EDUCATION MATTERS—SANFORD SCHOOL'S PRIVATE SCHOOL BLOG

At many times during our adult lives, we are asked to stand before a crowd and speak, deliver a presentation for work, or even offer a toast to a happy couple. Speaking in front of a group of people can make your palms sweaty and your heart starts to race. Without a podium to lean on, one can feel exposed and uncomfortable. Experience in the performing arts can empower students to express themselves in public forums with effectiveness, skill, and confidence for the rest of their lives .

Ask art teachers about the superstars in their classrooms; they will report that their students are the smartest kids on campus. Research supports these claims. Student involvement in the arts— whether theatre, dance, music, or visual—develops skills linked to improved performance in other disciplines. These include:

• Reading acquisition
• Phonological awareness
• Sequence learning
• Long-term and working memory
• Spatial relationship
• Student motivation
• Observation.

However, the need to quantify the value of art education in relation to alternate academic disciplines is flawed and predicated on recent trends cutting the arts in favor of targeted teaching to standardized tests.