Around the U.S. school districts have stopped funding the arts in the schools, leading them to be inoperable. About 55% of schools have let go of the arts in the districts and the numbers are increasing as time goes on. A question people need to ask themselves is, how would the students feel? How does art help students in schools? Art is a very expressive skill to have, a person can show emotions and opinions through creativity. The power of creating a piece of art that makes somebody feel a certain way is very inspiring and a great talent that anybody can take part in. Having art in schools helps students because art can express emotions, relieve stress, and help with individual growth and development.
With that being said, art is very expressive of emotional distress, thoughts, and ideas. People tend to believe that art is known as a skill, but art can also be a hobby. Everybody isn’t the best at creating pieces of artwork, but art is not only realism or painting masterpieces. Art is the act of creativity and expression of oneself thoughts and feelings. In school, creativity is dying down and with an elective that greets students 45 minutes to express who they are, it can be relaxing to the mind and can help somebody find who they are. When students explore the creative aspects of art they discover how to express themselves in unique ways.
Along with that, the expression of emotions can be a very big factor in stress relief. Many doctors and therapists have told people that being creative is a good source of stress relief. With art, journaling thoughts and writing in general is very relieving for the mind. According to The National Center for Biotechnology Information, they have found that there are creative art interventions for stress management and prevention. “The respective art media (art, music, dance, theater) thereby provide different methods to activate resources and coping abilities and increase action flexibility, self-efficacy, and empowerment.” This is knowledgeable to the idea of creativity being used as a coping mechanism for stress or mental health. Art is even connected to neuroscience, as someone is being creative by creating art, they are using their neurotransmitters and this produces a rise in serotonin levels, which can lead you to be more focused, emotionally stable, happier, and calmer. Observing art supports the creation of new neural pathways and new ways of thinking.
Additionally, creativity also promotes individual growth and development. Many agree that art has enhanced their thinking abilities and logic. Art also can have the effects of mental growth. Many therapists say that doodling or drawing is a great way of stress and emotion management. School is a crucial part of growing up and discovering who you are, and including art in a school environment can benefit the students. After all, I encourage students to incorporate art into their lives more, which also goes for adults. Art is a very beneficial skill to pick up on; once you start, you can improve over time. I have done art since I was a little kid, which has helped me in various ways. As I had said before, having art in schools can help students because art is expressive of emotions, can relieve stress, and helps with individual growth and development. Schools that don’t fund the arts in schools take away opportunities for students to be creative. Art is important in high school because of its expressive aspects and the friendships the classes can make.
