Audree Hulick

11/18/2015
Arts Advocacy
The integration of the arts has recently become a highly controversial topic. There is a
battle between pleasing the taxpayers, and doing what is right for the students. Many educators
know that successful integration of the arts helps children retain information for a over longer
periods of time. For some educators they have grown to see it as more work for them, when
many already feel overworked. While integration of the arts does take a lot more conscious
planning and effort to prepare for the day, in the long run teachers are teacher to teach children,
and arts integration teaches children. We need to start this in the early years of life by using play
based learning in early childhood. The arts enrich the students learning, it helps foster
communication between students and cooperative learning, and proper social and emotional
development.
With growing academic expectations being placed on young children each year, its easy
to forget how critical play is to their social, emotional, and cognitive growth. In fact, research has
shown that playtime provides experiences that promote the underlying skills necessary for your
childs learning in school and beyond, such as improved memory, oral language ability, and
deeper engagement in literacy activities (Bodrova, Leong, 30). I could not have found a more
fitting quote to show the importance of play based learning. A childs work is play; therefore we
need to let children work as much as possible because of the way they learn. We as educators can
scaffold their learning, but none the less need to see the importance of how we teach. If we start
using the arts to teach children from a young age they will grow through their school years as
more well adjusted students who will get better test scores and be more enthusiastic about their
own educational experience.

Audree Hulick
11/18/2015
Then we have the subject of kindergarten; As soon as children arrive at school, however,
they are expected to put aside such activities and sit quietly at desks. Kindergarten classrooms
now resemble the first-grade-classrooms of past decades, in that they emphasize formal reading
and math instruction instead of play and socialization (Brouillete, 17). In todays educational
climate children are expected to sit and attend much before they are developmentally ready to sit
and attend. This can impact their emotional development as well as they become more
emotionally unsure of themselves and their education. Integrating the arts the arts increases
the voice, choice, and access to learning for students (Mason, Steedly, Thorman, 44). They will
be able to actively engage in their learning and become active participants in their every day
learning outcomes. Arts Integration will allow these young students to learn at a pace that is
comfortable and natural to their development.
Along with teaching children at a rate that coincides with their development we need to
teach children to be emotionally secure and confident. We cannot just teach to the logic sides of
students brains, and successful arts integration allows us to also teach other healthy behaviors
children need to learn. Arts enrichment stands out as a longstanding educational strategy that
may benefit social-emotional readiness to learnemphasizes the importance of including a
preponderance of positive emotion and allowing children to express limited amounts of negative
emotions in a settings where they can learn control. These principles suggest that arts education
may foster emotional competence (Brown, Sax, 338).Emotional stability is just as important as
teaching the core subjects in school. We need to foster a society that will be able to handle the
emotional battles that everyone eventually goes through. We have many problems in this society
that could potentially be solved if we help to use the arts to foster a society that is secure in itself
and confident in its abilities.

Audree Hulick
11/18/2015
Many educators have doubts about the arts integration program because of the amount of
added work they see associated with the program. Many teachers already feel overworked and
are scared to change the curriculum they are currently teaching. That much chance can be
terrifying for anyone, and many educators do not want to go through the hassle of learning a new
way when they are comfortable with their old curriculum. Educators may understand that
integrating the arts is better for the students, however, with the new rating system many people
are too scared of losing their jobs to do anything about changing the curriculum for the better for
the students. However, the teachers who participateoften spoke about the opportunity that
engaging in art-making provided for them to learn about their students in ways that would not
have otherwise been possible (Mason, Steedly, Thorman, 9). Many studies show that once
educators fully commit to the integration program that they end up enjoying their jobs a lot more.
They are able to connect with their students on a much deeper level and increase their
understanding of the material. Overall, educators who commit to the arts integration program end
up helping themselves and their students learn more and live happier lives.
Therefore, arts integration should be implemented in every school. Students should be
able to learn at a rate that is developmentally appropriate for them, and in such a way that they
are invested in their own education. Arts integration does not take away from the core subjects, it
enhances them. Students will learn what educators need them to know while also enjoying
learning, and gaining an appreciation for education. Educators will be more engaged in their
students education and will learn to love their jobs once again. Integrating arts back into the
classrooms, invites imagination and imaginative students into the classroom where everyone is
welcome and everyones learning styles are respected and valued, where each student is
respected and valued.

Audree Hulick
11/18/2015
Works Cited
Bodrova, Elena, Leong, Deborah L. Playing to Learn: How language and Literacy Develop
Through Childrens Play. Scholastic Parent & Child, October 2003.
Brouillete, Liane. How the Arts Help Children to Create Healthy Social Scripts: Exploring the
Perceptions of Elementary Teachers. Arts Education Policy Review, 111(1). October 21,
2009.
Brown, Eleanor D., Sax, Kacey L.. Arts Enrichment and Preschool Emotions for Low-Income
Children at Risk. Early Childhood Research Quarterly (2013) 337-346. August 2012.
Mason, Christine, et al. "Arts integration: How do the arts impact social, cognitive, and academic
skills." Submitted for publication (2005).
Mason, Christine Y., Steedly, Kathlyn M., Throman, Mary S.. Impact of Arts Integration on
Voice, Choice, and Access. Teacher Education and Special Education 2008, Volume 31,
No. 1, 36-46.