Katie Crouch

Professor Nieson
ENG105
November 26, 2019

Research Essay: Can Taking The Arts Out Of Schools Affect Students’ Mental Health?

It is a known fact that the arts can help reduce stress, anxiety, and overall make you feel

calmer. This is the reason that there are actually types of therapy involving art, music and

drama. In a society where the mental health in students is plummeting, you would think that

anything would be done to boost morale in students, however, many schools' art programs are

being cut. Although they are being cut from schools all around the world more and more, art

programs are needed in schools to benefit the students' mental health.

Music is incredibly therapeutic and is scientifically proven to make you feel happier.

Studies have shown that listening to happy music can actually make us feel happier and

strengthen our memories. (Springer, 2017) Music has been around for as long as humans have

been on Earth and has been a vital part of our culture. With all of these concepts in mind, you

would think that music would be necessary to be taught in schools. While listening to music has

many benefits on your mental health, playing music has even more benefits. Brain scans of

many famous musicians show that their brains are different than those who do not play an

instrument. A study from Stanford University showed that playing music engages parts of our

brains that are involved with paying attention, making predictions, and updating events in our

memory. (Bryant, 2014) Musicians brains also have better memorization skills, because learning

music requires memorization. Music has so many benefits on students’ mental health, and for

some students, the only way they can access music lessons is through their public school. There
are so many countries around the world who do not count music education as a part of their

curriculum. For example, in both the United States of America and Australia, music education

falls under the category of the arts. While it is important to have this category, music education

in the United Kingdom is its own separate category that receives separate funding. Every child

in primary school gets a year of free instrumental tuition and there is plenty of funding for

choir, band and ensembles. However, a study conducted by the International Society for Music

Education found that only 22 countries require music education in primary school, and when

you reach the statistics for lower secondary schools, that number drops to 17. Only 9 countries

require music education for high school students. (Gill & Rickhard, 2012) If you get rid of these

programs, you are limiting these students from finding their passions and feeling happier.

The performing arts allow students to pretend to be someone, something, or

somewhere they are not. Acting as something else is a way of escape. This is why there is a

form of therapy that deals with drama and the performing arts. May Contain Nuts is the name

of a drama group located in the United Kingdom that focuses on topics of mental health and

helping those within the company who struggle with mental health. They perform shows that

deal with such topics and teach the actors how to grow through it. One of the members, Kevin

Smith, struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. He described the rewards

of the program by saying, “When we’ve done a performance, sometimes we take a bow and

the audience stands there clapping. You think, ‘Wow. I’ve made an impression. I’m getting the

message out there.’” The performing arts can not only be a way for the performers to escape,

but it is also an immersive and expansive experience for those in the audience. A study was

done by Florida State University where researchers placed students who were at-risk of
dropping out of school into band, art and drama programs to see if it would make them any less

at risk. The study actually had tremendous results on the students’ motivations and being

involved in these subjects made them less likely to drop out. One at-risk student involved in the

theatre department said, “I had parts in plays, so I couldn’t drop out and disappoint everyone,

especially the teacher. Plus, theatre will help me later in life, so I decided to get as much as

possible.” Another detail the research study noticed was the family aspect that is created

throughout the theatre department. When you are involved in a production, the whole cast is

responsible for the outcome of the show. If one person does not want to give it their all, the

whole production is at risk. Because of this, everyone involved in theatre becomes very close,

because you all have the same goal: make your show the best it can possibly be. One of the

students involved in the study said, “[My drama teacher] and I are closer than I am to my own

mother. She is like or better than a best friend to me. She believes in what I can do as an

actress.” (Catterall, 1998) Drama clubs, theatre programs, and the performing arts in high

schools have such a special place in many students’ hearts, and for some students, can be the

reason they are still here.

The visual arts can provide a safe space for students to express themselves without

having to use words. For children with a mental illness, it may be difficult for them to use words

to state what is wrong. Directly stating what is wrong can be scary, because it makes everything

feel more real. Through art, they can visually express their thoughts and feelings and there’s no

need for words. This was the idea for the “Creative Courage” group, created by Tori Wardrip, a

middle school art teacher at Lewis and Clark Middle School. The group uses nonverbal forms of

communication, such as journaling, poetry, drawing, and painting, for students to express
themselves. All of the students involved in the program receive a “place book” where they are

welcome to share all of their thoughts and feelings in private. Wardrip founded this group

because she suffered through some serious mental illnesses throughout college, and joining a

similar organization was what really helped her through it. “In my program, I was challenged to

do the most important thing I could do for myself, which helped me open up about my

depression and suicidal tendencies. I firmly believe the program saved my life,” says Wardrip.

(Fraga, 2017) For students, opening up can be one of the hardest things to do– art provides a

safe space for this to happen. Another example of this is used in the EYE BELONG Program, an

in-school, arts-based health program run in Australia. Students were to go through a series of

art workshops that focused on physical, social, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Before they

went through these workshops, the students involved had to take a survey rating their health

knowledge, social connectedness, how much they liked school, and how creative they felt. The

students also took the same survey at the end of the program, and after taking part in the art

programs, about ten percent more students said that they actually liked school. Students were

also asked what types of activities they would like to do more, and after the program, a lot

more students said they would like to participate more in art and dance. (McKay & Mckenzie,

2017) The arts have such great emotional benefits on students, yet there is still a belief that

they are not needed in schools.

Several schools are cutting their art programs because they believe that they can just

integrate the arts into their math, science, English, and history curriculums. While that is better

than just scrapping the program completely, there is still something different about having a

whole period of the day completely dedicated to art by itself. The students get to feel fully
immersed in the subject. Also, allowing separate arts classes allows students to meet people

who have similar interests to them, and can help create the soft skills students will need in

order to truly succeed in life. Nancy Bailey, a former special education teacher that has seen the

effects of the arts firsthand in her own students, states that “In today’s fearful school

atmosphere, the arts might be the safety net for students who don’t feel they belong.” Bonds

formed over art can be some of the strongest bonds students have, and just making these

friends can boost students’ mental health in itself. Of course, you need your hard skills to

succeed in life, such as the ability to do math and read and write. However, it is through the

arts students can develop the soft skills of teamwork, communication skills, and trust within

others, and those are also needed in order to succeed in life. While schools may argue that

students can also develop these skills through sports or other activities, not all students are

athletically inclined or are in the right state of health to do sports. Art does not require athletic

skills– it just requires curiosity. The arts are irreplaceable in the curriculum and cannot be filled

by any sort of alternative.

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References

Bailey, Nancy, et al. “A Student's Mental Health Could Depend on Putting the Arts Back into the

Public School Curriculum.” Nancy Bailey's Education Website, 21 Sept. 2018,

https://nancyebailey.com/2018/09/21/a-students-mental-health-could-depend-on-

putting-the-arts-back-into-the-public-school-curriculum/.

Bryant, Sharon. “Benefits of Learning and Playing Music for Adults.” NAMM Foundation, 1 June

2014, https://www.nammfoundation.org/articles/2014-06-01/benefits-learning-and-

playing-music-

adults?gclid=CjwKCAiA3o7RBRBfEiwAZMtSCW_4g3fWe4Tdvi8XVdoAfavwjvMFo84LHVP

2sj_UoJRhyUJYgLcu4RoCaucQAvD_BwE.

Catterall, James S. “Involvement in the Arts and Success in Secondary School”

Americans for the Arts Monographs. Washington, D.C. 1998. (1;9).

http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED354168.pdf

Fraga, Juli. “How Making Art Helps Teens Better Understand Their Mental Health.” KQED, 15

Nov. 2017, https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/49569/how-making-art-helps-teens-better-

understand-their-mental-health.

Johnson, Sarah. “'Drama Saved My Life': How Performing Can Help Mental Health

Problems.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 25 Apr. 2018,

https://www.theguardian.com/healthcare-network/2018/apr/25/drama-performing-

mental-health-may-contain-nuts.

Mckay, Fiona H., and Hayley Mckenzie. “Using Art for Health Promotion: Evaluating In-School
 Program Through Student Perspectives.” Health Promotion Practice, vol. 19, no. 4, 2017,

pp. 522–530., doi:10.1177/1524839917735076

Rickard, Nikki S., and Annaliese Gill. Lifelong Engagement with Music: Benefits for Mental

Health and Well-Being. Nova Science, 2012.

Springer. "Happy notes, happy memories: Study notes how musical cues trigger different

autobiographical memories." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 28 February 2017.

<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/02/170228131027.htm>.