Faces of the East Bluff, 1902 N. Wisconsin Ave., is a community arts project that is an excellent example of the arts fostering collaborations. It took LISC of Greater Peoria, Adams Outdoor Advertising, the staff at the City of Peoria, the Rev. Martin Johnson and New Beginnings Ministries, Keith Cotton Photography and more than 60 residents and business owners of the East Bluff working together to create a work of public art celebrating people and their neighborhood.
Now that Gov. Bruce Rauner has proposed slashing budgets and funding across the board attempting to make Illinois more solvent, the arts, always first to go, are slated for elimination from the Illinois educational system. So what that kids won’t learn how to draw or play an instrument? Why does it matter?
The influence of the arts in education is so little understood it’s astonishing. What the arts teach kids is so essential to daily life it has become invisible to us. It’s like breathing. We just don’t think about it. In order to understand how important the arts are to our children and ourselves, we need to take a closer look at the reasons the arts matter in education.
No. 1: The arts practice creativity. We are all born with creativity but it seems to fade from our lives the older we get. Creativity, like imagination, is a muscle that needs to be exercised. The arts in progressive schools focus on creativity as a 21st century life skill. A recent study by IBM showed creativity was the main trait 73 percent of businesses look for in new employees. Having arts in education gives our kids the edge they need in our rapidly changing world.
No. 2: The arts foster collaboration. Most arts disciplines are collaborative in nature. When kids work together, they learn to understand differences and diversity. They learn how teamwork contributes to great results. From theater to marching bands to project-based learning, the arts get children working together, sharing responsibility, and compromising with others to accomplish a common goal.
No. 3: The arts teach dedication. Many arts projects in school are completed over the course of days, weeks or months. When kids get to practice following through with artistic endeavors that result in a finished project or performance, they learn the value of working through difficulties to accomplish their goal.
No. 4: The arts provide their own reward. Children like arts education because it lets them produce something they can be proud of. Unlike most book learning, the satisfaction in hands-on production has immediate rewards. The arts enable children to grow in confidence and think positively about themselves and learn what they are capable of doing.
No. 5: The arts require critical thinking and problem solving. The arts in the 21st century are the keys to innovation and communication. It is no longer just pretty pictures to hang on the wall. Photography, videography, making films and documentaries, designing web sites, video game design, Internet content delivery and more are just a few of the arts-related jobs in a global economy.
These are only a few of the many reasons for keeping and strengthening school arts programs. By reducing or eliminating the arts from our educational programs, we are reducing the likelihood of student success. Now that Illinois is looking at curtailing funding for the arts in schools, it will be up to all of us to find ways to fill the void. We can start by letting our voices be heard. Please email the governor and let him know that all kids in Illinois need to be better prepared for the future by learning through the arts. Go to www2.illinois.gov and click on the Contact the Governor link.
Finally, post comments here at Community Word (www.thecommunityword.com). Let’s have a conversation about how to continue providing our children with the benefits that come with the arts and what happens if they are removed from our schools.