Arts Education within Public Schools

By Jamye Grace Aquino Kamaliʻi

While growing up in a public school, I had little access to art classes. I remember some minor projects during my elementary years that allowed students to tap into our creative side. During these moments, I noticed a lot of us around the classroom were much more energetic and interested in learning during and after art classes. I feel there is a belief that arts education is an expendable part of school curriculums - people claim there are no educational skills learned from it. However, I felt that during our mini projects at school, I learned how to adapt, enhance my creativity, self-expression, and my observational skills. I believe that these skills are important because in real life situations, you need to learn how to be independent and express your own ideas.

I understand that many public schools do not have access to arts education due to underfunding. However, I believe that pursuing a well-rounded education is what students not only deserve, but also need in order to thrive in all aspects of their life. In order to have arts education in our schools, we need more funding.