Ohio

Comment: Once again "I ate the whole thing." Art doesn't have to cost a lot. Drawing can be a part of a child's life for as little as 50 cents. It's a matter of what a teacher is willing to do. It can be made from a lot of scraps, recycled paper, shredded paper. In fact, art for a whole school can come from an office - even a school office. Music can be a part of every classroom if a teacher is willing to sing, turn on the radio, or push the desks to one side of a classroom and make music on the floor with pencils, books, and other things already there. It just takes effort, energy and the willingness to try.

The Post on Line
Athens, Ohio

Early art education can improve cognitive skills of children

Brianna Voight

From an early age, children instinctively create art by drawing on the walls and other such creative youthful endeavors. Experts say that this expression is beneficial to children in a variety of ways.

While Athens schools offer programs, Ohio University, the center of Athens’ bustling art scene, also contributes to this local education by making art accessible to students.

Crayons, creativity, and cognition

Children who are exposed to consistent and rigorous art programs excel academically compared to those who do not, according the Ohio Arts Council, a state agency that funds and supports the arts. Art benefits children because it helps strengthen their creativity, literary and social development and cognition skills.

“Another important aspect of art is that it makes school a more interesting and engaging place, thereby improving attendance and ultimately improving academic performance,” said Mary Campbell-Zopf, the deputy director for the Ohio Arts Council.

According to Americans for the Arts, a national organization that supports the arts, some of these benefits include being four times more likely to be recognized for academic performance, three times more likely to have better attendance and four times more likely to enter a math or science fair.

“Everyone is a great artist before they are a grown-up,” said Lena Lee, assistant professor of early childhood education at Ohio University. “After our childhood, that ability to see beauty in the world tends to lessen. Art is important because it allows children to be able to see the beauty in their own lives.”

Not etched in stone

Of course, crayons and scissors don’t grow on trees.

“Sadly, when there isn’t a lot of money in a budget, art programs are usually the first to go,” said Joan McMath, professor of early childhood education at OU.

Ohio schools are not required to provide any fixed amount of art education, leaving each of the 613 public school districts in Ohio to determine the actual programs offered in their respective schools.

“While we do not set mandates as to how much art education an elementary student receives in a week, we believe that students get the greatest gains when they have it every day,” Campbell-Zopf said.

While no specific guidelines are in place for the actual amount of art children are exposed to in schools, the Ohio Department of Education set a series of standards and expectations as to what students should be able to do on a grade-by-grade level. These skills include: knowing reasons for creating art, having the skills to critically analyze art and being able to understand art in a larger cultural and historical context.

Art in Athens

Because of budget restraints and the fact that no official mandates are in place, schools in the Athens City School District decide how much art education its students receive.

“I think that the arts and music are important aspects of the total educational experience for the students,” said Carl Martin, superintendent of Athens City Schools.

Specific funding is not set aside for art education in schools but is encompassed in the supply budget, said Matt Bunting, treasurer of the Athens City School District.

Each school in the district is given a supply budget based on their enrollment numbers, set at $65 per student. This budget ranges between about $14,000 and $25,000 for each school in the district and consists of funds for all supplies bought within the schools, including both art and maintenance supplies.

Parents must also pay $25 per student, which is placed into a students activities fund, used for art supplies, kindergarten classroom needs and workbooks.

Art funding decisions are determined by each of the individual schools within the district. Each elementary school in the district has an art teacher and a formal education program. The art teachers help to decide the allocation of funds used for the arts in their respective schools.

“They can decide to spend it on art or not to spend it on art, whatever they choose,” Bunting said.

It takes a village

In addition to school activities, from time to time yellow school buses will cart groups of children to OU to spend the day experiencing various art forms at college.

The College of Fine Arts and the College of Education work in a collaborative effort with local elementary schools that have limited art resources. These programs are designed to enable students to encounter art they otherwise would not experience.

In the spring, the School of Theater and the School of Dance will present performances specifically for these students.

The School of Music does outreach through the Athens Community Music School, which provides approximately 265 students with music lessons. So far during this academic year, the school of music has provided over $2,700 to enable students with financial difficulties the opportunity to study music.

The Kennedy Museum of Art has programs designed to introduce young children to the arts. Their latest exhibit will feature African masks and over 650 area students are signed up to view them next week.

“It’s really important for us to be here because they get a chance to see artwork that they wouldn’t normally get to experience,” said Meghan Dillon, senior art education major and educational programs assistant at Kennedy Museum of Art. Dillon describes herself as a “survivor of the art education program.”

Because the art education program within the School of Art was discontinued last year, the school no longer conducts any programs in schools. Students are still finishing their degree in the program, but no new students will be admitted.

Framed pictures from local students were recently unveiled on the walls of McCracken Hall. Students and parents attended the event.

“The coming together of children and their parents and university officials to celebrate the children’s expression was just wonderful,” McMath said.