In recent years, the availability of theatre arts in education has taken a backseat to athletics, primarily, but also to all other areas of study in primary education. Some parents and educators have lost sight of the importance of the arts in their students’ learning experiences and it tends to become the last thing on their list of encouraged extracurricular events. While parents are pushing their child to try out for their third soccer team of the season, they could and should be pushing their child to become involved in the arts. A solid education needs to include the arts because it instills many strong qualities into the students. Studies have proven that students who are involved in the arts have higher attendance, SAT scores, reading comprehension, and a better overall state of being, meaning they are just happier people. …show more content…
The NCLB Act clearly confirms that the arts are a “core academic subject” in children’s education. It states that all schools should be teaching the arts to their students. By naming the arts a core subject, they are putting it on an equal level with subjects such as math, English or science, which only furthers its importance for learning. Students are required to have a certain number of years of those core subjects to graduate, so it should be just as important for them to have the arts since they are also a core subject. Sandra S. Ruppert, author of Critical Evidence: How the ARTS Benefit Student Achievement, asserts that research has proven that “what students learn in the arts may help them to master other subjects, such as reading, math or social