Why is Arts Education Undervalued in College?

By Jailyn Ragland
Spectrum Staff Writer

     When you look around a college campus, you can see many displays of fine art that help make the atmosphere lively and interesting, including university statues, graphic posters and billboards, canvas artwork, textbook covers, T-shirt designs, flyer designs and many more. It’s almost as if the people creating those works of art love their jobs so much that wanted to inspire others.
                Even with all of the many things that fine artists contribute to colleges and universities, there seems to be a lack of value for the study of the arts. This raises a few questions:
                How did this happen?
                “Why do we put our cultural icons on a pedestal but undervalue arts education? I think one of the reasons is that as a society we are preoccupied with the idea that the arts are reserved only for those with talent. However, in the reality of today’s job market, we need to change this idea,” said author and arts educator Lisa Phillips.
                How do we fix this?
                Arthur Vidrine, fine arts professor at Bowie State University, shared some insight on the topic. “We spend roughly half of our waking life as working adults. We better like what we do or we will always be disappointed, resentful, bored, or frustrated with our job.”
                Applying this type of mindset toward your college education is important because for a lot of students, the arts is what makes life interesting, fun, and worthwhile. Placing due value on arts can be the difference between being in a career field that is fulfilling and being in one that isn’t.
                What are the benefits?
                Arts education is not only a subject that should be regarded as academically or occupationally important—it is also mentally and emotionally important. There have been many studies done on the positive effects that the arts have on your mental health, including a study by Stephanie Lewis Harter called Visual Art Making for Therapist Growth and Self-Care.
                According to research provided by Americans for the Arts, the benefits of arts education have impacted the entire school culture and especially student motivation, attitude and attendance. “The arts are essential,” the study concluded.
                Whether the arts are regarded as lesser value than other academic programs, the arts speaks for itself in that has a positive effect on students and it continues to be benefit to your mental, physical and emotional health.