Dear Mr./Mme. President,

Education is always a topic that draws attention from the government, as well as the public. However it seems that the majority of the regard goes to language arts and mathematics scores. Arts, however, are often overlooked in the public school’s curriculum. Art has such an influential role in a student's life, whether as an outlet for personal struggle, or to develop skills and talents that may not have been discovered alternatively.

Many students in the public school system do not have access to many mediums of art in daily life, due to lack of opportunity and high costs. It is one of the few universal things in the world, and every person should have the opportunity to learn about it. Art, as a whole, can be very beneficial to the learning process in schools. A study was done proving that young children who’ve encountered art throughout their life had better test scores in select high school courses. Art has many positive effects on a student throughout their developmental years, whether as a way to express themselves that they may not have the ability to otherwise, or via test scores and grades in other courses. Art, as an outlet, is more important now than ever. Suicide and mental illness are becoming a worldwide pandemic in the recent years and art may be one of the few non-medical cures for it. Art should have a more prominent role in education, no matter the intention.

Students often may dismiss the idea of arts in schools due to the conventional stereotype of artists. Artists are seen by many as individuals who are very free spirited or careless, which places a negative connotation on art in general. Author Stephanie B. Perrin said, “The worst crime in a school for the arts is a lack of seriousness about the work. Students who want to "be artists," as opposed to actually producing.” Many of the great artists of all time, such as Vincent Van Gogh, Ludwig Van Beethoven, and Edvard Munch suffered from mental illness and used their respective form of art as a therapy. Many of their works are emotional pieces and one may be able to sense the expression and outlets of their illness in each piece.

Art is a therapeutic form of release for all that is going on in one’s life, and it could immensely benefit not only the school system in grades and test scores, but also the student’s life and school experience. Art is not helpful or beneficial to every student, but it as an outlet for many. If fine art courses, such as music and visual arts, are made more accessible and implemented throughout a student’s education they will always have the opportunity to release the stress and struggles that they may be going through. The less stress a student has, the more likely they are to excel in classes and tests.

-Colby S,