Art & Education

Having an art background myself, I truly believe that art education during the elementary years is tremendously valuable: it doesn’t just nurture creativity, it supports academic, social, and emotional growth. When young children engage in drawing, music, theater or visual arts, they exercise fine motor skills and develop better memory, attention and observational capacities. The process of creating art also fosters self‐esteem and resilience—students learn to take risks, experiment, and handle “mistakes” as part of the creative journey. Art helps children understand diverse perspectives and cultures, encourages collaboration, and often increases school engagement and motivation. A large randomized study of over 10,000 students in Houston found that arts‑education experiences in elementary school reduced disciplinary infractions, boosted writing achievement, enhanced compassion and school engagement, and raised college aspirations.

Here’s an article that supports these arguments: “New evidence of the benefits of arts education” (Brookings) — it provides strong empirical evidence for how arts education positively impacts academic, social, and emotional outcomes in K‑12 schools, especially at the elementary level.

Having said that, art doesn’t have to mean art lessons or be limited to drawing or painting. Simply observing nature, discussing the colors of the sky, looking at the shapes of shadows can all be related to creativity that connects to the artist within us!