To Prospective Student-Artists
We believe that the way you see the world is important. We understand the rigors of your core classes and the pressure to get into a top-tier university.
“Students in the arts program performed better in six categories of literacy and critical thinking skills.”
There is a misconception that the arts are extraneous and won’t help you get into college. This is a fallacy. Arts education should absolutely be a vital element of your learning journey. The studies are definitive: a student’s grades in core classes, sense of community, and important social skills improve when the arts are part of their curriculum.
The New York Times, reporting on a Guggenheim study concerning arts education, found that “students in the [arts] program performed better in six categories of literacy and critical thinking skills — including thorough description, hypothesizing and reasoning — than did students who were not in the [arts] program.”
Frontiers in Neuroscience, studying the correlation between music education and academic performance, for example, found that “children who undergo musical training have better verbal memory, second language pronunciation accuracy, reading ability and executive functions.”
So, arts education assists in boosting scores across the board. But what about how it feels to be in arts education? What is it like? In the arts, it’s okay, even encouraged, to make mistakes and to subsequently grow.
And… it’s fun. Believe it or not, school can be fun!
The process of creation is all about revision, and both sides of the ‘revising coin’ are useful and exciting. On one side, you develop the ability to reckon with and give constructive criticism to your peers. On the other, you become comfortable with receiving and channeling constructive criticism in a productive way. All the while, you’re engaging with your unique perspective in an exciting context.
“While engaged in arts classes, students consistently had more positive interactions with their peers and adults than were evidenced in their regular classrooms.”
Catterall and Peppler, in a research study published in the Cambridge Journal of Education, found that “arts students showed significant growth in two areas: self efficacy and originality. Self-efficacy is measured based on students’ perceived control over one’s future and confidence about surmounting obstacles to achieving goals. Originality [includes] children’s beliefs that they could generate novel ideas or originality in art and gain originality in broader thinking patterns [and] while engaged in arts classes, students consistently had more positive interactions with their peers and adults than were evidenced in their regular classrooms.”
Arts education heightens self-efficacy, originality, and positive interactions with your colleagues and teachers. Isn’t that all you can hope for from a school day? And at the end of your education, wouldn’t you like to have spent time honing in on these practically useful, constantly applicable skills?
Many students who came through Arcadia Unified Arts now have jobs outside of the traditional art space, but credit the arts education they received with their ability to be successful. We’d love for you to become one of those stories as well.
Arcadia Unified Arts has state-of-the-art facilities, a world-class faculty, and a multitude of vibrant programs in music, theater, dance, and visual arts.
Take a look around. There is a place for you here.