BWW Blog: Dalton Allison - Why Early Arts Education is Important, An Opinion

It is too often a narrative that students who study theater in school are lamented upon, often being slandered as "Theater Geeks" or "Drama Nerds" But do the students who have been exposed to theater and other forms of the arts actually hold an advantage over students that don't?

Several facts actually prove that to be true. While many schools have optional courses for students interested in theater and arts, many schools don't have any medium whatsoever. And these students are being dragged through the muck of a bland, outdated educational referendum. It has been scientifically proven that students who study the arts in school are four times more likely to be recognized for higher academic achievement.

The same study shows that students with these types of classes in school are three times more likely want to attend school, meaning that they are happy with the class. While getting attendance in your local school district is important, education of the arts will also positively increase our global education standing. While many believe that Science and Math are the key to being successful in the international community, top countries like Japan, The Netherlands, and Hungary have found that arts education has helped them stay towards the top.

There is actually a shocking disparity between the funding arts education receives versus your generic academic subjects. The National Science Foundation gets funded with Five Billion Dollars annually, while the arts receives only around $250 million. This clear disparity is the cause for unequal opportunities to educate students in the arts.

While it is commonly believed that you can only receive a quality education from a higher class school, there is evidence involving the arts that proves otherwise. In poverty stricken areas of Chicago, schools were introduced to arts education. Soon, the gap between high-income students and low-income students academic achievements were reduced, as if they were receiving the same education.

If there is to be any correlation between the facts I just informed you with, it is that they all involve improving our education systems with education of the arts. There is no risk to involving more of these classes into our education systems, only reward. We will make our students more interested in school, stand out in the international community, bridge the gap between low-income and high-income educations, and lastly prepare our students to be well-rounded people in life. What's there to lose?

All statistics and facts courtesy of dosomething.org.

Need more New Jersey Theatre News in your life?
Sign up for all the news on the Summer season, discounts & more...