much they affect the community.

Scarpaci, Anthony. "Just for Sport? The Disparity between Funding for Athletics and the Arts."
IUSportCom. Indiana University, 29 Sept. 2011. Web. 14 Mar. 2016.
This article provides a viewpoint from the other side of the argument. It claims that arts
do not affect the community as strongly as sports. Scarpaci says that sports are a more popular
pass time, receive more participation from children, and is something that anyone can do not just
the elites. All of these reasons are why donors support sports over the arts. The article claims
that sports generate more revenue in both a school and in the economy as a whole. The author
compares the salary difference between coaches and art department chairmen at Indiana
University in order to prove that schools have more appreciation for what sports have to offer.
The article will be useful by providing a counterargument that may still be used to support the
thesis.