Proposal essay

The fine art programs in schools are considered music or arts. Public schools are becoming overcrowded and have lack of teachers because of budget. Math, Science, and English are the most important subjects in school. On the other hand arts and music are not an essential in the learning process. So that’s why arts teachers are the first to be cut when there isn’t enough money. Then what are classrooms teachers supposed to do when it’s time to have an art or music special in school? Should classroom teachers be responsible for art and music as part of their curriculum?

          In Illinois the government owes the school district 129 a little less than $500,000 (West Aurora). That’s a half of million dollars! In what ways you could improve a child’s education with that? I could think of at least half a million things to do. In some of the school district they have opted to have just a music teacher and let the classroom teacher teach art. Others have chosen to have music and an art teacher but they are shared by more than one schools, some even teach up to 15 different schools in the district. Can you say overload? But are all teachers capable of teaching art… I think not. In one of my schools we had a Spanish teacher who was also the art teacher, big mistake. The only thing we learned about art was line drawings. We never learned how to draw shapes or about different artist because she drew her shapes on a blackboard by licking her finger and tracing the shape then drawing over it in chalk. I never learned anything in that class but the school thought it was a good idea because they were saving money but then again she wasn’t qualified to teach art and she was bad at it. One example of a good art teacher who isn’t qualified is mom. She is a 4^th grade teacher in a low income district who doesn’t have an art teacher. So every Thursday as part of her schedule she teaches her students some type of art project. And those kids have some of the most creative art projects I have ever seen. So don’t you think she should get paid the salary of an art teacher and an elementary teacher? Some people say yes some say no.

          As part of my plan I would split up the salary of the art teacher and divide it up among the teachers that teach Art in the classroom. The average art teacher in Illinois makes $34,768 (Teacher Salary). Speaking if there are 26 teachers in an elementary school and you split the money evenly between them for teaching art each teacher should get an extra $1337 to their yearly check, that’s only fair right. This will compensate teachers for the extra work they are doing and for a big art supplies.

          Another main concern with fine arts is the requirement of it to get into certain universities. This is becoming a problem because not every high school offers these kinds of programs. More and more universities are adding fine arts to the requirement to make a well-rounded student. In Illinois there are very limited classes to take to fulfill that requirement with no drama classes or enough art classes; band is your only other choice. But for band you have to know how to read music so that’s not the best option either. That is why fine arts are not a university requirement in Illinois. But what about us students who want to get away from the cold and snowy Illinois, we head west. At Arizona State University the admission requirement requires one year of Fine Arts (Arizona State University). It’s not that they want to know you can draw they want to see what else you are capable of doing. They are preparing you for the real world. In a study by the University of Michigan, they studied college first-time freshman. They watched how they interacted, how they were adjusting and how their everyday life was going. And what they found most students saying is that there high school did not prepare them as much as they should be. High school teachers were so focused on helping them study for college entrance exams that they forgot to teach them the stuff they were really going to need later like math, science and English (Michigan). Learning can be stressful and learning everything you need to know to do good on a college entrance exam can be a very stressful time. Not only is Art a subject they need to know for college but it is a proven stress reliever and can also help with memory.

          Stress relievers can be as simple as squeezing a stress ball or as complicated as yoga. For some years now research is showing how art therapy reduces a great amount of stress. Art therapy is a form of expressive therapy that uses the creative process of making art to improve a person’s physical, mental, and emotional well-being (AATA). Art therapy is a form of free association on paper. So instead of having kids just leave their emotions and feelings bottled up they can draw whatever they are feeling. One can learn a lot from a drawing; this also improves their social skills because they are more likely to talk about something they drew rather them you just asking them what is going on.  Consecutively, it can improve content retention (ArtPlante). An ongoing study shows that activities from the arts can be integrated into classroom content and used as prompts to “elaborate rehearsal” thereby generating “sustained attention” and motivating students to learn (Rinne). This can mean making students write a poem or a story about the subject they are learning. So if you are learning the parts of a plant, teachers would have students write a story using those words.  After doing this it will at least be the second time they are seeing these words so the words are being put further into their memory thus increasing retention.  

          Some people may argue that there isn’t enough money for school to have art. But honestly how much does it cost for schools to provide students with paper to write /draw on very little for such a mass amount and they should already have pencils, pens, and coloring utensils from their school supply list. Okay so what about the high school students that aren’t going to a university should we have to make them a take the class ‘ it is just going to be a waste of space’. If they are certain they aren’t going to a university then there is no need to take it. But most students rather be safe than sorry.  Lastly, what if a classroom teacher does not want to teach art? Money is a motivator by paying them more they will be highly likely to do it.

          In conclusion, fine arts should remain part of the school day in Illinois. By having a classroom teacher as an art teacher you are saving money and providing teachers with extra money. Fine art is also becoming a required admission requirement for more and more universities. Art increasingly improves retention of information. It also decreases stress and makes a child more social. These are just a few of the many reasons to keep fine arts in schools.