Minorities in need of Art Education

“Every Child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up” 

– Pablo Picasso

A child can be full of art and creativity. They will express themselves in any type of way, letting their imagination set free. If an adult takes that away from them, what will there be left in them? I went to school in the South Bronx from elementary- high school and I only had an art class for one year in elementary and then another year in high school during the regular school day curriculum. In middle school art classes were offered as part of an after school program. But of course not many would be able to join because of family responsibilities and such. People who are from minority groups do not get enough funding for classes that have to do with creativity. The schools that minority children go to do not offer as much as they should when it comes to these extracurricular classes. Extracurricular classes/activities that involve art are not seen as important in society when compared to a math class or science class. 

But in reality art has to do with everything, regardless if it is math or science classes. Art is able to provide creativity towards students and when it comes to creativity, many outcomes can be formed if you are able to think outside of the box. Let’s say you are given a problem that has to do with measurements for an assignment. In art, some artists like to measure the amount of color they are using in case they are mixing with other colors and so they like to be precise. The same methods they use before for art could be used for the assignment they are given in that science class. According to Forbes’ “Fine Arts Courses Help Students Excel In Math And Science”, Jessica Baron was able to find a study that proved to enhance a student’s learning ability because of art classes, “A 2011 study from the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) called ‘Reinvesting in Arts Education’ found that integrating arts with other subjects helped raise test scores and improved student learning measures overall” (Baron). This study just comes to show how much of a difference will be made if art classes were made available to students. There is a positive impact that will help improve a student’s learning when it comes to other subjects. Not only that but from the PCAH study Baron pointed out that, “Researchers found that skills learned in the visual arts also helped with literacy skills and that playing an instrument led to better math outcome” (Baron). A student can learn how to connect skills from different subjects especially when it comes from an art class (art classes can include anything from visual art, music, dance, photography, etc.). But since school officials do not know about these findings they do not fund enough classes so that the students are able to join. Especially to those who are minorities. Many opportunities do not come their way and are left out most of the time.

In the article “With Decreased Arts Education Affecting Minority Students, Educators Get Creative”, MadameNoire reports that “In a recent government study, more than 50 percent of young black adults surveyed in 1982 said they received a childhood arts education compared to 26 percent in 2008, a 49 percent drop and the largest among all race groups” (MadameNoire). When it comes to minority groups, it mostly involves blacks and hispanics groups. Based on the data above it shows how people from the black community didn’t receive much of an art education when percentages were compared from 1982 and 2008. A large percentage decreased, to be more precise it was 49. However for white students there was a 5 percent decrease when it came to art education(MadameNoire) and it was in the same time period as the findings from the black community. MadameNoire has also pointed out that, “The findings, released by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), give merit to the idea that budget cuts affecting arts programs are heavily concentrated in black and hispanic school districts” (Madame Noire 2011).  This piece of evidence supports the fact that minority groups are usually the ones that have funding taken away when it comes to their art education. When it comes to a black and Hispanic concentrated school, people who decide where the funding goes see that much money is not provided for the students and will proceed to take more away since others are doing the same. As a hispanic student, this is awfully true and we don’t get the same art education experience as others. But because of that, most of the time children don’t do well in their exams, as I said before an art education can come a long way for a student and will help them in other subjects. That is why minority groups need a better art education and collect more skills. There should be opportunities given to them regardless if they are from a minority group or not. According to “Creativity just as important as math and science”, Kayla Snider informs that, “In New York City, between the 2006-2007 school year and June 2010, the funding for the arts in public schools was cut by 68 percent, or $7.2 million” (Snyder 2015). This is the most recent finding where it shows by how much the funding for art education was cut by. Public schools don’t get as much funding as they should but it is the cheapest education you could possibly get around, especially in NYC where it’s free. It is where most children go and the type of school most parents could afford. But since it is where most kids go there should be more funding involved when it comes to their education. Nothing should be cut off especially when it comes to the arts which is something they need to their advantage. I just wished there were more classes like these offered during the regular school day and we should’ve been able to pick the time it would be more suitable for us. Many kids in highschool take a lot of AP classes and taking at least 2 types of art classes  at least 4 times a week would not hurt their education at all, it will in fact enhance their way of learning.

Reflection: 

Writing this opinion editorial made me realize that there are plenty of issues in my community, but I chose to write about an issue that had to do with education just because I’m the oldest and I have younger siblings to whom I want the best education given to. The publication that I am pitching to would be the New York Times because most of their opinion editorials have a lot of facts and statistics that are able to support their claim. But yet again the topics that they choose are important to them and it comes from their experience most of the time. My audience would be the school board or the school officials just because they have more authority and will be able to do something about the situation. They would be able to gather people and look for ways to improve their school system. The rhetorical situation revolves around there not being enough funding for the art education system for students who are from minority based groups, while art being something that these children need. 

My tone in this paper was formal and straightforward, I stated why art was important to include in the education of children and then I was able to use that same reasoning to fund art education. I tried to include a quote by a famous artist that involved the connection between children and art because it would show the importance of that connection. I decided to put it as the first line so in a way it would catch the reader’s attention and I also decided to continue with providing a few questions that the reader would have in mind. I wanted to provide as many facts as possible that would support my claim so in a way my article would be  more persuasive. I was able to use ethos throughout the paper and make it more convincing so that I would be able to persuade my reader.

Works Cited

Baron, Jessica. “Fine Arts Courses Help Students Excel In Math And Science.” Forbes, 

Forbes Magazine, 5 Mar. 2019, 

MadameNoire. “With Decreased Arts Education Affecting Minority Students, Educators Get 

Creative.” MadameNoire, MadameNoire, 29 Mar. 2011, 

Snyder, Kayla. “Creativity Just As Important As Math And Science.” USA TODAY High School 

Sports, USA TODAY High School Sports, 12 May 2015,