My Art Education Philosophy

I believe that art education is just as an important part of the day as reading, writing and math. I think that art should be integrated with the academic subjects and students should have the opportunity to participate in art daily, or at least two to three times a week. Art is fun and interesting to students and I am a firm believer that when students are having fun while they are learning, that they are more likely to absorb the information given to them. I also believe that students learn in different ways. Some students learn best by doing hands-on activities. Art is an important form of learning for some of these students and therefore should be an important part of the curriculum and daily schedule. Research has shown that students who participate in the fine arts have a higher level of academic achievement than those who do not. Art gives students the chance to be creative which in turn helps boost their higher level thinking skills and their ability to solve problems. Since there is more than one way to do art, it helps boost children's self-confidence and gives those who struggle in school something to look forward to, which may be the only thing that will help them to stay in school and gain the skills needed to live in our world today. Every child needs the opportunity to express themselves in a positive way and to be successful at something. This is why I feel art is very important to our children's education.