Arts is the Root (Why Arts in Schools Matter)

Arts is the Root (Why Arts in Schools Matter)

Produced by Arts Ed Matters, this twelve-minute film explores the stories of artists, educators, parents, administrators, politicians and young people.

The film addresses the current state of arts in schools in CA, a brief history of Prop 13, current research on the transformative power of the arts & their vital role as an educational resource, and how community members can become empowered to work for increased access to arts education in their local schools.

Arts is the Root: Why Arts in Schools Matter. Produced by Arts Ed Matters.

If we want kids to have the best chance possible to adapt to a constantly changing environment then we must nurture their creativity. It’s about the synergy that is often expressed in art. 

In “Why We Don’t Do Art in School (And Why We Should)” Susan Harris MacKay said:

“I don’t consider myself to be an artist, or an art teacher. Yet, when I am teaching in the classroom, it is my habit to ask myself, ‘Where are the arts?’ I find that when I habitually ask that question as I’m planning, the arts become habitual. The availability of tools of the arts, as well as an invitation to use them, secures my role as ‘professional marveller’ as Loris Malaguzzi, founder of the municipal preprimary schools in Reggio Emilia, Italy, fondly described the work of the teacher.”

Merging the arts with social emotional learning and academic learning helps create students who care about the world in which they live. We encourage our writers and readers and especially children to dare big thoughts, to agree and to disagree, but always to keep in mind the extraordinary gifts we all share, the arts, imagination, and the human spirit.