Persuasive Essay - the Arts in the Education free essay sample

Directions Essay Where the information for the essay came from 1 2 2 Directions: Write a persuasive essay about the relative importance of the arts in education. (First read at least two of the following).  ¦ The Arts are Nice, But http://education. jhu. edu/newhorizons/strategies/topics/Arts%20in%20Education/The%20Center%20for%20A rts%20in%20the%20Basic%20Curriculum/perrin1. htm Music and the Mind http://www. menc. rg/resources/view/music-and-the-mind Learning and the Arts http://education. jhu. edu/newhorizons/strategies/topics/Arts%20in%20Education/dickinson_why_arts. htm Education Through the Arts in Secondary Schools http://education. jhu. edu/newhorizons/strategies/topics/Arts%20in%20Education/The%20Center%20for%20A rts%20in%20the%20Basic%20Curriculum/perrin2. htm Multiple Intelligences http://www. pedsforparents. com/articles/2756. shtml High School Seniors Lag in Math, Reading (log into Pioneer Library first, and go to SIRS) http://sks. irs. com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display? id=SUT0568-0-5855artno=0000257740type=ARTshfilter=U key=res=Yren=Ygov=Ylnk=Nic=N Benefits of learning to play an instrument http://musiced. We will write a custom essay sample on Persuasive Essay the Arts in the Education or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page about. com/od/beginnersguide/a/pinst. htm  ¦  ¦  ¦  ¦  ¦  ¦ Take a position on the issue, either: The arts are just as important as the solid subjects (math, English, science, history), and schools should require students to take classes in art, music, dance or literature. OR: The arts are not as important as the solid subjects, and schools should not have to offer classes in the arts for all students. Structure:  ¦  ¦  ¦  ¦ You may begin with whichever of the above positions you choose to support as your first sentence. Include one direct quote in quotation marks from each of the two articles you read. At the end of the quote, put the authors last name in parenthesis. Make sure to include two examples of personal experiences (yours, or that of someone you know well) to help support your position. Make sure to identify three of the good writing techniques in your essay by putting them in bold, or underlining, and naming the technique at the end of the sentence. 1 Schools should require students to take classes in fine arts. They are proven to be useful in several mental processes that are correlated with school performance 1. Dee Dickinson, former director of the Seattle Creative Activities Center, asserted: â€Å"I personally experienced the relationship between music and scholarship when I was director of the Seattle Creative Activities Center many years ago. At that time, we did not have the research at hand to explain why many children who were taking music and painting classes suddenly began to excel in math at school. Other children began to improve in their language arts skills. † 2 Recent research suggests that some forms of art, such as music, influence brain activity in activities such as timing and pacing 1. It has similar effects on every human brain in spite of cultural differences 2, that is probably why music is called ‘the universal language’. Fine arts, by nature, stimulate the feature of the brain that is in charge of divergent thinking; in other words, creativity, imagination, or, as it is commonly called ‘thinking outside the box’. It was found, for example, that musicians use both sides of their brains and use divergent thinking more frequently than average people, and that intensive musical training is associated with an elevated IQ score 3. There are intelligences other than logical, according to the theory of multiple intelligences 4. In the words of Michael K. Meyerhoff, executive director of The Education for Parenthood Information Center: â€Å"The premise of the theory is quite simple. It concerns that intelligence traditionally has been conceptualized, assessed, and addressed by school systems in much too narrow a fashion. If you happen to be among the fortunate ones whose strength is in the areas of language ability and/or logical-mathematical ability, you will respond well to the standard academic curriculum, you will do well on standardized tests, and be regarded as smart within the context of the standard classroom. 4 Creativity, divergent thinking, and elevated IQ score are, undoubtedly, useful skills in problem solving, and also applied to other branches of industry and production that requires more than logical reasoning, such as graphic design. I would say that, in the light of this evidence, schools should require students to take classes in fine arts, and laws should be made about it. Sources: 1. 2. 3. The Neurosciences Inst itute, â€Å"Music and the Brain† http://www. nsi. edu/index. php? age=xii_music_and_language_perception National Association for Music Education, â€Å"Music and the Mind†, by Dee Dickinson http://www. menc. org/resources/view/music-and-the-mind Vanderbilt University â€Å"Musicians use both sides of the brain more frequently than average people†, http://news. vanderbilt. edu/2008/10/musicians-use-both-sides-of-their-brains-more-frequently-than-average-peo ple-65577/ 4. Pediatrics for Parents â€Å"Multiple Intelligences† http://www. pedsforparents. com/articles/2756. shtml 2