Campus and Student Enrichment
In addition to the potential tuition income that the school would enjoy, there are the benefits of the art culture itself. Many academics have argued on behalf of the benefits that art has on the other academic disciplines that students focus on. Professor Parson reinforces that statement; “Enrichment. Art is enrichment. Without it, it would be like going outside and there are no birds. It just gives that kind of flavor” (Parson). Author’s Ellen Winner and Lois Hetland of the arts-education program at Harvard Graduate School of Education argue that art education had no real bearing on a student’s academic achievement. But that having been said “Art education should be championed for its own sake, not because of wishful sentiment that classes in painting, dance and music improve pupils’ math and reading skills and standardized test scores”(Pogrebin).
While the spillover effect of enrichment may occur there doesn’t seem to be any real evidence to support it. Art has certainly enriched my life and has provided me a profitable career, but I agree with what Mmes. Winner, Hetland, Veenema and Sheridan are trying to argue. Art shouldn’t be viewed as a supplemental education. It shouldn’t be viewed simply as a way of expanding an athlete’s world experience, or encouraging a physicist to use his imagination. That way of thinking is as absurd as arguing that Computer Programming enriches a student’s study of Sign Language.
Giving value to an Arts program based solely on its ability to supplement a student’s academia as a whole to make them a more ‘well rounded’ individual is not a strong enough justification. In the book Studio Thinking: The Real Benefits of Visual Arts Education the authors state that “If the arts are given a role in our schools because people believe that arts cause academic improvement, then the arts will quickly lose ground if academic improvement does not result, or if the arts prove less effective in improving literacy and numeracy than high-quality, direct instruction in these subjects. When we justify the arts by their secondary, utilitarian value, the arts may prove to have fewer payoffs than academic subjects” (Hetland, Winner, Veenema, Sheridan 3). This outlines the danger of relying on the argument that an Arts program’s primary purpose is to supplement the education of an individual rather than for its own sake. Certainly if the priority for a school is academic performance and arts instruction does not benefit that then the program would be seen as a waste of funding. The purpose of an Arts program, particularly at a collegiate level, should be to provide its students with the skills with which they can make a gainful living in the arts. Dixie State College has in its faculty professional artists that have devoted their time and skills to doing that very thing.
Art is a valid pursuit of its own and should not be viewed as an auxiliary program to other academics. It has deep purpose in human history and development. Art is in every design of every tool, product, place and entertainment we consume and deserves the respect it is due. Students desiring to enrich themselves in art should be able to do so for their own sakes, and DSC would benefit as an institute that would champion the arts in their halls.
Conclusion
“It’s not for me…” Professor Parson says as we come to the close of our interview “…it’s for the students. I see students that say, because they don’t have the financial means to go to a big art school, or they have a wife here with a job, or a family and they can’t really go somewhere else, it’s really for them.”
“It’s for me” I think to myself as I sit here with my phone in my hand. As I fight the swell of sadness in my gut. The thought of not continuing to learn from a great mentor, the apprehension of finding a new job, and moving to a new location, and of uprooting my life weighs heavily on me. And I can’t help but wonder how many other students have been in this exact situation, feeling this exact thing. It’s not so unusual, it happens all the time. But it shouldn’t have to happen in the middle of a Bachelor’s Degree, away from a great faculty and town such as St. George, Utah. Not when a few reasonable changes, investments in students really, could make it worthwhile.
Give the Arts department the respect it deserves and fund it accordingly. The southern Utah community and its students need to demand that DSC provides higher learning for its artists. There is gainful employment for artists who are properly trained, and DSC has some highly respected faculty.
Make the aesthetic and departmental changes required for the teaching and creating of good artistic works. Beautify the facilities and bring legitimacy to the college as a whole, and make it feel like it’s more than just a rag-tag bunch of buildings thrown together to hopefully educate some people in.
Streamline the staff and programs to work well with the new digital media and Visual Technologies departments. This change alone has the potential to save the college money, and certainly the benefit of creating much more versatile and skillful students.
And finally, enjoy art for its own sake. Let Dixie State College continue its contribution to the southern Utah art community by training dedicated young artists who have chosen to dedicate their careers to its pursuit. The administration may feel that funding these programs may teach such students skills that won’t provide them careers, but the truth of the matter is that if these students are serious about a career in art they will find a place to train them, and that is tuition money being turned away by the school.
Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, Works Cited
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