Arts And Humanities Essay

Today, in a plethora of schools across the United States, another student is being taught to think of subjects such as art, music, philosophy, and english as superfluous and inessential to society as a whole. He or she may be particularly gifted in one of these areas, but will never realize it because he or she feels as though it would be impractical to pursue. The idea that art is not useful or essential permeates the public school system and therefore, the majority of American youth’s thoughts. As a result, American culture suffers, with only a few great artistic pioneers in the recent years because people are afraid to go into those fields. In an idyllic world, Americans would recognize the necessity of the arts and humanities as well

In fact, their views are incredibly important. History, literature, art, music, dance, anthropology, and sociology are all devoted to understanding life and what it means to be human, just like the sciences. Children need to be taught this in schools. Schools should emphasize the importance of art and the humanities just as much as they emphasize the sciences. Instead of discouraging children who show a tendency towards the more artistic fields, they should be encouraged to explore these areas. Schools in America tend to value the arts less than science and sports, often taking budget cuts from these areas, proving to children that these areas are considered the least important of all the subjects taught in school. This is wrong and unfortunate because they are essential to what it means to be human. Humans try to understand the world in any way they can, through science or through the expression of thoughts and emotions. The arts need to be encouraged because they teach how to be human in the world versus the object of science, to learn how humans and the world work, but using defining rules. If people could be persuaded to see this and schools

For example, if there is a greater emphasis placed on the arts, then there will be an increase in compassion for fellow people. Art and the humanities allow people to see or feel the way that the artist feels. Once a person understands how another feels, that person can appreciate the validity of those feelings and understand why the artist feels that way, which allows for a greater understanding and acceptance of those different from ourselves. This could, eventually, lead to a decline in racism and sexism and increase overall compassion for fellow human beings. Another way that understanding the importance of a diverse education can lead to a more harmonious and happy society is that by accepting those pursuing their passion, more people will be willing to fund the arts. This will lead to more people taking a risk and going into the arts, creating a healthy competition in fields such as teaching, increasing the overall quality of arts education and making art a more viable career option. Depression rates will lower as overall job satisfaction goes up, with more people following their passions instead of what might have been a more profitable career. As culture grows and feeds on itself, there will be an emergence of pioneers in different disciplines, a sort of Second Renaissance of thinkers, geniuses who might have