“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited while imagination embraces the whole world. ” (Albert Einstein) Since earliest times when humans drew images on the walls of the caves, the arts have been our means of recording our human experience and of making sense of our world. The arts give expression to our understanding, our imagination and our creativity. As the world we inhabit becomes smaller, faster and more competitive, these qualities are increasingly important.
Schools and society must develop our children to become happy, well-adjusted citizens, rather than pupils who can Just pass a test and get through school. We must ensure that our children can think creatively, skillfully, and “outside the box”. The arts are a vital part of doing this and of ensuring that every pupil can achieve his or her potential and contribute fully to our society. We can also say that the arts are an integral part of a complete, successful and high- quality education.
A comprehensive arts education provides a rich and engaging curriculum that develops pupils’ abilities to think, reason and understand the world and its cultures. It offers pupils opportunities to respond, perform, and create in the arts. The arts instill in our pupils the habits of mind that last a lifetime: analytical skills, the ability to solve problems, perseverance and a drive for excellence. The creative skills children develop through the arts carry them toward new ideas, new experiences and new challenges, as well as offering personal satisfaction.
Research on the effects of arts education on children’s learning and development has in fact showed significant positive outcomes on children exposed to arts programs with teacher supervision compared to children not exposed to arts education. It has been proved that children exposed to arts do better in school, develop greater social, cognitive and emotional skills and are more likely to earn higher degrees of education later in life.
