Budget Cuts

As well as being a form of expression it has also been linked to helping with boosting one’s self-confidence and motivation inside and outside the classroom. A student getting involved in art programs, drama clubs, or music programs are activating and stimulating a part of the brain that correspond with retaining information which can be a benefiting factor in helping other subjects. Studies have shown that kids who listened to music such as Mozart had a higher IQ than kids who did not. Study after study proves that the arts have been linked to helping develop a young mind and can be used for so much more than a way for someone to express their feelings. It has been proven that countries such as Japan, Netherlands, and Hungary who require all

As budget cuts are brought upon art programs it is obvious that society is oblivious to the hard work and determination put into having art programs brought into the schools in the first place. In New York, for example, there was a 41% budget cut to the music department at a local school while the athletics only saw a 28% but. This might seem even, but not when given that the music originally was only $59,000 and the athletic budget was $500,000 (Phifer 2). The reason for athletic apartments receiving more money might be because it has been in public schools across the country for longer. Schools in the United States were not introduced to the arts until the 18th and 19th century and was seen as a class only vital to women. In schools, there were classes to teach “ornamental” art but it was only taken by girls to help them become prepared for marriage. Important figures in the United States history such as Thomas Jefferson proposed to have art curriculums in the school system to prepare the young and eager minds to understand and create different concepts such as mechanical and architectural drawings to help build the new nations. However, even though Thomas Jefferson put countless hours of work and time into getting art programs in schools it was not fully accomplished until years after his death. Art programs did not get brought in to the school’s curriculum until the late 19th century. Thanks to a man by the name of John Dewey art was introduced as a basic requirement of education to help teach children motor skills and to help them develop multiple different means of expression. Because of the efforts undergone to have the arts program stay in schools art “eventually became a standard curriculum in private schools in the mid-20th