The Fault in Our Arts

This blog post explores the issue of arts integration in education, specifically how art education is important to the growth and success of today’s youth.

In a competitive global economy requiring creativity and innovation, an education system focused solely on science and math studies will hinder the cultivation of those two skills. The solution is the integration of art studies. Simply put, the fault in our arts is that we do not have enough arts.

“Creativity now is as important in education as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status.”

Sir Ken Robinson

Educators and government officials have long debated on education reforms that will best serve the youth of the United States. STEM based studies are viewed as the system that will give students the background necessary for the constantly evolving, technologically driven future. On the other hand, arts and humanities based studies is viewed as the system that will allow students to cultivate their creative minds and build skill diversity for the future. My belief is that STEAM education is the best chance for use to reach the future we envision for this country. STEAM is the culmination of both sides of the debate.

Science and Technology

STEM education has become a major focus in the American education model over the past two presidential administrations. Advocates for STEM see it as the proper pathway to educating students for the future. By following a curriculum based around the principles of STEM, students are able to learn science and technology skills that better prepare them for higher education at the university level and for the global job market. I do not believe this is enough justification for basing the entire educational system on STEM, despite the fact that these skills do in fact help in building the competitiveness of the United States workforce. Should education’s top goal be to create a workforce of similar individuals that help the United States stay near the top of international educational and societal rankings? I believe that it should not. I believe that the ultimate goal of education should be to create a workforce full of unique individuals that push for innovation and, in turn, push the United States into the top position of all international rankings.

2015 Spring: Hands-on Art by Women's Studio Workshop

Art Education

Education based around art has taken a back seat during the rise of STEM education. I believe art can arguably be the single most important influence to any individual at any age. Art is the key to cultivating creativity that leads to innovation in the workplace. The lack of art in American education systems however have led to children becoming “less imaginative, less unconventional […] less synthesizing, and less likely to see things from a different angle.” Decreases in these areas will undoubtedly have profound effects on the level of competitiveness and innovation of our workforce, regardless of the skills they can acquire through STEM based education. Sir Ken Robinson, an international advisor on education in the arts, said it best when he stated in his world famous TED talk, “Our education system has mined our minds in the way that we strip mine the earth: for a particular commodity. And for the future, it won’t serve us.” Art implementation in today’s curriculum will be the way we can deviate from this current state of education.

STEM to STEAM

STEAM education is the solution to America’s broken education system. STEAM uses STEM education as a base and encourages the integration of art into the curriculum. STEAM is a movement founded by the Rhode Island School of Design and has increasingly been adopted since its creation.  Anne Jolly, a writer for the STEM curriculum believes that arts can be made into an applied subject – similar to math and science. She proposes that STEM projects can use arts to help shape skills in various ways such as in design, performing arts, and creative planning. Design provides a platform to learn how to best present ideas, while the performing arts and creative planning help with communications and developing creative and innovative thinking. The important thing to consider is that although the education reform debate is centered on an idea for either arts or STEM, to reach that top spot in all educational and societal rankings, the only real solution is to choose STEAM.

Vote for STEAM

STEM is important in building career based skills. Art is important in building life skills. To pursue a future that has the United States rising as the cream of the crop in education, as well as a society, we must push for an education system that uses life skills to strengthen the career based skills that our students will learn. We must push for STEAM and we must do it now.

This post was written by John-Alexander Tolentino, a current student at Northern Virginia Community College. He is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in psychology with plans to also obtain a master’s degree in educational psychology.