Class reaction #3- Hailey Hughes

I find the arts to be an important part of learning! Music, art classes, creative writing classes, and even photography I consider to be part of an artistic aesthetic curriculum. Students need time throughout their demanding day of school to express themselves creatively. As mentioned in class last week, "art enables you to imagine and participate in construction of your own life." Studies in the fine arts indicate that classical music, in particular, can help students with their spatial temporal reasoning, such as memorization skills. For example, students who listened to classical music compared to other students who listened to no music or a different genre of music memorized more words compared to the other students (Mozart Effect). Also, students who do well in music, such as playing the piano or another instrument, tend to perform better in mathematics. Another importance of the artistic aesthetic curriculum is that it generally allows for exchange of opinions. Math, for example, generally has one answer that students have to formulate. However, in art, students are given the opportunity to express their views, regardless if they are completely different from other classmates. Art also encourages participation and interaction among students. In a way, art encourages students to respond, and helps them to imagine the possibilities to exist for themselves. A good example mentioned in class is a 3 day period in art class where students painted their impression of jazz. This assignment is a great example of allowing students to become independent from finding that one "right" answer. Again, I strongly believe that the arts are a vital part of a students' everyday curriculum!