Actor and comedian Charlie Chaplin once said, "There are more valid facts and details in works of art than there are in history books." With works of art, students have the opportunity to learn about where a certain artist and their work came from rather than finding it in a history book. Educators can teach about history, but students can understand better with looking at an art work and figuring out the history behind that piece of art. In the schools today, the arts have been slowly disappearing from our educational systems because school officials believe these programs are an easier solution to save money. .
Although this is true on multiple levels, the arts have helped students all over the country by improving their social skills, educational skills and countering their fears. Schools should keep the arts in their curriculums because more people will succeed with the opportunities they have through an art related class rather than a regular required class. The arts are not just for community involvement, but for students to be exposed to them and to become open minded as well. The arts continue to be important in the educational systems because they teach students life skills, such as how to work with each other, and how to communicate with others. .
Studying the arts contributes to a student's achievements and successes through their journey in life. According to Sandra S. Ruppert, the "students who participate in arts learning experiences often improve their achievement in other realms of learning and life" (10). Ruppert's point is that when students become involved with any part of the arts, they tend to improve in their other courses, like math and history. To add, she states that "researchers from the University of California at Los Angeles found students with high arts involvement performed better on standardized tests than students with low involvement" (Ruppert, 10).
