Dear Editor,
School is a place of education. Students learn not only the typical subjects but, most importantly, they learn to continue to learn independently. An important part of that is to shape students into good people who can empathize, are creative, and collaborative. Arts education is one of the best ways to encourage empathy and critical thinking. Sadly, the arts in education are often seen as not as vital as the so-called core studies.
Manitou Springs High School has specific credit requirements each student must fulfill to graduate. These 54 required credits include 6 fine arts credits, which may be chosen from band, choir, theatre, visual art, and world language. I believe schools should require even greater participation in the Arts, both for the benefit of the individual student and society as a whole.
Studies show that students who are actively involved in the arts are 5 times less likely to drop out and score an average of over 150 more points on the SAT compared to those who are not. Students in the arts build strong communication, problem-solving, and collaboration skills, which positively impact every other aspect of school, including sports, activities, and academic success. For example, the athletes I know who also participate in theatre say it has positively affected them.
Given the lack of critical thinking and empathy we are seeing in American society, our schools and communities as a whole would benefit from an increase in arts participation. This could be accomplished by requiring more fine arts credits to graduate.
-Becket.