Introduction

Art education is vital for future students. Art allows students to learn about themselves, their
culture, and their community. By taking art classes, students will begin to visualize the world
differently. The creativity and imagination of students will be pushed through the development
of art. As a future art educator, it is necessary to cultivate and guide students with quality art
lessons to increase their understanding and relationship with the world.

Literature Review

Art classes are very influential towards students because they affect students in ways that many
other classes cannot. Art classes will help develop a child’s creativity, thought process, and their
way of expression. Art educators will help guide a child’s mental development. According to
Freedman and Stuhr (2000), art education conserves, “ and transmits heritage, helping students
to recognize and appreciate the diverse perspectives they will encounter in an increasingly global
community” (p. 3). Art gives students the ability to, “draw meaningful relationships among the
artworks they have created and interpreted and many other cultural texts in the arts, humanities,
and sciences” (p. 5). According to Freedman & Boughton in preparation, many parts of the brain
are involved when learning about art and it builds deep cognitive connections. This explains
how children understand that one symbol may represent different ideas among many cultures.

The importance of art education can be understood through the habits that the students
form. Students discover new things while creating art, and they are then able to adapt the new
knowledge to daily life. Szekely & Bucknam (2012) stress that children can apply what they
learn in art classes to everyday life. Their thought processes develop greatly. Students begin to
approach everything creatively and this will even help them in other classes such as
English. Habits are formed from trial and error in projects. Art projects teach children the value
of learning how to make effective solutions and learn from them. Art education is essential for
growth and development because children not only express creativity but, they learn important
life lessons as well.

Personal Thoughts

Art education is very important in schools and the above literature supports why art education is
necessary. Art is all around us, and creating art allows children to envision and understand the
world on a different level in ways that are not discusses other content areas. Removing art in
schools would take away a child’s opportunity to learn creatively and expressively. Art
educators play an important role to inspire children and guide creativity, growth, and
understanding the world.

Summary

Art education is crucial for the children’s development. Many school boards feel that art
education is not a necessity and not very important in the lives of today’s students. Art classes
are constantly compared to the main core classes, such as math and English. Many people feel
that core classes are much more valuable to a child’s education, which is why art may be cut first
from schools if there is low funding. Art classes offer children critical lessons about life that
they are not exposed to in any of the other classes. Art teachers drive the creativity and the
imagination of students, while allowing students to express themselves.