Becoming Involved in Fine Arts
If you discover that you could increase your child’s test scores by allowing him or her participate in an hour of art lessons every week, would you? If music improved math scores, would you raise a musician? Surprisingly, these artistic activities are closely tied to cognitive growth and development. Nationally, our education system has been focusing on the core subjects and slowly removing fine arts from public schools. The Diocese of Orlando, however, recognizes the importance of fine arts within their private schools in Central Florida and emphasizes art, music, drama, and other forms of fine arts in their curriculum as well as extracurricular activities.Throughout the school year, private schools in Central Florida put on plays and musical performances, participate in school, local and regional art shows, and more. Here are two examples of upcoming events:
- St. James Cathedral School’s drama program has been working diligently to present Willy Wonka on May 18 and 19. The actors,
special effects technicians, stagehands, and props workers are all students who have spent hundreds of hours bringing this performance to their classmates and the general public. Call 407-841-4432 for information pertaining to show times and location. - Good Shepherd Catholic School students will host their Spring Band Concert on May 18. Students will perform a number of songs they have been practicing throughout the semester for your enjoyment. Contact Good Shepherd at 407-277-3973 for the time and location of the Spring Band Concert.
A national study involving a database of over 25,000 students in middle and high school determined that students involved in arts programs performed better on standardized tests, watched less television, participated in community service programs more frequently, and were less likely to report being under stimulated in school than their peers without fine arts in their lives. The strong ties between fine arts and academics have distinct characteristics; visual arts instruction improves reading readiness, drama enhances conflict resolution skills, dance is positively associated with nonverbal reasoning, and piano instruction increases math skills. This list is not inclusive; over 65 known relationships parallel an aspect of fine arts with one of academics.Give your child the advantage of discovering his or her strengths with the addition of fine arts into the basic curriculum. Contact us to learn more about our private schools in Central Florida. Our blogs highlight specific schools along with information pertaining to education and learning.