Should schools continue to spend money on fine arts? (value)
Imagine an ice cream which is very tasty, made with the best flavours but served in a broken bowl with a bad presentation. Will you taste it? Obviously, the answer would be no. Without tasting the ice cream, we cannot predict the taste of ice cream. Merely by presentation we have concluded that it must be tasteless and taken the decision of not to eat. Had the presentation of ice cream was fine, we would have never spared a thought on the presentation of ice cream. The value of fine arts in our life is same as that of display of ice cream, when it is there we never appreciate it but the moment it is absent, we feel the absence. Yes, we all want the presence of fine arts in our lives; the dance, music, drama or theatre yet we want our children only to learn the core subjects. The emphasis on only core subjects by parents and the schools have given a thought that on the whether schools should allocate some money on fine arts.
Whenever any school faces the monetary problems and have to cut down the budgets, the axe would automatically fall on the fine arts. It is considered as the least significant subject in the school. It is very vital for schools to realise the significance of having fine arts in school.
Significance of teaching fine arts:
The involvement of arts in the schools helps to balance the studies. The students who are studying the core subjects throughout the day, if they are given an hour for fine arts, they will feel calm and cherished. The inclusion of fine arts in regular studies helps in maintaining the interest of students in studies. The students feel happy in going to the school. It is often found that the schools which have fine arts classes have less number of school dropouts. The inclusion of fine arts in schools does not necessarily mean that the students would only concentrate on it, rather it sometimes works as a motivation factor.
The parents and the schools should except that all students cannot be good in core education. If schools continue to provide only the classes for these subjects, the students who are not good in studying these subjects ultimately get demotivated. The fine art classes would help them to explore their hidden talents. It may happen that a student is not good in mathematics but sings exceptionally well. The classes of singing will help him to polish his skill. So that he can choose his career in singing beside learning the core subjects.
The inclusion of the fine arts in schools prepares students for the future world. The art is like a moral book; the opening of every page teaches a lesson. The students learn to think, express themselves, they discover about unity, about cultures. A student when takes part in school drama learns to face the world. It teaches them to be confident and a good orator.
The problem which the schools face is the funds; they have limited funds and for better academic results they prefer to spend maximum funds on the core subjects. The demand of the parents is also that the same. If they search for the school for their child's admission, they only look for the schools which have an inclination towards the centre subjects. As a result, the schools prefer to spend on the basic education. It is very much required from the parent's side also to understand the importance of fine arts in child's life. They should together with school find the ways to continue the fine arts in schools. They can either opt for the contribution of funds or can arrange some school fest or cultural activity to arrange funds on the regular basis for the schools.
Conclusion
We would have never had many great artists with us, had their schools also had the thought that the spending on art is not worth. Life without an art is like a canvas without the colours. The schools are the first place where students come out from the comfort zone of their home. They discover about life, explore new areas to shape their future. The students are like the buds which when given water by the school blossoms to a flower. So the schools should help the students to explore every creative field. It should give freedom to the students to decide their career. If we require doctors and engineers, we also love to have great singers and artists. The schools should not consider the fine arts as a filler which can be removed as, and when required rather it should be valued equally to the core education.In every child, there is an artist who the school first discovers art.