How can the arts be a more integral part of school education?

Question

How can the arts be a more integral part of school education?
With school education becoming more and more geared to providing successful career opportunities in an increasingly competitive world, arts such as music, dance, painting and theatre seem to be disappearing from school curriculum and syllabi. What can we do to cure this deficiency?

Answer

As a professional painter and part time studio art college instructor, I find that the arts are incredibly important to opening the mind to all kinds of subjects, not just art. We dont value intuitive knowledge in our culture. It is this intuitive intelligence that helps scientists, inventors, engineers, researchers, theorists, philosophers, mathmeticians, artists and doctors make very important decisions and finds in their fields. In this way, art and the processes that are learned in all art forms touch all professions. Art in all forms helps open us up to those intuitive processes. I think that the arts are some of the most important aspects of education. brTo cure this deficiency in our education system we simply need to offer more classes, opportunities for students to participate in the arts, and allow students to bring these arts out into the community. But we cant do this when schools are constantly cutting funding to the arts. I believe that the arts should be more integrated into an overall liberal arts curriculum from Kindergarten thru college. To do this we need a commitment from school districts, politicians, parents and educators to do this. We need an allocation of some of the tax dollars that go to education to fund art education. I also think a public relations campaign on a national level that spells out the benefits of arts in our education system would help get the public behind it. It would have to be on the level of how it is not only beneficial in and of itself, but how art touches all of our lives. How it is important not only for personal expression but for human communication. And, how learning and practicing an art form is great for learning other subjects and making break throughs in those professions. Afterall, Einstein played the violin beautifully.