Integrate the Arts

The most recent article in ASCD deals with incorporating the arts into the regular school curriculum. The article makes it clear, as almost Arts advocates have been saying for years, that arts integration can most certainly improve student social-emotional learning and ones attitudes toward the arts. 'A recent meta-analysis of arts integration research as seen through ESSA found that the arts have a statistically significant effect on student achievement (Ludwig, et al., 2017).'

So the issue isn't about the importance of the arts, the concern is about how to implement them into the regular curriculum if the arts are separate courses. Sadly, for many, the obstacles can and are daunting.

What the teachers and advocates of the arts see as the problems include; not enough funding, those who will implement the arts feeling that they lack arts expertise, too little planning time to implement the arts into the curriculum, fear of the unknown and more.

If the above problems, and others, can be overcome then the potential to bring the arts into the regular then great things will take place.

Dick