Growing up in an upper-middle class neighborhood, I've been told repeatedly just how lucky I am to be receiving such a high quality education. Due to some ignorance, I never truly understood what I was being told--until I began writing my junior theme. I'm doing my junior theme on the cutting of arts education is America's schools.
Did you know that fewer than 50% of 18 year olds have received an arts education? That in itself is a pretty staggering number, but the shock only continues once you learn how much that percentage drops when applied to minorities; particularly minorities living in lower class neighborhoods. 26% of 18 year old African Americans and 28% of 18 year old hispanics have received an arts education in their lifetime.
A quarter of some minorities in our country have not received an arts education.
An arts education that allows students to grow intellectually, socially, and emotionally. An arts education that has been proven to raise test scores and reduce tardies and truancies.
Three in four children of these minorities have never received that.
And we as Americans wonder why minorities have an extremely high, high school drop out rate?
What if--what if 100 percent of minorities had the ability to receive an arts education, would their drop out rate decrease? I sure think so.
I finally understand how lucky I am, but with this understanding comes guilt. Every school I have attended throughout my life has offered art classes. If I'm going to a public school shouldn't everyone else enrolled in public schools be receiving the same kind of education I am? I think that for what lower classes' property taxes (that fund public schools) lack, the government should make up in. Aren't we supposed to be a "fair" country?
My statistics for this post can be found here and here.
Thanks for reading,
Chrisanthy
Did you know that fewer than 50% of 18 year olds have received an arts education? That in itself is a pretty staggering number, but the shock only continues once you learn how much that percentage drops when applied to minorities; particularly minorities living in lower class neighborhoods. 26% of 18 year old African Americans and 28% of 18 year old hispanics have received an arts education in their lifetime.A quarter of some minorities in our country have not received an arts education.
An arts education that allows students to grow intellectually, socially, and emotionally. An arts education that has been proven to raise test scores and reduce tardies and truancies.
Three in four children of these minorities have never received that.
And we as Americans wonder why minorities have an extremely high, high school drop out rate?
What if--what if 100 percent of minorities had the ability to receive an arts education, would their drop out rate decrease? I sure think so.
I finally understand how lucky I am, but with this understanding comes guilt. Every school I have attended throughout my life has offered art classes. If I'm going to a public school shouldn't everyone else enrolled in public schools be receiving the same kind of education I am? I think that for what lower classes' property taxes (that fund public schools) lack, the government should make up in. Aren't we supposed to be a "fair" country?
My statistics for this post can be found here and here.
Thanks for reading,
Chrisanthy
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