Theatre/Debate/Choir/Dance/Orchestra/Band
The arts have been proven to have many academic benefits, especially when introduced early. SAT scores of students who are involved in the arts are often higher than those of their counterparts that are not. In addition, there are many valuable skills picked up by having arts within the curriculum. Children learn fine motor skills, problem solving, language, and other important aspects that provide a basis for strong education.
The arts are essential. They teach students innumerable lessons—practice makes perfect, small differences can have large effects, collaboration leads to creativity. The arts also teach children that there a several paths to take when approaching problems and that all problems can have more than one solution.
Many budget cuts in the public school system target the arts as they are often deemed as one of the most expensive and least essential parts of academia, but this is far from the truth. Research has also shown impressive benefits of arts on school culture—especially student motivation, attitudes, and attendance. Numerous reports discuss the ways that increased access and involvement in arts education encourage students to stay in school, succeed in school, succeed in life, and succeed in work.
