Rationale and Philosophy

In a world inundated with an array of messages and meanings, an arts education helps young people explore, understand and accept ambiguity and subjectivity. At the same time, the arts bring excitement and exhilaration to the learning process which transcend subject matter boundaries. Study of and competence in the arts and other disciplines reinforce each other; students become increasingly interested in learning, add new dimensions to what they already know, and enhance their expectations for learning even more. Research has shown that students of the arts continue to outperform their non-arts peers on College Board Examinations.

Perhaps most important, the arts have intrinsic value. They are worth learning for their own sake, providing benefits not available through other means. The arts also make a contribution to education that reaches far beyond their intrinsic value. The skills recommended for success in the workplace of the future are those learned in arts education programs: working in teams, communication, self-esteem, creative thinking, imagination, and invention. Finally, a comprehensive, articulated arts education program engages students in a process that helps them develop the self-discipline and self-motivation necessary to lead productive and fulfilling lives.

• Through the study of music, students move, sing, play, dance, and create as well as engage in the fundamental musical processes of analyzing, evaluating, and listening to sound.
• Through education in theatre, students study and integrate acting, designing, directing, script writing, researching, analyzing and critiquing, and understanding contexts of theatrical forms.
• Through study in the visual arts, students develop thinking skills by analyzing artwork in multiple contexts and by producing artwork in various media.

Systematic involvement in the arts also facilitates the important modes of physical, cognitive, and emotional development of students because they gain powerful tools for:

• developing problem-solving skills which bring an array of expressive, analytical, and developmental tools to every human situation;
• communicating their thoughts and feelings in a variety of modes, giving them a vastly more powerful repertoire of self-expression;
• enhancing body directionality and kinesthetic development;
• understanding human experiences, both past and present;
• learning to adapt to and respect others