Research has shown that when kids sing, dance, play an instrument, act in a play or draw, they stretch their imaginations, learn patience and more. When schools integrate the arts into regular classes, grades go up and so does morale!
There is a link between learning music and improved verbal memory, second language pronunciation accuracy, reading ability and even executive functions in youth. Students who delve into arts education are drawn into an incredibly complex and multifaceted experience that combines other subject matters such as mathematics, history, language and science. Think about it … when a student plays a song, she engages with the physical science of motion and sound waves, applies math and exercises memory and creativity.
For a student to give an inspired performance of Shakespeare, he learns to understand social, cultural and historical events of the time. The arts are valuable not only as stand-alone subjects, but as the ideal link between all subject matters. Just think how drawing connects to geometry or how meter and time signatures are based on math concepts such as fractions.
How many of us lack in our communication skills? Without learning the art of communication, we cannot thrive in the world. Through the arts, students learn so many ways to communicate. For example, the experience of being in a music ensemble requires growth in listening skills and in how to communicate verbally, physically and emotionally with their peers, the conductor and the audience. Cast members in a play must not only communicate the spoken word to their audience, but also the underlying nuances and emotions of the script.
A culture without art simply would not be possible. Art is at the core of our identity as humans.
Beth Munce, a soprano, founding member at Kantorei KC and voice teacher at Munce Music Vocal Studio, has unique insights into how the arts enrich us. She taught my daughter voice lessons, and my daughter now sings at her church in New York City. Munce’s husband, Chris, is vocal instructor at Lee’s Summit High School and somehow recruits football players to sing in his choir—and my son was one of them!
“Simply put, the arts are an expression of human emotion, whether it be pain, grief, joy, excitement, fear, peace or love,” Munce explains. “When children learn to use their art as a tool or ‘voice’ in which to express emotion, they can learn to work through complex human emotions, allowing them to further understand their own thoughts and feelings as well as others. It is a very powerful tool. After my own mother passed in 2020, I would often sit at the piano and sing simple folk tunes that helped bring me peace and comfort.”
Participating in the arts connects students to their humanity. Munce explains that when young vocalists learn to sing an Italian aria from the 18th century that expresses the goofy feelings of falling in love, they realize that human emotions haven’t really changed through time or across languages. Young actors might have to portray characters engulfed in grief from the loss of a loved one, and they have to think about what that might feel like. This cultivates empathy for others.
Mastering artistic skills can build self-assurance too. “When we struggle with matching pitch or singing or performing in public but learn we can do it,” Munce says, “we grow in confidence, and we can then bridge this growth mindset over to other endeavors in life.”
Finally, the arts bring lifelong enrichment and enjoyment. “The arts can make us rethink an idea, change our minds or soften our hearts,” Munce says. Her 77-year-old father, Steve Kakacek, is a professional jazz clarinetist in KC who plays regularly at local skilled care and assisted living centers and shares some amazing stories with her about residents he meets. “Many of the members don’t remember their own names, but they sing or tap along to the songs he plays,” she says. “The same is true of my husband’s 95-year-old grandmother, Carole Hadduck. She can’t remember the names of her grandchildren anymore, but she can still sit at the piano and play beautifully. Music is an amazing gift.”
Most schools have amazing arts programs. Keep a good thing going by making sure your children stay engaged in some form of the arts. After all, you’ve have been singing, playing music, drawing pictures and play-acting with your kids since they were born!
An avid outdoors girl, Judy Goppert lives in Lee’s Summit. She enjoys drawing on her personal experiences to write about the nuances of everything wonderful about life.
Sources: Edutopia.org, Munce Music Vocal Studio