So why do youth theatre?

Today is July 27th. Today was also for many students around the Valley the first day of our second week of school. Yay year round schooling! But, with a new school years comes new questions about art education and the value of teaching kids drama.

I go to a high school where athletics are king. The school will try to convince you sports aren't, but it is and all the students know it. Now, this is not the same at all high schools, but the trend across the nation tends to be to cut arts programs first and leave sports be, popularized during the No Child Left Behind program. Even though last year my high school's production of Legally Blonde went to standing room only, many schools, like mine, don't see the economic and educational value of participating in theatre. So I've been doing some research.

From the National Association of Youth Drama in Ireland list of Benefits of an Art Education:

• Increased theatre skills
• Increased appreciation of theatre and the arts
• Increased creativity
• Increased levels of confidence and self-esteem
• Increased numbers of friends and an increased ability to make friends
• A more developed sense of personal and group identity
• A sense of belonging
• Increased self-discipline and commitment
• Improved abilities to articulate and express feelings and opinions
• A sense of happiness, fun and well-being
• Increased levels of activity
• A sense of personal and group achievement
• Increased understanding and knowledge of relevant issues
• Increased ability to take risks and be spontaneous within a safe environment
• A sense of empowerment
• A sense of escape and relaxation

And that's just a laundry list of social perks. There are also academic benefits. According to the American Alliance for Theatre and Education, students involved in the arts outscored those who weren't by 65 point on the verbal section and 34 points of the math section on the SAT (as of 2005.) Students involved in theatre are less likely to drop out of school and have better attendance records. They also report a link between participation in theatre and an increase in reading comprehension skills. These statistics become even more astounding for youth considered "at-risk."

If you have the time, read this. It's a really comprehensive article on why an arts education is important.

Don't have time to read that? Check out this infographic and this one: (also below)

And if all of that, still didn't crave your need for info on arts education here are one, two, three more great articles in color! with pictures!

Now, if you don't feel like reading any of this, that's cool. But just keep this post in my mind if you ever need to argue with someone -- friend, coworker, principal, or school board -- that art education IS important. If this isn't enough to convince them, then I don't know what will.

Additional links to mentioned articles:

http://www.nayd.ie/youth-theatre/benefits/

http://www.aate.com/?page=effects

http://arts.gov/news/2012/new-nea-research-report-shows-potential-benefits-arts-education-risk-youth

If none of this is your cup of tea, I have two interviews really close to completion and should be up within the next week! Want more content? Get the ball rolling! Submit something yourself? And don't forget to answer the Community Query.